• Is China Engaged in Biodiesel Fraud?

    By Insa Wrede

    European biofuel producers have come under significant price pressure as Chinese companies inundate the European second-generation biofuel market with their cheaper products. Shipping advanced biofuels from China to Europe should add about 20% to the price of the fuel, yet Chinese producers are selling it for half the price charged by European producers. The suspicion is that Chinese producers are using palm oil in the production of the fuel, even though palm oil, which will be phased out as a biofuel ingredient by 2030, is already tightly capped in Europe because it is linked to the destruction of rainforests in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia.

  • State Pension Fund is Helping a Middle Eastern Firm Export Arizona’s Precious Groundwater

    By Nathan Halverson

    As rural Arizonans face the prospect of wells running dry, foreign firms are sucking up vast amounts of the state’s groundwater to grow hay for Saudi Arabia and other wealthy nations. The state’s retirement system invested heavily in a private land deal that allowed a foreign company to effectively ship Arizona’s scarce water supply overseas.

  • Training Students to Succeed in the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”

    Transformational changes are already underway in the manufacturing industry as technological advancements, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and smart devices from the “fourth industrial revolution” or Industry 4.0., inspire a digital-first approach to engineering. University of Missouri researchers are using a $1 million grant to support the development of an Industry 4.0 lab, training engineering students for the future of digitization in manufacturing.

  • More U.S. Crops to Require Irrigation

    With climate change, irrigating more crops in the United States will be critical to sustaining future yields, as drought conditions are likely to increase due to warmer temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns. Yet less than 20% of the nation’s croplands are equipped for irrigation.

  • As Competition with China Heats Up, Japan Turns to Africa for Critical Minerals

    By Julian Ryall

    Demand for such minerals is expected to grow sharply in the coming years. There are, however, supply constraints, as only a limited number of countries produce them. Tokyo has signed agreements with a number of African countries as competition with China for key raw materials and minerals heats up.

  • Refinery in Central Tennessee Could Break Chinese Chokehold on Two Critical Minerals

    By Natalie Liu

    A solution to potential shortages of two critical minerals used in making semiconductors and advanced military equipment — exports of which were restricted by China this month — may be lying in some waste storage ponds in central Tennessee.

  • Virtual City Prepares Students for Future of Cybersecurity

    By Logan Burtch-Buus

    CyberApolis is a virtual city used to train the next generation of cyber professionals to address national security concerns. The “city” includes a bank, hospital, large retailer, water company, power companies, an underground hacker community, an organized crime family and a growing number of smaller retailers.

  • Tech Breakthrough Could Increase States’ Use of Geothermal Power

    By Alex Brown

    Lawmakers in some states have been laying the groundwork to add geothermal power to the electrical grid and pump underground heat into buildings. Now, a technological breakthrough could dramatically expand those ambitions — and perhaps unleash a new wave of policies to tap into geothermal sources. If the technology’s promise is fulfilled, geothermal could power as much as 20% of the U.S. grid.

  • Multi-Billion-Dollar Risk to Economic Activity from Climate Extremes Affecting Ports

    More than $122 billion of economic activity - $81 billion in international trade - is at risk from the impact of extreme climate events, according to new research. Systemic impacts – those risks faced due to knock-on effects within global shipping, trade and supply chains network - will hit ports and economies around the world, even if the local ports are not directly affected by extreme events.

  • The Impending Privacy Threat of Self-Driving Cars

    By Matthew Guariglia

    With innovations often come unintended consequences—one of which is the massive collection of data required for an autonomous vehicle to function. The sheer amount of visual and other information collected by a fleet of cars traveling down public streets conjures the threat of the possibility for peoples’ movements to be tracked, aggregated, and retained by companies, law enforcement, or bad actors—including vendor employees.

  • Bipartisan Texan Push in Congress to Boost Semiconductors, a Crucial Industry in the State

    By Matthew Choi

    Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz and Democrats like Rep. Colin Allred — opponents in the 2024 election — propose streamlining environmental reviews to promote investment and expansion by chipmakers.

  • “Hacking” People, Not Systems: False Claims Attacks on Infrastructure

    By Joshua DeLozier

    False claims and disinformation, especially in a social media-driven society, have become major problems with potentially severe consequences. Disinformation can be weaponized to disrupt underlying cyber-physical systems, human lives and economic productivity. Recent examples include tweets that trigger spikes in gasoline prices and false social media posts reporting impending water pumping station shutdowns. In these scenarios, chaos is caused because people, not systems or devices, are “hacked.”

  • Cyber Insurance Not Fueling the Ransomware Epidemic

    By Gary Hughes

    Contrary to perceived wisdom, there is no compelling evidence that victims of ransomware with cyber insurance are much more likely to pay ransoms than those without.

  • New National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy

    Hundreds of thousands of cyber jobs in government and the private sector are vacant, and the administration says that filling them is a national security imperative. Today, the administration unveiled its ambitious National Cyber Workforce and Education  Strategy (NCWES) which aims at addressing both short-term needs and long-terms requirements.

  • If Cyber Is Uninsurable, the United States Has a Major Strategy Problem

    The opinions of leaders in the insurance industry are opinions not to be taken lightly, as experienced leaders and among the most respected minds in the global market. And they’re concerned. Or downright terrified. The debate within the insurance industry over cyber risks reveals an important potential weakness, but the reality is far more nuanced.