Research collaborations in 2013 between IIASA and the US were highly productive. Highlights included global model comparisons in the areas of energy and agriculture, innovative studies of aging, and input to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report.
Map of USA
Activities between IIASA and the US have been highly productive ever since the US National Academy of Sciences jointly established the Institute in 1972. Interactions intensified during 2013 through over 50 partners in government and academia ranging from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to Stanford University. Noteworthy research included the first large-scale modeling comparison addressing the implications of delayed action on climate change and an innovative study that showed the Americans aged 73.4 years in 2007 were equivalent to 65 year olds in 1965 in terms of remaining life expectancy, health and cognitive function. Eleven US doctoral students took part in the 2013 Young Scientists Summer Program and three PhD recipients from the US were IIASA postdoctoral fellows.
The Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Program actively participated in two comparison exercises with the GLOBIOM model, looking at how the model reacts to different scenarios of climate change. more
Driven by the demand from modeling applications, the Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program has been developing several different approaches to gaining information from data using mathematical statistics. more
In the area of air pollution and health, the Energy (ENE) Program intensified collaboration with the Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG) Program at IIASA, the Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy (part of the European Commission), and Columbia University in the USA to explore the health benefits of climate and pollution control scenarios. more
The Earth Observation System (EOS) group has developed "Cropland Capture," an online game that engages citizen scientists as data gatherers in global land cover research. The Cropland Capture game was listed among the top 10 education games of 2013. more
Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) researchers studied climate change impacts on food security in four East Asian countries - China, Japan, South Korea, and Mongolia. more
Research on energy security by the Energy Program (ENE) centers around applying the formal conceptual framework for evaluating energy security in long-term energy scenarios. The framework was established by ENE researcher Jessica Jewell in collaboration with colleagues from the Central European University (CEU, Hungary). more
The Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program in 2013 studied communication, friendship, or trade networks, known as multiplex networks, which form the structural backbone of human societies. more
Progress with EPIC crop modeling in 2013 allowed the Agro-Economic Systems (AES) group to join the international Ag-GRID initiative which aims to improve global gridded crop modeling. more
This project in 2013 built on previous collaboration concerning real options modeling and applications to energy investments and the implementation of REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation). more
Within the framework of the AMPERE project, ENE in 2013 led the multi-model comparison effort involving international partners from Asia, the United States and Europe to evaluate the impact of near-term climate policies. more
Transitions to New Technologies (TNT) Program developed a new regionally disaggregated model which will be a major policy basis for international climate cooperation. more
The Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) researchers in 2013 worked on developing new economic growth models capable of generating “green growth” and sustainable development solutions. more
There was substantial outreach activity by the Transitions to New Technologies (TNT) Program in 2013 with respect to summarizing and disseminating previous multi-year research projects and assessment activities plus the editing of a book, three special journal issues, and publication of 40 articles and book chapters. more
In work on religious beliefs and values in 2013, Age and Cohort Change (ACC), headed by Vegard Skirbekk, worked on projections of beliefs and values over the life course that are related to demographic behavior. more
The Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program studied ecological risk assessment which evaluates impacts of immediate and long-term stressors on the environment. more
Similarly to ecosystems, social systems – from firms to countries – are becoming more and more subject to various stressors whose effects penetrate throughout the system by means of social ties and economic links. The external disturbances here may be of political, economic, financial and even environmental nature. more
The Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program in 2013 contributed to the research of network structures and resilience by conducting studies of economic networks. more
The Policy Science Interface (PSI) group of the Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Program worked with ESM's Earth Observation Systems (EOS) to develop a new methodology to support assessment of, and decision making for, future forest management certification. more
Total uncertainty in greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions changes over time due to “learning” and the structural change in the GHG emitters. Understanding uncertainty over time is important to improve setting emission targets in the future and was key to the Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program's work in 2013. more
As part of a larger project, Forecasting Societies’ Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change, a Special Feature entitled Education and Differential Vulnerability to Natural Disasters was published in the journal, Ecology & Society. more
Research on energy security by the Energy Program (ENE) centers around applying the formal conceptual framework for evaluating energy security in long-term energy scenarios. The framework was established by ENE researcher Jessica Jewell in collaboration with colleagues from the Central European University (CEU, Hungary). more
Within the framework of the AMPERE project, ENE in 2013 led the multi-model comparison effort involving international partners from Asia, the United States and Europe to evaluate the impact of near-term climate policies. more
The Energy (ENE) Program has been at the forefront of several research efforts for the wider science community. These include the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) and two international model inter-comparison projects that were successfully completed in 2013 (EMF27 and AMPERE). more
Total uncertainty in greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions changes over time due to “learning” and the structural change in the GHG emitters. Understanding uncertainty over time is important to improve setting emission targets in the future and was key to the Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program's work in 2013. more
David E. Eitelberg outlines his YSSP project work, which compared the downscaling methods of scenarios modeled using the CLUMondo, GCAM, and GLOBIOM models to explain differences in spatial allocation of global agricultural lands. more
Nicholas L. Lam explains his YSSP project work on evaluating the potential benefits of reduced kerosene use to meet lighting demand in developing countries plus the viable alternatives for its replacement. more
Narasimha D. Rao discusses his two postdoctoral studies on i) quantifying the energy requirements for a given universal set of living standards in three developing countries and ii) using an integrated approach to explain income inequality. more
Melissa Whitaker, University of California, Davis, outlines the results of her YSSP project in which she modeled the effects of interaction asymmetries in order to explore the role of functional diversity on interaction dynamics. more
Frederic Isingizwe studies how donor-control and recipient-control models fit to experimental data individually and how they compare to one another. more
Kalai Ramea describes her YSSP project in which she developed a bridging approach to bring consumer behavioral parameters – specifically for the transport sector – into a linear-programming IAM framework, testing this approach through scenario analysis. more
Eleanor Brush reports the results of her YSSP project, in which she asked i) is it possible for discriminators to stabilize cooperation? and ii) how does this depend on how much information the discriminators store and use? more
Carl Salk is working with the Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Program to develop statistical tools for comparing land classification error rates on maps with different cover categories and with the Risk Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program on protocol development for adaptive governance arrangements for tropical forest ecosystems. more
Transitions to New Technologies (TNT) Program developed a new regionally disaggregated model which will be a major policy basis for international climate cooperation. more
Kandice Harper describes her YSSP project in which she assessed the regional importance of SLCP mitigation measures in China using updated emission projections. more
Benjamin D. Leibowicz details his YSSP project on representing spatial technology diffusion in an energy system optimization model to bring diffusion projections more into line with reality. more
David W. Shanafelt describes his YSSP project in which he provided new insights into a pivotal ecological model, as well as perspective on the spatial insurance hypothesis. more
Claudia Seibold describes and compares government strategies in ten countries which differ with respect to the existence of catastrophe funds and public and private insurance. more
Valentina Prado-Lopez considers three main thermal electricity-generation technologies as the most viable options for an energy transition period. more
Jacob Teter outlines his YSSP project work which looked at policies for the wise use of scarce water resources in energy infrastructure development, under GHG mitigation targets. more
David E. Eitelberg outlines his YSSP project work, which compared the downscaling methods of scenarios modeled using the CLUMondo, GCAM, and GLOBIOM models to explain differences in spatial allocation of global agricultural lands. more
Nicholas L. Lam explains his YSSP project work on evaluating the potential benefits of reduced kerosene use to meet lighting demand in developing countries plus the viable alternatives for its replacement. more
Narasimha D. Rao discusses his two postdoctoral studies on i) quantifying the energy requirements for a given universal set of living standards in three developing countries and ii) using an integrated approach to explain income inequality. more
Melissa Whitaker, University of California, Davis, outlines the results of her YSSP project in which she modeled the effects of interaction asymmetries in order to explore the role of functional diversity on interaction dynamics. more
Frederic Isingizwe studies how donor-control and recipient-control models fit to experimental data individually and how they compare to one another. more
Kalai Ramea describes her YSSP project in which she developed a bridging approach to bring consumer behavioral parameters – specifically for the transport sector – into a linear-programming IAM framework, testing this approach through scenario analysis. more
Eleanor Brush reports the results of her YSSP project, in which she asked i) is it possible for discriminators to stabilize cooperation? and ii) how does this depend on how much information the discriminators store and use? more
Carl Salk is working with the Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Program to develop statistical tools for comparing land classification error rates on maps with different cover categories and with the Risk Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program on protocol development for adaptive governance arrangements for tropical forest ecosystems. more
Kandice Harper describes her YSSP project in which she assessed the regional importance of SLCP mitigation measures in China using updated emission projections. more
Benjamin D. Leibowicz details his YSSP project on representing spatial technology diffusion in an energy system optimization model to bring diffusion projections more into line with reality. more
David W. Shanafelt describes his YSSP project in which he provided new insights into a pivotal ecological model, as well as perspective on the spatial insurance hypothesis. more
Claudia Seibold describes and compares government strategies in ten countries which differ with respect to the existence of catastrophe funds and public and private insurance. more
Valentina Prado-Lopez considers three main thermal electricity-generation technologies as the most viable options for an energy transition period. more
Jacob Teter outlines his YSSP project work which looked at policies for the wise use of scarce water resources in energy infrastructure development, under GHG mitigation targets. more