1. Natural and Human Dynamics affecting the Planet

The Earth could be seen as a living body that pulsates, has moving inner parts, releases heat, and is in constant evolution; its transformations can take place on the scale of just a few seconds or extend across millions of years. If we are to understand the planet, we must understand its processes, which include the evolution of life, mapping out mineral, petroleum, and water resources, oceanic and atmospheric circulation, the topography and paleogeography of the continents, the distribution of earthquakes, and the formation of soils. Fossils from some 3.8 billion years ago preserve information on much of the history of life on Earth and allow us to reconstruct past environments and environmental changes over time, including chemical changes, changes in sea levels, temperatures, and global carbon dioxide and oxygen levels. Important processes for understanding the accumulation of oil, gas, coal, and uranium and the generation of mineral deposits can be evaluated on different scales, yielding information about the planet’s internal and external dynamics. Also of interest are the ice ages, important markers of climate change. The most recent one marked the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, around 11,700 years ago. Today, a new division called the Anthropocene is being discussed, which would reflect when humans started interfering significantly in the space in which they live. Risk and environmental impact assessments and studies of the dynamics of water resources under pressure from climate, environmental, and socio-demographic changes could spawn new creative, sustainable solutions. Identifying transformations of the Earth could lead to the development of models and tools for addressing problems like renewable energy generation, energy transmission, large infrastructure projects (e.g., dams and offshore oil rigs), and the creation of new materials. Other subjects worthy of investigation include complex forms of human expression, such as artistic manifestations, including cave art, and language acquisition/learning processes.

1.1.History of the Dynamics of Life on Earth: paleoenvironment, climate change, and socio-environmental impacts: i) the mapping of past environmental changes and modern analogs; ii) the study of chemical changes and changes in sea levels, temperatures, and global oxygen and carbon dioxide levels; and iii) the mapping of natural disasters and implications for modern society.

1.2.Mineral, Petroleum, and Water Systems: geodynamics, commodities, and socio-economic significance: i) the application of geophysical methods, like reflection seismology and magnetotellurics, to the mapping of transcrustal structures; ii) the definition of criteria for multi-scale and multi-stage modeling using the features of a mineral system, generating future, economic, and social scenarios; iii) the study of the pre-salt petroleum system and the economic impacts for Brazil; iv) the application of high-resolution geophysical methods to the mapping of potential water systems in Brazil; and v) the classification of exploration blocks based on economic and exploration criteria.

1.3. Changes in Land Use and Natural Resource Usage: i) the development of models and technologies for environmental preservation and/or recovery, minimizing the impacts caused by human activity; and ii) studies designed to significantly improve the socioeconomic and environmental safety of large dams (for hydropower plants and mine tailings) and offshore rigs.

1.4. New Materials (rare metals, sources of raw materials): i) the development of new materials and technologies capable of improving the efficiency and diversification of the Brazilian energy mix, focusing on increasing the use of renewables, like solar and wind energy, and the intensive and safe use of pre-salt oil reserves; and ii) the search for sources of high-technology metals, which are essential for the development of new materials.

2. Inequality, Globalization, and their Effects on Contemporary Society

Globalization is a multidimensional phenomenon (covering economic, social, political, and cultural spheres) that is significantly changing the way individuals, institutions, businesses, and states are organized and interrelate, while also having great impacts on the Earth. Some of these transformations tend to reinforce and deepen existing inequalities or generate new forms of asymmetry. In this context, it is worth addressing inequality not only as an empirical problem, but primarily as an analytical key for understanding the transformations underway in the world, paying attention to current power relations in local and global contexts. On a national scale, reconfigurations can be observed within institutions (political parties, public entities, regulatory systems) and in attitudes and behaviors, with the development of new values and forms of mobilization and political participation. The crisis facing the welfare state is jeopardizing social welfare and altering social relations in the world of labor. There are also clear effects of the third industrial revolution, centered on information technology and telecommunications, labor relations and dynamics, and flows of information, people, and capital. Geopolitically speaking, the emergence of developing countries like the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and of social experiments and theories of a postcolonial bent have not just modified relations between nation-states, but have critically queried the evolutionary and Euro-centric narrative that justified colonialism in the past and is the basis for the economic, political, and cultural hegemony in the present. The increasing interdependence between nation-states has also spawned new supranational political institutions and governance arrangements designed to address risks and challenges of a global scale that far exceed the capacity of single states to resolve individually, such as climate change or mass migration.

2.1. Democracy, nation-states, and global governance: These topics stem from the major transformations seen since the twentieth century in the way individuals, institutions, businesses, and states are organized and interrelate, while also having great impacts on the Earth.

2.2. Inequality and transformations in the world of work, population flows, and social subjectivities: Expand on scientific knowledge concerning problems related to inequality and transformations in the world of work, population flows, and social subjectivities, in a bid to comprehend the transformations underway in the world, paying attention to the current power relations in local and global contexts. 

3. Life and Health in a Changing World

The speed and intensity of changes to the conditions of life on Earth have prompted increasing efforts to ensure health and wellbeing – goals humankind has pursued for centuries. Human healthcare is a challenge that, according to the World Health Organization, requires efficient, low-cost equipment and materials for disease prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. Although science has developed rapidly since the twentieth century, the speed of health technology transfer has not kept pace. This situation is more critical in countries with fewer resources for health care, which means that their populations are often denied access to adequate treatment. Brazil has serious exclusion-related problems, which call for the development of methods, materials, and equipment to meet growing demands for human-centered, dignified care. Diagnostic evaluations of problems related to health/disease phenomena in human populations are important, as is the identification of the factors that determine them, since they can serve to: ascertain the real scope of these problems; provide information needed for the adequate planning, execution, and evaluation of disease prevention, control, and treatment initiatives, and to set priorities; and to identify what factors cause certain illnesses (e.g., using modern technologies to understand the genetic and molecular mechanisms of pathogens). This information could feed into research efforts to develop new methods for the diagnostic evaluation, planning, execution, and evaluation of prevention, control, and treatment initiatives for established and emerging diseases. Furthermore, current life habits and recent technologies are turning serious diseases into chronic diseases, prolonging life expectancy, and creating as yet unstudied stages of treatment. Finally, it is a very challenging task to plan and implement programs, policies, legislation, and research in a unified manner, where professionals from different areas join forces to improve the results of public policies. In particular, if threats to health (e.g., outbreaks of zoonoses, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and food safety issues) are to be detected, adequately and efficiently addressed, and prevented, epidemiological and laboratory data must be shared across different sectors – government, academia, and specialists. Another challenge is the inversion of the age pyramid in Brazil, which calls for a greater understanding of the different factors related to the ageing process.

4. S&T for Development and Sustainability

The planet is undergoing extreme and rapid changes in environmental, climatic, and socio-demographic respects, calling for better understanding and management of biological, chemical, and geological processes. From an environmental perspective, there are hardly any natural systems that are free of human impacts. Alongside global warming, exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions and their serious consequences on the climate system, other environmental changes caused by humans include: changes to the physical environment and landscapes, such as the destruction of mountains or diversion of water courses for mineral exploitation; interference in biogeochemical cycles and the emission of persistent contaminants; and changes to biodiversity and ecosystem functions. In 2015, the United Nations proposed a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to which Brazil is a signatory, in a strategy designed to build a fairer, more sustainable world with new forms of development. The SDGs propose a global plan of action to put an end to poverty, promote prosperity and wellbeing for all, protect the environment, and tackle climate change. In many countries, universities are engaging in efforts to address the challenges of just and sustainable development, forming interdisciplinary teams doing research to support sustainable practices. The challenge of how to maintain and enhance the contributions of nature to people’s quality of life has spurred global efforts into the study of biodiversity and ecosystems. Sustainability-oriented biodiversity research is fundamental for Brazil. A model needs to be formulated that combines production, consumption, and conservation, giving due value to goods and services deriving from natural resources using novel technologies and knowledge. UnB could make inroads in two areas related to this theme: knowledge and sustainable use of Brazilian biodiversity, focusing particularly on the Cerrado (the most biodiverse savanna in the world) and its potential to provide new molecules, microbes, and nano/biotechnology products with applications in health (new pharmacological targets and therapeutic interventions), farming, the environment, energy, industry, etc.; and the development of models and technologies for ecological restoration/conservation, minimizing the impacts of human actions. Nature preservation/conservation actions should include traditional population groups in local and autonomous management processes.

4.1. Improvement of techniques for managing natural resources in an integrated and sustainable manner, including traditional population groups: improvement of techniques for managing natural resources in an integrated and sustainable manner, including traditional population groups. It is important for models and technologies to be created for ecological restoration and conservation, minimizing the impacts of human activity, including nature preservation/conservation actions that include traditional population groups in local and autonomous management.

4.2. Development of biotechnological methods and techniques that enable the creation of novel industrial processes: building a model that combines production, consumption, and environmental conservation, giving due value to goods and services deriving from natural resources.

4.3. Production of new knowledge about Cerrado biodiversity with a view to developing technologies to protect this biome from human impacts and climate change: consolidate and expand on scientific knowledge concerning the biodiversity of the Cerrado with a view to developing technologies to protect this biome from human impacts and climate change, joining international research efforts targeting biodiversity, and ensuring the maintained and enhanced contribution of nature to people’s quality of life.

4.4. Identification of new pharmacological targets and development of new forms of therapeutic intervention: identification of new pharmacological targets and development of new forms of therapeutic intervention, harnessing the potential of the Cerrado biome – the most biodiverse savanna in the world.

5. Diversity, Social Practices, and Affirmation of Rights

Transformations in the contemporary world have led to increased interaction between different societies and new forms of identity expression by segments of society and individuals, expanding the repertoire of socially demarcated differences (class, race, ethnicity, gender, generation, sexual orientation, etc.). While these interactions have had impacts on discriminatory behaviors and attitudes – including the superimposition or intersection of social identities and related systems of oppression and domination – they have also triggered the affirmation of rights, especially the right to difference. It is therefore relevant for analyses to be made of the reciprocal effects and interconnections between inequality and difference and the narratives, identity practices, argumentation practices, educational activities, and development practices in health and human rights conceived by social actors in this context. It is of particular interest to understand and produce effective responses to the challenges facing democratic coexistence and interaction in plural societies, based on such diverse fields of intervention and reflection as information science, education, literature, art, linguistics, anthropology, law, psychology, health sciences, and sociology. Focus should be put on experiences of positive interpersonal and socio-cultural interactions, bearing in mind everything they imply (as processes of individuation, emotional attachment, social bonding, communication, learning, convergence, new syntheses, and conflict resolution), without losing sight of the social, economic, political, and cultural dimensions and the contexts of inequality, asymmetry, and domination underpinning societies and relationships in contemporary times. The research in this theme is therefore geared towards producing results and effects that contribute to social and human development, respect for differences, intercultural dialog, power sharing, and the exercise of citizenship on a local and global scale.

5.1. Social and educational practices and the promotion of human development: social and educational practices, based on the observation that the transformations underway in the contemporary world have led to increased interactions amongst different societies and new forms of identity expression for social groupings and individuals, expanding the repertoire of socially demarcated differences (class, race, ethnicity, gender, generation, sexual orientation, etc.). The research will be geared towards producing results capable of contributing to social and human development, respect for differences, intercultural dialog, power sharing, and the exercise of citizenship on a local and global scale.

5.2. Valuing socio-cultural diversity and the affirmation of rights (including the right to difference and the right to culture): the importance of socio-cultural diversity and the affirmation of rights (including the right to difference and the right to culture). Recent interactions between different societies have triggered discriminatory behaviors and attitudes, producing new relations of oppression and domination, but they have also prompted debates about the affirmation of rights, especially the right to difference. The idea is to understand and produce effective responses to the challenges facing democratic coexistence and interaction in plural societies, based on such diverse areas as information science, education, literature, art, linguistics, anthropology, law, psychology, health sciences, and sociology. Experiences of socio-cultural and interpersonal interactions are integrated with social, economic, political, and cultural dimensions and the contexts of inequality, asymmetry, and domination underpinning societies and relationships in contemporary times. 

6. Contemporary Urban Issues: social dynamics, development, and innovation

Urban issues are a hot topic in the world today, which is so strongly marked by urbanization. It is a subject with specific dynamics and processes that impact directly on the development of cities and has everything to do with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which mention the importance of making cities and human settlements more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. The research in this theme covers technologies for the built environment, including new building materials and materials for urban and highway infrastructure, as well as urban mobility. From an environmental perspective, waste disposal, landfills, sewage and wastewater treatment, the use of water resources, energy, and environmental quality are all objects of study, as are environmental contaminants and the issue of health in urban settings. Numerical tools and models are also researched for the optimal design of structures and components used in the built environment and for simulating, modeling, and developing remediation processes for contaminated sites. Social dynamics in the urban setting are also studied from different perspectives – through the lenses of anthropology, sociology, and psychology. Quality of life in its broadest sense – involving social and person-environment interactions – is also addressed, as are issues relating to violence, suicide prevention, schools, urban rights, and urban art forms.

6.1. Environmental issues, technology, and sustainability: the focus is on the multiple facets of urban development, such as: technologies for the built environment, like new building materials and materials for urban and highway infrastructure; urban mobility; waste disposal; landfills and sewage and wastewater treatment; water resources; energy and environmental quality; and health management in urban settings.

6.2. Urban social dynamics: the approach of urban social dynamics from multiple viewpoints – anthropology, sociology, and psychology. The idea is to improve quality of life in cities in general, involving social and person-environment interactions, while also addressing issues relating to violence, suicide prevention, schools, urban rights, and urban art forms.