There can be no doubt that science and technology will continue to profoundly impact the way we live, and even to impact some of the physical properties of our planet.
We have seen how vast computer networks and social media influence our communications and interactions, how automation, driven by artificial intelligence, changes the composition of our workforce and the way we engage in transactions, and how our deeper understanding of the human body complements the quality of medicine.
All of this is thrilling. We clearly are at a stage in our understanding of our physical world where great advances in science and technology are to be expected at an ever-increasing rate.
That these advances will provide an opportunity to improve our quality of life is undeniable. Diseases that were once deadly will be cured. Chronic ailments that decrease our quality of life will be controlled.
But as has been the case throughout the history of mankind, the advances in science and technology have unintended consequences to which we must attend. Examples of these consequences are the ozone depletion in the atmosphere caused by gases leaking from our refrigerators.
The increase in the world’s population, driven by reduced mortality rates, is putting a burden on global food production, and in turn, adequate nutrition. The gases we emit and the physical alterations we’ve made to the surface of our planet to meet our energy needs have changed the physical and chemical characteristics of the Earth with consequences to biodiversity, food and water safety and security.
The quality of life in the future is clearly in our hands. There is no doubt that great changes are coming our way. These changes will be driven by our understanding of our universe and will amaze us all. This is why it is more important than ever to accurately explain the facts that drive our understanding of our world.
We at the University of Arizona College of Science recognize our responsibility to explain the facts that drive science, and this special section is only one way we share these facts with our community. The UA Science Lecture Series, now in its 12th year, is another.
I hope to see many of you at UA Centennial Hall Mondays at 7 p.m. to hear our star scientists describe the latest discoveries in physics. You will be in awe, as I am, of what we humans do to understand the world we live in.
