Wadham Alumna's COP28 Prize included in Oxford History of Science Museum

During her doctoral research (Engineering Science, 2020), Wadham student Maral Bayaraa attended COP28 in Dubai and won a prestigious prize. For her work on a satellite-based early warning system for prevention of mining waste disasters, she was granted an award for best Data Science and AI solution from Prototypes for Humanity and the Dubai Future Foundation.

Now, a couple years on, and with her doctorate complete, the Prototypes for Humanity Award has led to a further honour. Oxford’s History of Science Museum has included the COP28 certificate in their collection, curated by Dr. Tina Eyre. To accompany the certificate, Maral was also invited to contribute a holographic artwork that represents her research:

Maral explains, “At first glance the holograph appears as a shifting sheet of light, with greens and reds gliding across the surface. But look a little longer and the shapes reveal themselves: the outline of a remote dam hosting the mine waste that powers modern civilisation. The green represents safety and balance. Then, almost imperceptibly, a bloom of red begins to grow, a warning of an imminent danger predicted by the deep learning algorithms trained on satellite InSAR data.”

Commenting on this fusion of artistic expression with scientific achievement, Maral shared, “I have always loved culture, its many forms, its endless expressions, and I hold firmly to the belief that science must walk beside music, history and the arts. Without them, our work grows thin, brittle and empty.”

After the ceremony that officially admitted the certificate to the museum’s collection, reverence for the arts continued into the drinks reception hosted at Wadham. Originally from Mongolia, Maral’s heritage was honoured by the playing of the morin khuur, a traditional Mongolian bowed string instrument often present to mark beginnings and important moments.

Writing after the event, Maral shared about the transporting experience of hearing “its tune rising like wind over the steppe grasslands, its rhythm steady, its song carrying the vastness of Mongolia into the cloisters.”

Despite working with cutting-edge technology as part of her satellite-based early warning system, Maral sees ancient traditions as essential for keeping humanity rooted; “These old practices feel ever more essential today. They remind us that though we build artificial intelligence and send satellites into space, these tools remain tools, extensions of our will. They must serve what is good and life-giving, or they will drift into meaninglessness.”

“Perhaps this is why I am drawn so often to museums,” Maral adds. “They feel, in a way, like the modern temples: places where history, art and science come together.”

With such appreciation for the cultural significance of museums, it’s no surprise that Maral expressed feeling humbled by the inclusion of her COP28 certificate in the Oxford’s History of Science Museum and took joy in bringing together and thanking all the people and institutions who made her research possible, including:

“Wadham College, for your generous support, for being a true home in Oxford and for hosting the reception celebrating the museum donation. The 1851 Royal Commission, whose Industrial Fellowship made my PhD possible. Prototypes for Humanity and the Dubai Future Foundation, for recognising my work on the COP28 stage. The curators of the Oxford History of Science Museum, for this honour and for giving me the chance to unite art and science in holographic form.

“And the Mongolian Embassy in the UK, His Excellency Ambassador Enkhsukh, the diplomatic teams, the Mongolian community, my supervisors, advisors and mentors, my friends and family, thank you.”