ARIA Information Session

Join Harvard Grid as we host the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), Headed up by Ilan Gur (CEO), ARIA is an R&D funding agency sponsored by the UK Government built to fund research at the edge of what is scientifically and technologically possible. Fundamentally, ARIA is built on the theory that people drive innovation. ARIA aims to empower scientists and engineers with the resources and flexibility to pursue world-changing breakthroughs.

Over the past year, ARIA has onboarded their first cohort of Programme Directors, who are tasked with designing and overseeing ‘programmes’ that advance complex, large-scale ideas that require coordinated investment and management across disciplines and institutions. We are delighted to welcome three of ARIA’s Programme Directors (Angie Burnett, Jacques Carolan and Suraj Bramhavar, more details below) to SEAS, to discuss their ‘opportunity spaces’ and give the Harvard community a chance to find out how to work with ARIA on their mission to activate the scientific community and unlock global R&D opportunities. ARIA will also launch a second call for Programme Directors in September, to support exceptional, mission-aligned people in S&T (Programme Director recruitment - Aria) and will talk more about their vision for the second cohort.

More details about ARIA can be found here: https://www.aria.org.uk/

All are encouraged and welcome. Pizza and snacks provided!

Attending Programme Directors:

• Angie Burnett, a plant biologist, focused on investigating the responses of crop plants to environmental stresses, such as drought and extreme temperature. Angie worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Brookhaven National Laboratory and a Consultant at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, before becoming a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge. Currently seeking feedback on Synthetic plants for a sustainable future programme.  
• Jacques Carolan, an applied physicist and neuroscientist and is a BBSRC Discovery Fellow at the UCL. Jacques’ work involves applying the principles of physics and engineering to create next-generation, scalable tools that aim to radically change our understanding of the brain and ultimately be used to repair it. ARIA Programme: Precision Neurotechnologies - Backed by £69m, this programme will unlock new methods to understand, identify, and treat neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders
• Suraj Bramhavar was co-founder and CTO of Sync Computing, a VC-backed startup optimising the use of modern cloud computing resources. The company was spun-out from his research at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Prior to that, Suraj worked at Intel Corp, helping transition silicon photonics technology from an R&D effort into a now >$1BN business. ARIA Programme: Scaling Compute - Backed by £42m, this programme will look to redefine our current compute paradigm

The Opportunities:

1. Granting from ARIA     
   1. smarter robotic bodies to improve human productivity: up to £0.5M
   2. safety or gatekeeper AI to unlock economic + social benefits of advanced AI: up to £0.5M
   3. synthetic plants (chromosomes and chloroplasts) to enable more productive, resilient and sustainable crops: £TBA
   4. precision neural interfaces treat neuro and neuro-psych disorders: up to £4.0M
   5. AI and compute at 1/1000th the cost: £TBA

    

2. Hiring ‘Programme Directors’ to identify, design, and manage funding programs in big and important research spaces.

You are:

• intrinsically motivated to have an outsized impact on the world and solve a big, meaningful problem
• deeply technical in at least one field, and open to exploring others
• have experience of taking a scientific/technical vision from idea to execution – that might look like building your own start-up, or running your own research lab
• comfortable with uncertainty and thrive in highly dynamic, high-stakes situations
• have a high level of belief and conviction in your own ideas, whilst remaining highly collaborative and receptive to feedback

FUTURE COMMUNICATIONS

Please note: By registering, you agree to receive emails about this event and future communications from the Harvard Grid AND the Advanced Research and Invention Agency. 

ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

The Harvard Grid welcomes attendees of all abilities to our events. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about physical access, please contact grid@harvard.edu in advance of the event.