University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Shanan Peters says the only way we can have any hope of determining what the future holds is by questioning past changes that have taken place on Earth.
Peters is a paleobiologist who looks at long-term evolutionary systems. He focuses on a few different areas, primarily compiling large data sets that inform us about the history of life and environment.
“I like being able to convey my excitement for how the world works to people that haven’t thought about it before,” Peters said.
He has traveled to Egypt, India, China and parts of Europe during his career doing fieldwork and geologic research.
Peters said his main interest is in compiling the data sets we can use to test hypotheses about the evolution of Earth and life.
This month, Peter will start work on a project called GeoDeepDive, a collaborative project he is working on with other researchers he thinks could change the way people and researchers use science in their everyday lives.
GeoDeepDive will use “machine learning approaches” and “cognitive computing” to generate scientific information. The system will be able to read and extract large amounts of information from multiple databases and compile the material. GeoDeepDive uses the same computer approach IBM used for Watson, the computer that won Jeopardy playing against a human.
For example, when typing a search into Google, several thousands, if not millions of results will return. This program will pull all the necessary information you are looking for from each of those individual sites into one page to use.
“We’re hoping to bring in a world where your ability to address a question is not limited by your ability to get the data you need, but by your ability to think of the right question, and let the computer do the work of pulling all the information together,” he said.
Peters said he is eager to someday live in a world where we are not limited by our ability to spend time looking for the material we need to do research.
He is also working on an iPhone application that will allow people to learn about rocks that catch their interest while traveling or sightseeing.
Peters added his work is meaningful because it is relevant for anyone who is interested in the future of technology and our world itself.
“If you drive a car, or get in a plane or turn on the television or you have a computer that’s why you should care about this stuff. “
