World Solve

Design legal and social systems for relocating communities exposed to erosion, flooding, drought, or sea-level rise while preserving rights, livelihoods, and identity.

Create reliable hybrid energy systems for isolated sites with high, variable loads where diesel remains entrenched because outages are extremely costly.

Current approaches to pathways for achieving high levels of circularity in the plastics and packaging sectors either underperform under variable field conditions or generate externalities that undermine long-term sustainability and equity. Closing the gap requires coordinated advances in science, systems design and enabling institutions.

Flash floods in Australia frequently strike with too little warning for effective evacuation, because rainfall and river-level monitoring networks remain too sparse to model localized risk accurately.

Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for passive cooling and ventilation systems for informal settlement housing are still lacking. Progress is hindered by incomplete mechanistic knowledge, high capital and operational barriers, and the absence of deployment models suited to the contexts of greatest need.

A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for real-time systems for detecting and responding to the illegal trade in timber and forest products. Scientific understanding, engineering readiness and institutional capacity remain insufficient to translate promising concepts into durable impact under real-world constraints of cost, skills and governance.

The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for autonomous microgravity assembly of large habitats and infrastructure creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.

Current approaches to higher-order assessments valid under unrestricted AI tool access either underperform under variable field conditions or generate externalities that undermine long-term sustainability and equity. Closing the gap requires coordinated advances in science, systems design and enabling institutions.

Rural schools in Papua New Guinea face chronic teacher shortages because incentive structures rarely offset the professional isolation and reduced amenities of remote postings.

The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for governance models for ensuring the safety of advanced autonomous weapons systems creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.

A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for technologies for the continuous monitoring and verification of methane emissions from multiple sectors. Scientific understanding, engineering readiness and institutional capacity remain insufficient to translate promising concepts into durable impact under real-world constraints of cost, skills and governance.

The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for psychological first-aid and mental health systems scalable after mass trauma creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.

Millions of households in Fiji rely on borewells with naturally occurring fluoride or arsenic above safe thresholds, and current filtration technology is too costly or maintenance-intensive for rural deployment.

The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for technologies enabling safe long-duration human presence beyond low Earth orbit creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.

Achieving self-sensing concrete reporting stress chloride and remaining life at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.

The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for biotechnologies for producing high-performance materials from renewable feedstocks creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.

Current approaches to governance models for ensuring the ethical development of advanced human-machine interfaces either underperform under variable field conditions or generate externalities that undermine long-term sustainability and equity. Closing the gap requires coordinated advances in science, systems design and enabling institutions.

Current approaches to methods for restoring the ecological function of coral reefs under ongoing climate change either underperform under variable field conditions or generate externalities that undermine long-term sustainability and equity. Closing the gap requires coordinated advances in science, systems design and enabling institutions.

Public transit systems in Australia largely lack infrastructure accommodating wheelchair users and other mobility-impaired riders, effectively excluding them from affordable transportation.

Current approaches to low-cost continuous metabolic monitors for resource-limited diabetes care either underperform under variable field conditions or generate externalities that undermine long-term sustainability and equity. Closing the gap requires coordinated advances in science, systems design and enabling institutions.