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Energy

Interdisciplinary Research Centre
 
  • 19Mar

    Cambridge Zero and Cambridge University Press & Assessment are holding a half-day event to discuss educational routes into engineering for a sustainable and climate-secure future. Discussion will focus on: 1) academic pathways into engineering and; 2) ensuring that students develop the key knowledge, skills, competencies and interest in subjects relating to engineering and design. 

    We would like to invite you to apply to contribute and present a poster focused on your work or research. This should have relevance to climate and/or sustainability and current or future engineering challenges. The aim is to inspire and inform attendees around what could be taught and examined for 5-19 year olds, and effective teaching methods for this. 

    Deadline for submissions: Monday, 11 March, midday
    Event date: 19 March, 2024 
    Timings:  11.15-11.30 - Poster session set-up
                    11.45-12.45 - Early Career Researcher poster session and informal lunch 
                    13.00-17.00 - Engineering and Climate Convocation event 
    Notification of successful applicants: 13 March, midday

  • 20Mar

    Department of Engineering, Trumpington Street, CB2 1PZ

    Ever wondered how your phone changes brightness in the sunshine? Or how streetlamps turn on at night? Well, they are both controlled by sensors.

    In this activity, you will design and innovate to solve real-world challenges using environment monitoring sensors. You’ll be able to use one of our specifically created ‘recipe’ cards to construct your own circuit. Or if you already know your displays from your diodes, you can design your own smart power-saving device by choosing from our selection of components.

    Tech innovation is great for making our homes, schools and workplaces more comfortable and greener, by reducing energy use. Tech innovations and sensor technologies are a crucial ingredient for sustainable development and creating better futures for us and our communities.

    At the global scale, they are used in early warning systems to predict natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. At the other end of the scale, they are found in wearable health electronics, like smartwatches and continuous glucose monitors, which allow us to monitor our health in real-time and make informed decisions for our wellbeing.

    Importantly, as engineers, we have a crucial part to play in creating a sustainable future. The processes involved at the end of a device’s life are just as important as those at the beginning, so we need to take the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations into consideration. Not only so we can dispose of items in an ethical way, but also because they can inform us how to choose the most sustainable options in the design process.

    By harnessing the power of innovation, we can address pressing global challenges, protect our planet, and improve the quality of life for current and future generations.

    Charging Up for Change is a collaboration between the Department of Engineering and Churchill College, Cambridge.

  • 22Mar

    Abstract:

    Deep decarbonization and rapid electrification of energy will require greater penetration of renewables of energy supply, and electrification of energy demand. As renewables penetration crosses 10-20% of the grid electricity demand (and other supply sources correspondingly adjust), the intermittency and volatility of renewable supply & new electrified demand will increasingly dominate the market. Renewable supply and grid electricity demand need to be matched through a combination of multiple markets, energy storage, and an orchestrated portfolio of flexible resources. The future of renewables will fundamentally be driven by software and AI on the cloud to manage this transition. This talk will unwrap the various challenges and opportunities around this transition. We will also cover examples of the application of multi-modal Generative AI for advanced remote operations, health & safety, and multi-lingual knowledge access in the context of problem-solving in field operations.

    Join on Zoom.

    Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman's Bio: Shiv is CTO, Energy Industry, Asia at Microsoft. Previously he was Executive General Manager of Growth Offerings at GE Power Conversion responsible for a new Line of Business development in e-Mobility, Commercial & Industrial Solar, and digital/AI innovations. Earlier he was at IBM Research - India, and the Chief Scientist of IBM Research - Australia. Before IBM, he was a tenured Full Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, USA. Shiv has degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (B.Tech, CS), Ohio State University (MS, PhD) and RPI (Executive MBA). Shiv is a Distinguished Alumnus Awardee of IIT Madras (2021, recognizing 0.3% of IITM's alumni over the years) & Ohio State University (2021), Fellow of the IEEE (2010), Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering (2015), ACM Distinguished Scientist (2010), MIT Technology Review TR100 young innovator (1999). 

     

    Dr. Srinivasan Iyengar's Bio: Srinivasan Iyengar is a Senior Program Manager at Microsoft's Energy Industry Asia Team. Previously he was a Post-doc Researcher at Microsoft Research India Lab. He completed his master's and doctoral studies in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Before that, he worked as a researcher at TCS India Innovation Labs. His interests are in energy systems, distributed systems, sensing, IoT, cloud, and edge computing.

     

  • 23Mar

    Drive a nuclear reactor: Simulate driving a nuclear reactor controlled using buttons and screens to understand powering a nuclear reactor.
    Discover about radiation of household objects: Lazy Susan wheel integrated with radio transmitting sources and detector to demonstrate household items and their relative radioactivity.
    See a star in a jar: Demonstration IEC fusor electrostatic confinement demonstrating plasma physics phenomena.
    Uncover the source of your home’s power: Screen demonstrating grid watch which shows the current energy mix of the UK as well as the use of grains of rice to illustrate energy density.

  • 23Mar

    Come along to see how technology allows us, by generating energy, to overcome ‘gravity’ – children will be able to make their own LED torches to take away! Also, find out how energy is stored to allow a model train or cars to move for a given time, and watch how plasma generates light.