The Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) gained attention with its £57 million funding commitment towards high-risk, high-reward research, especially in contentious climate cooling methods. Jamie Durrani spoke with Mark Symes, an electrochemist overseeing the geoengineering initiative at Aria, to explore the agency’s vision and activities.
**Motivation and Role at Aria:**
Mark Symes was attracted to Aria due to the chance for innovation beyond traditional academia. The agency grants programme directors significant freedom to chase transformative societal initiatives. In contrast to UKRI, Aria endorses R&D across various disciplines, including social sciences, concentrating on concepts that are deemed too risky for conventional funding.
**Unique Approach:**
Aria is dedicated to financing innovative projects that are unlikely to secure support from other sources. Proposals must possess the potential for transformation, interdisciplinary relevance, or radical forward-thinking. The agency’s willingness to accept higher risks distinguishes it in the funding arena.
**Programme Director Duties:**
Symes’s responsibilities include extensive networking and adapting discussions as the programme evolves—from gaining insights into the field to establishing funding strategies and success metrics, in collaboration with experts from academia, social sciences, and policy.
**Focus on Climate Engineering:**
Initially contemplating self-actuating polymers, Symes pivoted to climate engineering, acknowledging climate change as a pressing challenge. The risks associated with missing Paris targets ignited his interest in feasible interventions.
**Criticism and Selection Rationale:**
The climate cooling initiatives, particularly outdoor trials, encountered criticism. Aria finances thorough research, which encompasses modeling, monitoring, and ethical considerations, to responsibly evaluate the viability of climate interventions. While outdoor data collection is contentious, it is intended to enhance transparent scientific decision-making, despite apprehensions about potentially signaling inadequate mitigation efforts.
**Chemist’s Perspective:**
Symes’s background in chemistry shaped the endorsement of outdoor experiments, highlighting the need for empirical data to enhance models and improve the understanding of climate interventions. This chemistry-focused approach is fundamental to the programme’s strategy for obtaining essential evidence within regulated conditions.
This interview has been condensed for brevity and clarity.