Recent feature articles

These feature articles outline how research by IIASA and its partners is helping to resolve some major global challenges. 

2018

18 June 2018
Is Asia facing a coming water crisis?

Options Summer 2018: Water scarcity in Asia is likely to get worse over the coming decades, and new research from the IIASA Water Program has shown that increased water demand due to socioeconomic development is likely to be the main cause in large parts of the continent.  More

17 June 2018
South Africa – A model for systems analysis development?

Options Summer 2018: In 2015, South Africa stepped up its commitment to systems analysis by creating the Southern African Systems Analysis Centre–SASAC. Led by a consortium of four universities–the universities of the Western Cape, Limpopo, theWitwatersrand, and Stellenbosch–SASAC aims to strengthen systems analysis activities by supporting Honours students, PhD students, and postdoctoral researchers.  More

16 June 2018
What drives migration?

Options Summer 2018: IIASA research is providing a scientific basis to help design evidence-based migration policies that will benefit Europe while ensuring humanitarian needs are met.  More

15 June 2018
Opinion: Challenges to science diplomacy

Options Summer 2018: Sir Peter Gluckman is the chief science advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, and an IIASA Distinguished Visiting Fellow.  More

14 June 2018
Q&A: Systems thinking is central to addressing global challenges

Options Summer 2018: In March, Secretary-General Angel Gurría of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) visited IIASA to agree a strategic partnership between the two institutions.  More

13 June 2018
Seasonal pumped-storage – the answer to water and energy security?

Options Summer 2018: Q&A with Brazilian IIASA postdoc Julian Hunt  More

12 June 2018
Crowdsourcing information to help farmers in Mexico increase crop yields

Options Summer 2018: Crowdsourcing has become a popular method for politicians, social groups, and private businesses to engage people. In the social media age, businesses and other groups can quickly, effectively, and inexpensively collect information, opinions, and even money from a wide audience that was previously inaccessible.  More

11 June 2018
Accommodating growth without increasing environmental pressure

Options Summer 2018: Rapid economic growth often comes at a steep price, with positive effects of change regularly being balanced out by negative environmental effects. In traditional growth models, greater growth has led to greater carbon emissions output, raising questions about construction practices and expansion in general. With new growth models however, adverse environmental effects do not necessarily have to be part of the equation.  More

11 June 2018
Mitigating risks from crude-by-rail transportation

Options Summer 2018: As crude oil production from shale in North America has increased, so too have spills from rail accidents as the railways bear the extra burden from an insufficient pipeline network. A new model developed at IIASA with collaborators at Johns Hopkins University, can help determine the best crude oil transport policies to reduce the risk.  More

10 June 2018
Finding opportunities for change in disaster

Options Summer 2018: In 2011, an earthquake off the coast of Japan led to a tsunami that decimated the area of Tohoku. Even worse, the event triggered a nuclear disaster from which Japan is still recovering. As is the case in many disasters however, this event created a window of opportunity for positive social and environmental change.  More

09 June 2018
Finding a reason for increased fertility among Egyptian women

Options Summer 2018: Over the last two decades, scientists have observed an upturn in fertility in several Arab countries. As this trend is in direct contradiction to the demographic transition model, researchers are seeking answers to this puzzling question.  More

07 June 2018
Shaping the future of public transport in Sweden

Options Summer 2018: In 2015, Sweden announced an ambitious aim to become one of the first nations to end its dependence on fossil fuels. Work done by IIASA researchers in collaboration with Swedish partners, is now contributing to discussions to make this goal a reality.  More

2017

23 June 2017
The health benefits of systems analysis

Options Magazine Summer 2017: Understanding the linkages of planetary systems to health has never been more important, and IIASA is well-positioned to take a leading role on the topic; indeed, many of the institute’s core research areas are linked to health, either directly or indirectly.  More

22 June 2017
Breaking the habit: The path to a greener future

Options Magazine Summer 2017: In order to achieve environmental and sustainability goals, individuals around the world will need to change their behavior, to consume fewer resources and make less waste. But how can we break out of long-established patterns?  More

21 June 2017
The balancing act of sustainability

Options Magazine Summer 2017: What happens when work towards one sustainability goal prevents progress in another? Do we have to choose between universal energy access and climate change mitigation, or biodiversity and food security?  More

20 June 2017
40 years of YSSP: A life-changing experience for young scientists

Options Magazine Summer 2017: This summer the IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program celebrated 40 years. Although much has changed since its first year in 1977, the basic idea that launched the program has ensured its success: bringing together an international, interdisciplinary group of young scientists to work together at IIASA.  More

19 June 2017
Opinion: Communicating science-based pathways to policymakers

Options Magazine Summer 2017: Even if we cannot predict the climate and its impacts with precision, that does not mean that the best strategy is to do nothing.  More

18 June 2017
Q&A: We complement each other very well

Options Magazine Summer 2017: Tatyana Valovaya is a member of the board and minister in the areas of integration and macroeconomics for the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC).  More

17 June 2017
Water for life

Options Magazine Summer 2017: Q&A with IIASA researcher Yoshihide Wada, deputy director of the IIASA Water Program. His current research includes a global assessment of the sustainability of future food production under socioeconomic and climate change, and water scarcity.  More

16 June 2017
Separating economic growth from environmental impact

Options Magazine Summer 2017:Chongqing is a model Chinese city demonstrates economic growth can be achieved without endangering the environment.  More

16 June 2017
What is disaster resilience?

Options Summer 2017: True disaster resilience is not just about reducing risk, it must also have sustainable development at its core.  More

14 June 2017
Reducing CO2 emissions in Indonesia

Options Magazine Summer 2017: Indonesia’s policies to protect and establish forests has put the country on track and showed commitment to cut CO2 emissions by 2030.  More

13 June 2017
How much do disasters cost Australia?

Options Magazine Summer 2017: Recent research examines the wide range of disaster-cost estimates to explain the differences stemming from varied data sources and methodologies.  More

12 June 2017
Nailing down resilience and sustainability

Options Magazine Summer 2017: Ali Kharrazi, an alumnus of the 2012 YSSP, is taking a critical look at the concepts of resilience and sustainability  More

10 June 2017
Driving the sustainability bus

Options Magazine Summer 2017: A 2016 YSSP project was put to use in Sweden’s first wireless bus-charging system.  More


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Last edited: 23 January 2019

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Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313