The future is uncertain. It always has been; however, through a number of chance discoveries and scientific breakthroughs, that uncertain future has appeared bright. New technologies, such as petroleum and electricity, have dramatically increased our standards of living and ensured that we have lights in our homes and food on our plates.
But, eventually, our luck will run out. Fossil fuels are finite. A quickly growing population threatens limited food supplies. Carbon emissions contribute to global warming, which jeopardizes global biodiversity. In other words, we’re living on borrowed time and our bright future has dimmed.
Fear, they say, is a powerful motivator. In elementary school, I remember scientists coming into our room to talk about global warming and the problems it poses to us in the future. In middle school, I read articles saying that the end is nigh, and that we are in the sixth extinction event. The gravity of the situation never really sunk in until high school, when I began to do my own research.
In Sophomore year, I tried to tackle the question of alternative energies. I turned to biofuels as a potential solution. As part of a project for AP Biology and the science fair, I tested the effects of electricity on algae growth with two other classmates. We believed that by adding a slight electrical current to a bioreactor, we could increase the rate of reaction in cyclic electron transport during photosynthesis. The data was insufficient to make a conclusion, but it made me realize that in order to solve the world’s environmental issues, there needs to be much more work done in order to make progress.
The year after, I decided to tackle another issue– something that directly affects our daily lives, like public transportation and carbon emissions. Rather than take a physical or engineering standpoint on this issue, I used my biology background and the concept of energy homeostasis. Living organisms constantly attempt to balance their energy input and output in the most efficient way– so why can’t we do that with transportation and fuel? As it turns out, we already do. In my tests, I found that physarum polycephalum, a slime mold, recreated the layout of current highways and rail systems almost exactly.
During those six months of testing, while my room was littered with petri dishes and yellow webs of slime mold, I came to another realization. Our solutions to these global issues require collaboration and open-minds. Innovation comes from intersection; in my case, the intersection of biology and civil engineering. As a whole, scientists, whether they specialize in chemistry, physics, biology, geology, or any other science, must cooperate in order to succeed. New perspectives are our key to survival.
In Cornell’s case, these intersections are between food, environmental, social, and life sciences. At the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the focus is not on one of these fields. Rather, the focus is on resilience and effecting change in the world. That is our best bet in changing our future for the better; our education must be broad in order to see the connections that exist between life and society.
The world’s problems are not limited to one discipline. In the end, my academic goal is to ensure that future generations have food, water, and a place to live at the same, if not better, quality than today. Individual and public health, no matter the location, is the utmost goal. From Philippines to the United States, people now and later deserve their most basic needs.
Cornell and its College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is the place where I can achieve that goal. With the experience and education I will receive there, I can enter the world, ready to face that dimming future.
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