Departmental news

Researchers in the UK and Ukraine are teaming up to develop artificial intelligence (AI) that will help treat those wounded by shrapnel.

Scientists at WMG at the University of Warwick and the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics (NURE) in Ukraine are developing AI software that will help medics understand which patients require immediate treatment, due to life-threatening wounds that might not be obvious with the naked eye. The state-of-the-art technology enables users to feed data from a CT scan to a computer programme, which will help medics make quick decisions on which of the injured require most immediate treatment.

The project is one of 33 being discussed at the House of Lords this evening, to mark the one-year anniversary of the Twinning initiative – an institution-to-institution collaboration model which allows universities around the world to support their Ukrainian counterparts in real, concrete ways. It is funded by a £5m grant from Research England, administered by Universities UK International (UUKi).

Professor Mark Williams, WMG at the University of Warwick, said: “A huge problem for medics dealing with many severely injured people at the same time is the rapid identification of life-threatening injuries so they can prioritise who needs emergency surgery soonest. This is why we’re developing software with the team in Kharkiv to help address this issue. As well as being useful in other emergency situations such as earthquakes, the research is also applicable to doctors in trauma wards – already stretched by pressures experienced by the NHS – who need to triage patients quickly.

“For WMG’s part of the project, we will be creating phantom models using 3D imaging – replicas of human anatomy and shrapnel wounds. These will act as ‘test objects’, which experts in computer science can use to calibrate their technology and AI programme.

“It is very exciting to be able to bring our expertise in Additive Manufacture at WMG to deliver a rapid solution to such an important humane need, allowing us to truly exploit the incredible advantages in speed of response and material complexity offered by this technology.”

Anastasiya Chupryna, coordinator of Radio Electronics-Warwick Allied Research and Development (REWARD) project at NURE said: “We would like to thank our partner Warwick University for supporting us in joint research activities. Within this project NURE and Warwick University will be able to solve extremely important problems. We believe that practical results of these projects will demonstrate significant impact and innovation solutions for society.”

WMG is considered the leading international role model for successful collaboration between academia and the public and private sectors by successive UK Governments. The WMG specific research is funded by a £179k grant from UUKi.

More here https://www.ukri.org/news/research-england-invests-in-uk-ukraine-university-twinning-scheme/

Ends

University of Warwick press office contact:

Annie Slinn

Communications Officer | Press & Media Relations |

Email: annie.slinn@warwick.ac.uk

Dr Svenja Janke starts her Ramsay Memorial Fellowship to discover "A New Method to Simulate Absorption and Emission Spectra of Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskites". Learn moreLink opens in a new window.

Professor Amy Grove has been appointed as the new Head of Division for Health Sciences at Warwick Medical School following a competitive process. She will start her new role on 3 April. Read more about Amy, and the full news piece here.

A sleeping sickness parasite is the first pathogen to have its proteins located and mapped within its cells. These parasites have made large areas of Africa unsuitable for livestock production, costing rural farmers up to £3.7bn each year.

For the first time ever, scientists have developed a detailed “protein atlas” of a pathogen – a kind of biological map that locates proteins in cells. They conducted the research on Trypanosoma brucei (T. brucei), helping to understand where proteins are within its cells, providing functional insights that may ultimately help treat parasite infections.

Read the press release hereLink opens in a new window.
Access the resource here and read the full paper here.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection causes severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a small proportion of infected individuals. The immune system plays an important role in the defence against SARS-CoV-2, but our understanding of the cellular immune parameters that contribute to severe COVID-19 disease is incomplete. Here, we show that populations of human effector γδ T cells are associated with acute COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients. We found that circulating killer-type γδ T cells were enriched in COVID-19 patients with acute disease. Surprisingly, SARS-CoV-2 infection did not alter the γδ T cell receptor repertoire, like in other viral infections. Thus, our work demonstrates a link between the systemic activation of effector populations of γδ T cells and acute COVID-19 in unvaccinated individuals.

Read the paper hereLink opens in a new window.

New research has shown that understanding how oxygen participates in energy storage is critical for developing higher energy density batteries, in a new paper published by experts at WMG, at the University of Warwick.

Using advanced X-ray techniques, researchers at WMG, together with the Faraday Institution's FutureCat consortium, have obtained new insights into the oxygen redox activity in conventional ni-rich cathodes, which will help to deliver improved electric vehicle performance.

Range anxiety is a key concern of many potential EV buyers, but range is steadily improving as battery technology and research evolves. The Faraday Institution’s Next Generation Lithium-Ion Cathode Materials project, FutureCat, aims to develop understanding of existing and newly discovered cathode chemistries to deliver improved EV performance, whilst considering sustainability.

Professor Louis Piper, from WMG at the University of Warwick, who led the research explained: “Transitioning to electrification requires integrating advanced materials science into battery processing to develop cheaper, safer, faster and better batteries, which is the focus of our research.”

The battery field is moving to increasing nickel contents in cathodes to meet the Government’s stringent EV 2030+ targets. These roadmaps assume successful strategies in material development to allow cathodes like W-LNO to operate at high voltages without degrading. This work provides the platform towards realising that goal by better understand the redox mechanisms (i.e., the reactions that enable charging/discharging the battery) at high voltage operation.

The study employed advanced x-ray characterisation techniques at the Diamond Light Source in Oxford and at WMG. The team at WMG utilised novel in-house x-ray absorption spectroscopy which enabled researchers to look at the electrode redox process of the battery cathodes after careful disassembly. Researchers were surprised to find that the oxidised oxygen species had the same characteristics as another group of Li-ion battery cathodes, Li-excess transition metal oxides. Reconciling how the same oxidised oxygen environment exists in both conventional and Li-excess cathodes is critical for unlocking how to develop the next generation of cathodes.

Professor Piper adds: “This work highlights how large-scale collaborative fundamental studies are needed even for supposedly ‘known’ systems.”

WMG will be continuing with further studies in this field, supported by the Faraday Institution, for the benefit of cathode battery manufacturers.

A link to the published article can be found here:

https://journals.aps.org/prxenergy/pdf/10.1103/PRXEnergy.2.013005

A new report led by academics at WMG at the University of Warwick, proposes a ground-breaking safety assurance framework that has the potential to be applied across automated transport modes.

The new report is the result of Warwick’s extensive safety research which has undergone 12 months of evolution, development and validation with key stakeholders across the transport domains of land, sea and air.

Over the past year, 35 organisations in industry, academia, government and regulation from the UK and internationally have contributed to the discussions which have been captured in the report. The report encourages Government policy to tackle similar challenges all three domains face to realise the safe introduction of automated transport systems, in a joined-up manner.

The Cross Domain Safety Report highlights the economic potential of the global automated transport ecosystem, which is projected to reach over £750 billion by 2035, with a UK market share of approximately 6% representing £42 billion and creating up to 38,000 new jobs.

When it comes to safety assurance of automated transport systems, the report suggests the need to not only establish the safety level of automated transport, but also to communicate the safety level to all stakeholders (society, regulators, policymakers, developers etc).

Communicating safety level is key as one of the main obstacles to the safe introduction and consumer acceptance of automated transport are safety and trust, according to this new research. The report contains a set of key recommendations which include standardised definitions, new processes for virtual test environments, a new scalable and manageable safety assurance framework, and the key role of independent organisations.

The report highlights that whilst there are differences between the safety assurance processes of autonomous ships, aircraft or vehicles there are also large elements of crossover. This can then be leveraged by governments, developers and manufacturers by aligning safety artifacts across the different types of transport, allowing for greater safety and consumer acceptance.

Ian Stewart MP, Chair of the Commons Transport Select Committee said: “It’s important that we look ahead and horizon scan at emerging technologies… We’ve got to look ahead to make sure the regulations are in place.

“It’s really interesting that this conference looked at these issues holistically because it’s very easy in the world of transport to look at each mode as if it existed in isolation, but there will be cross cutting issues”.

Professor Siddartha Khastgir, Head of Verification and Validation at WMG, University of Warwick, commented: “Safety of automated systems needs to be pre-competitive. At WMG, we are extremely grateful to all the contributors to the report who have come on this journey with us over the past 12 months.

"Capturing the collective intellectual output of the group, we have demonstrated in the report on cross domain safety assurance across land, air and marine, that there are a lot of synergies in the approaches across the transport domains. At the same time, there are certain aspects that will be very specific to the domains that should be tackled individually.”

The full report can be read here.

By Hargun Kaur (President) and Milena Ermolenko (Vice-President)

Our mission: equality, diversity and inclusion in economics

This academic year has been an immense success for Warwick Women in Economics (WWIE) society. We hosted well-attended events ranging from the Welcome Week picnic and Christmas dinner to numerous themed circles and our career events. We recently hosted our annual Ball in collaboration with other societies, such as the LEAD Network and TEDx Warwick. WWIE strives to promote inclusivity and diversity within the economics discipline, simultaneously showing that economics is and should be for everyone!

Speaking to our members and gathering their feedback after our events has been invaluable. We've heard words of encouragement, specifically first-year female students telling us how crucial they believe our society's work is. Most importantly, everyone who has attended a WWIE event or has been part of WWIE's executive team knows - we strive to create a safe space for Economics students, so that they feel comfortable to ask questions, share advice, and make new friends! WWIE has been a platform for many to raise their voice and uplift each other during challenging times. Overall, we are very pleased with the progress we've made this year - we've grown in numbers, but most importantly we've grown the amount of love and recognition for our society.

Gender Equality Award

We have strengthened our partnership with the Department of Economics, and continue to receive support from staff and students alike. A huge achievement this year for WWIE has been the recognition we received for our efforts, specifically, the IWD Conference we held last year. We were Highly Commended by the Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team and the Gender Taskforce as part of the Gender Equality Award. Being recognised by an external body for our contribution towards the enhancement of equality, diversity and inclusion is a privilege and we hope next year's executive committee continues our efforts.

"Being recognised by an external body for our contribution towards the enhancement of equality, diversity and inclusion is a privilege and we hope that next year's executive committee continues our efforts"

Hargun Kaur, WWIE Society President and Milena Ermolenko, WWIE Vice-President

International Women’s Day Conference – March 2023

For the first time, we had the privilege to host our flagship International Women’s Day Conference entirely in-person. Our focus this year was on academia, specifically we aimed to spread awareness about the different career paths following an undergraduate degree in economics. We hosted academic and researchers from Imperial College London, University of Cambridge, University of York and LSE. Our esteemed speakers were Dame Carol Propper, Dr Laure de Preux Gallone, Dr Noriko Amano-Patino and Dr Ines Lee to name a few. The conference incorporated keynote speeches, a panel with elements of a debate, and a workshop on entrepreneurship led by Ju Vern See. We received overwhelming support for the event, with over 90 registrations. Our IWD Conference is always free of charge and attendees were able to enjoy free lunch, a drinks reception and a networking session with some of the speakers. Overall, this year’s IWD Conference was a success and has shown us the importance of continuously promoting economics as a subject for all.

Future plans

If you are interested in what our society does and would like to reach out with regards to speaker events (we host Warwick alumni in our career events every year), or perhaps you would like to participate in the IWD Conference next year as an attendee or speaker – please get in touch via our webpage:

Warwick Women in Economics SocietyLink opens in a new window

We look forward to what’s to come next academic year!

Hargun and Milena

Professor Murray Grant has been re-elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Fellows have made contributions to knowledge at the highest levels in their different fields and across disciplinary boundaries. Find out more

Artificial intelligence is rarely out of the headlines. This week Microsoft founder Bill Gates declared the development of AI “as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone.”

You may not be using ChatGPT to help with exam answers, or creating art with Midjourney – but you are very likely to be already interacting with aspects of AI in your everyday life – maybe through the algorithms that select which show to recommend you view next on your streaming media; or which of your friends’ posts you will see on social media; or through applying to a firm which uses AI to assist in hiring decisions. Or perhaps you have had a medical diagnosis backed by AI-assisted computer screening.

Like Bill Gates, many researchers think we are on the horizon of an AI revolution. As well as benefits, there are challenges – are there unethical uses of AI? A machine intelligence could predict whether a person is likely to commit a crime before they do so, tempting authorities to imprison them in advance. Among others, the systems can unintentionally learn to replicate unhelpful stereotypes and bias.

One of the researchers working on ways to ensure the next stage of AI development is helpful, not harmful, is Warwick Economics alumna Charlotte Siegmann (PPE 2021).

Taking recent concerns over inappropriate responses by ChatGPT to users as a starting point, Charlotte explains the challenges:

“ChatGPT was not unexpected - similar base models have existed for a few years now.

“‘Sydney’ was likely a poorly fine-tuned model that never posed a real danger to anyone. However, something very important can be gleaned from observing Sydney and other models: over the next 1, 3, or 10 years, models will become increasingly capable but remain likely unsafe.

“This is because we still do not fully understand current models, and we have not solved the bigger problem of how to ensure that AIs do not do things we do not want them to do. This problem is challenging for several reasons:

• The complexity and difficulty of interpretability.
• AIs can learn incorrect goals unnoticed by humans during the training process - this is called Goal Misgeneralization.
• Humans can’t fully specify what they find desirable - this is known as Reward Misspecification,

“There are many open questions in AI safety and AI governance that researchers and policymakers need to address. What is happening within big models? How can we guide them to elicit latent knowledge that they don’t necessarily reveal through simply prompting? How can we avoid deceptive models?

“Similarly, in AI governance, we need to understand how this technology will develop, how to evaluate its safety, how to incentivize labs to invest in safety and how to mitigate disrupting effects on the epistemic environment, job market or national security.”

Charlotte is about to take up a PhD position at MIT focusing on the safety of transformative AI systems, as well as governance, working together with scholars in both fields. But she has already contributed to the public debate, as co-author (with Markus Anderljung) of The Brussels Effect and Artificial Intelligence: How EU regulation will impact the global AI market.

The report takes a deep dive into the EU’s ambition to set the global standard on AI regulation, following its success in setting the global benchmark for data protection with the GDPR, and explores whether such a “Brussels Effect” is likely.

Charlotte and Markus argue that the EU’s proposed regulations are especially significant in offering the first and most influential operationalisation of what it means to develop and deploy trustworthy or human-centred AI.

“If the EU’s plans are likely to see significant global diffusion, ensuring the regulations are well-designed becomes a matter of global importance,” Charlotte explains.

Reflecting on her time as an undergraduate and how her interest in AI research was sparked, Charlotte says:

“I started thinking about transformative AI in my first year of University and enjoyed discussing the issues with fellow Warwick students. I also attended a summer school on the topic. The economics perspective came later - I first became interested in microtheory in the Game theory course with Costas Cavounidis in my second year.

“During the first wave of the Covid pandemic, I interned with the Future of Life Institute. Together with a policy expert at the institute, I worked on a consultation response to the EU AI Whitepaper, a roadmap laying out the EU’s response to AI technology. Back then, the work on transformative AI or even human-level AI was more speculative - ChatGPT or GPT-4 did not yet exist.

“Since graduating I have been working as an economics predoc at the Global Priorities Institute at the University of Oxford. The Institute combines a philosophy and economic research group and we focus on research that can inform prioritisation efforts of actors wanting to do the most good.

“I did research on the longtermism paradigm, ways of influencing the far future from existential risk reduction to population growth. As a predoc, I organised research workshops, collaborated with others on research projects and shared my research with colleagues both within and outside the institute, among others in Canada and Japan.

“It’s very exciting to work at a young research institute at which we support each other’s work and a lot of collaboration is happening.”

We wish Charlotte every success as she begins her PhD research later this year.