Breaking Barriers: How ATSE’s new Fellows think Australia can realise its technological advantage

When change is the only certainty, and skills are scarce, it’s tempting in these challenging times to succumb to melancholia, so when the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) came together last week to welcome our 2023 new Fellows it was a welcome shot in the arm for optimism.

As we navigate the bumps and wiggles on our way to the next century, in all its complexity, extremity and unpredictability: it’s clear from the conversations at our 2023 New Fellows Showcase, Breaking Barriers – realising Australia’s technological advantage, that it’s never been more important for research, government, society and industry to come together. Learning from each other – across disciplines, across knowledge systems – is key to a bright future, as is inspiring, educating, and supporting a more diverse and connected STEM-skilled workforce.

Our 33 new Fellows hail from a wide range of applied sciences, engineering and technological innovation, and are looking at some of the biggest challenges – such as how to decarbonise the hardest-to-abate sectors. The low-hanging fruit has been plucked, they said, and the hard work has begun. Applying new technologies to incorporate and work with old infrastructure, and the myriad complex systems that keep our world ticking, will be crucial during the transition decades: you can’t just turn off all the old systems and turn on the new ones overnight.

Decarbonisation of energy will underpin the decarbonisation of so many other Australian sectors, our Fellows said, including the nutty challenge of transport. Creating better batteries (smaller, cheaper, cleaner) will also be crucial to the next step in big scale energy story. Bringing along all sections of society – including farmers, for example, will also be a key part of the puzzle for large-scale transition as we work to build more zero-waste systems throughout our economy.

Understanding how future circular systems (that will keep revolving rather than looking at a single cycle) will work can also support big industry like cement, iron and steel, to make sensible investments now that will last well into the future. Companies are committed and starting to invest, and governments are increasingly supporting this too. Of course, making use of things people have thrown away is already having an impact: transforming existing waste into a resource is important work of a number of ATSE Fellows.

Living in buildings made from waste, eating more insect protein, or drinking recycled water, may experience some social barriers as we all get over the ‘ick’ factor – and highlight the importance of social licence for more sustainable ways of living – but they’ll all be normal in the near future.

Sustainability will increasingly need to sit alongside resilience, as extreme events become more impactful and frequent. ATSE’s Fellows are optimistic about Australia’s technological ability to adapt and thrive, and agree that here, too, social licence (supported by effective communication) are crucial, as is a well-educated, diverse workforce that’s empowered to bring many creative solutions to our biggest threats and challenges. Diversifying our economy to build resilience to economic shock is also important.

We need to act fast, though, on the skills development – our current and future workforce are not yet big enough to implement major, ambitious engineering projects. Numeracy and persuasive communication are swiftly becoming key skill-sets for STEM achievers of the age, as young, social media-savvy STEM researchers and practitioners are deployed in defence of evidence. And being open to new approaches to education is important. Our Fellows urged us to think about maths as a creative, innovative subject: for example, some Traditional Owners see mathematics as a close cousin of Traditional Knowledge and the kinship system, providing a new way in to understanding.

Many other aspects of the most ancient continuous knowledge system on Earth are also an important part of our thriving, resilient future, our Fellows reminded us – there is immense opportunity to learn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traditional Knowledge and communities, and a woven-together approach that brings together Traditional and new knowledge will set us up for a brighter future.

Trans-Knowledge system; trans-disciplinary, and trans-sectoral collaboration and expertise will be the key to Australian success for a new high-value, sustainable approach to a whole range of sectors.

There are so many promising threads for using green technologies to drive innovation for positive impact. Eat less meat, for one – and make sure the meat we do eat is from lower-impact, more robust livestock. Fisheries too, are being transformed by science and technology for a more sustainable future, supported by huge advances in modelling and prediction so ocean industries can manage the shocks better when they do come.

The future holds exciting technology in a whole raft of areas. We heard about cancer detection tests as easy as peeing on a stick; simple, cheap and easy to distribute medicines and diagnostic techniques for a whole range of diseases; space science that will allow us to predict and prepare for catastrophic bush-fires not hours or days in advance, but months before they happen. Consumer empowerment to track electricity consumption by the half-hour; the ability to identify storm and flood events well before they hit; AI-supercharged satellite tracking systems that will make freight, communications, and a host of other sectors more efficient than ever before; medical breakthroughs powered by the potential to analyse massive data-sets, and the ability to unlock the secrets of the brain and body.

Successful application of research takes time and energy, our Fellows acknowledge, but Australians are great under pressure. We have been and remain an innovation nation – and our past success will pave the way for the future.

Of course we haven’t got all of the answers – and actually I hope we never will. Because curiosity is the bread and butter of science and innovation. And listening, learning, including all kinds of people from all kinds of places in our research and development – it’s clear this is the key to building a bright, exciting, resilient future.