Brains, Bites & Bots

Food is a major part of culture, employment and health! But, in parallel, it is found to be an equally large part of global pollution, non-communicable diseases and inequalities. Using green processing and sustainability mapping in collaborate with food-system actors and consumers, we evaluate how side-streams of potatoes, oilseeds and pelagic fish value chains can further develop. Aiming to make more food from the same fields and the same fish stocks.

What if behaviors we label as 'risk' are actually the brain's best survival strategy? The brain constantly builds predictions about safety, belonging, and opportunity. For young people growing up in unstable environments, behaviors like aggression, substance use, or criminal involvment can emerge from survival-based internal models of the world. This talk explores how neuroscience can help us understand youth risk behavior differently and design service responses that support adaptive capacity.

Although they are usually invisible, control systems are everywhere around us. From our thermostats and washing machines, to the ships and planes we use for transport, feedback loops help us automate decisions. In this talk, I will present the basics of the "think" part in the "sense-think-act" loop, making such automation possible. Through several examples from both current research and our daily lives, I hope to provide a better understanding of the amazing technology we regularly use.