“Translational research asks, ‘How can I manipulate the natural biochemical system to do something that can be application-oriented?’” Samli says his experience last summer at Singularity University imparted a greater comfort with the process of broad intellectual and self discovery.
Kurzweil says Singularity is “hoping to solve problems that seem unsolvable.” The resulting team assignments at SU seek viable solutions for the incredibly complex. Meeting the world’s food, water and resource needs, are on their targeted to-do list, among others. And, Kurzweil adds, they are seeking to accomplish their goals expeditiously and affordably. Following immersion in topics including such things as commercial space flight, artificial intelligence initiatives, nanotechnologies and water desalination, students then choose teams focused upon what Kurzweil calls “10 to the 9th projects.” Teams working on 10 to the 9th Team Projects are charged with finding realistic solutions for the potential benefit of a billion people within a decade.
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The project areas assigned to SU students included: food, water, energy, space, and Upcycle. At first, Samli wanted to work with the water team. “Upcycle and water were my first choices.” He is keenly aware that water is one of the defining geopolitical issues of this century. Yet Samli quickly shifted gears after one week. He decided waste issues were fundamental to resolving water issues. Samli moved over to the Upcycle team, addressing waste. Chosen as his team’s leader, Samli made a tightly-scripted, seven-minute presentation at the session’s end to an SU audience including venture capitalists. He says the audience included billionaires, inventors and Nobel Laureates. The presentation he gave was videotaped and used in a web cast.
Samli’s PhD advisor, Robert J. Woods, came to SU for a visit during Samli’s tenure there. Woods lent his research assistant strong support to attend the program. Woods, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in UGA’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, is also chair of computational glycosciences in the School of Chemistry at the National University of Ireland in Galway.
THIRD CULTURE KIDS: AT HOME WITH THE INTERFACE OF CULTURES Samli’s adult perspective is shaped by the blended influences of the ancient and the futuristic. “I left home when I was 13,” he says, “but the story begins well before that.”