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Energy

Interdisciplinary Research Centre
 
  • 30Jun

    Postgraduate Research Symposium for African Scholars

    Cambridge-Africa and the African Society of Cambridge University invite African postgraduate students at Cambridge to showcase their research, social enterprises, and creative talents at the Postgraduate Research Symposium for African Scholars. This event provides a platform to share groundbreaking ideas, celebrate achievements, and foster collaboration among African scholars.

    Submission Categories:

    • Research Talks – For postgraduate students in the final stages of their research, presenting results in a 15-minute talk followed by a 5-minute Q&A.
    • Flash Talks – A 3-minute presentation for those in the earlier stages of their research, offering a snapshot of their work.
    • Social Enterprise Presentations – Showcase initiatives making an impact in African communities.
    • Creative Performances – Share artistic talents (music, poetry, dance, etc.).

    Eligibility:

    • Must be a postgraduate student at Cambridge.
    • Research/work should preferably be Africa-focused.
    • PhD researchers are strongly encouraged to apply.

    Submission Deadline: 4th April 2025

    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdzdyJxtf8DmHRqLDHjBC_Z68o7cqfv....

  • 01Jul

    The Cambridge Particle Meeting was founded in 1998 by Prof Nick Collings of the University of Cambridge's Department of Engineering. Since then the meeting has grown to attract researchers in a wide range of aerosol and particle disciplines from around the world, led by Prof Adam Boies (2014-2024) and Prof Simone Hochgreb (2025-).

    Held in the Department of Engineering in Cambridge, UK, the conference is open to all and is free to attend, with a networking event following the one-day meeting.

    Accommodation can be arranged in one of the University's constituent colleges, and details will follow.

    The conference is sponsored by Cambustion, enabling it to remain free of charge for delegates.

    Further Information

    For more information about the next conference, see the 2025 page.

     

  • 03Jul

    Speaker: Jason Furtney, Itasca International

     

    In this talk I hope to show how I applied what I learned at the IEEF in my career as a consulting engineer. Of particular utility to me has been the idea of breaking a complex engineering problem into small tractable pieces. I am obliged to briefly introduce my company, Itasca International, and the type of work we do. I will show three examples: Potash is a water soluble rock made of potassium salts, it is economically important because its use as a fertilizer. In North America, potash is solution mined by circulating water that dissolves the rock. This is a rich problem that involves chemistry, fluid flow, heat transfer, and geomechanics.

    I will demonstrate some models that are used to help design solution mines, forecast production, and diagnose operational problems. Explosives are an inexpensive means to break and move rock for civil purposes like tunneling, road cut development, and open pit mine excavation. Rock blasting is a complex set of processes that span several orders of magnitude in time-scale, length-scale, and stress magnitude. I will describe some simple mathematical and numerical models that have helped understand blasting. Onshore wind energy is rapidly growing in the United States, partially as a consequence of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. During construction, the world’s largest mobile cranes are used to lift the nacelle and blades of turbines. There have been several high profile cases of these large cranes tipping over and being destroyed during construction. It is 2025, so every talk has to have something about machine learning now: I will describe the technical problem of soil bearing capacity failure and show how machine learning, via the concept of a surrogate model, has helped make wind turbine installation faster, safer, and less expensive.

    Bio: Jason Furtney was a student at the IEEF from 2002 to 2006 after studying Geology at Edinburgh University. Since leaving the institute, Jason has been working as a consulting engineer for Itasca International, a geomechanics consulting and software company in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

  • 09Jul

    The upcoming "6G Anarchy in the UK" event promises to be a critical forum for navigating the complex landscape of future communication networks. With 6G often heralded as the solution to all connectivity challenges, a growing awareness of its potential limitations, as evidenced by early 3GPP standards work, casts a shadow of realism. The UK's ambitious 6G strategy, emphasising universal availability, security, resilience, trust, open networking, and spectrum sharing, faces the challenge of aligning with the evolving technical realities of 6G. Furthermore, the UK's aspiration to strengthen its position within the global 6G supply chain confronts the inherent barriers to entry within the established 3GPP ecosystem. This event will serve as a platform to address these discrepancies and chart a course for the UK's communication future.

    Central to the "6G Anarchy" discussions will be the recognition that 3GPP-defined 6G, while essential, will not be a singular solution. The event will explore the necessity of a multi-faceted approach, integrating a diverse range of technologies, including Wi-Fi, IoT networks, and advanced wired solutions, to fully meet the UK's communication needs. The concept of a "network of networks," facilitating seamless interoperability between disparate systems, will be a key focus. Participants will delve into strategies for identifying and leveraging technology niches that align with the UK's unique capabilities and requirements. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of open networking principles and dynamic spectrum sharing, enabling the creation of a flexible and adaptable communication infrastructure.

    Ultimately, the event aims to foster a pragmatic and collaborative approach to shaping the UK's 6G future. Recognizing that 3GPP-defined 6G will be a crucial piece of the puzzle, the discussions will centre on how to maximize its potential while acknowledging its limitations. The "6G Anarchy" event will strive to develop strategies for integrating 6G with complementary technologies, ensuring that the UK can achieve its strategic communication goals. By embracing innovation in network orchestration and management, the UK can create a robust and resilient communication ecosystem, positioning itself as a leader in the 6G era. How do we migrate successfully when the standards don’t describe the migration paths due to their simplification.

    We will explore how the UK can leverage international experiences in 6G development to avoid pitfalls and accelerate progress? What strategies will ensure that UK-driven technologies are competitive and relevant in the global market? How can we leverage investment in UK semiconductors to enable a new generation of resilient and energy efficient RF analogue frontend transceivers, essential to meet net zero goals, protect critical services against malicious or unintentional interruptions and as a key enabler for innovative spectrum access.

    Register now: https://www.cambridgewireless.co.uk/event-calendar/conferences/cw-tec.html

    The event programme will cover:

    • What does the UK need from comms in the next decade / 6G era?
      What are the UK’s requirements advanced connectivity in the next decade, as both a society and economy dependent on connectivity networks and as an aspirational supply-side player?
    • What will 6G give us?
      How are the emerging 3GPP standards measuring up to the early aspirations and UK requirements?
    • What other standards/technologies might help?
      Beyond the 3GPP world what other developments might meet the UK’s needs and provide market entry opportunities, whether NTN , Wi-Fi, or other technologies?
    • How do we stitch it all together to meet our needs?
      Given the diverse technology landscape, how can the UK adopt a network-of-networks approach to ensure the best of all worlds without building in excessive complexity? And how do we get there from today’s networks?
  • 10Jul

    We are pleased to announce that the RGS Energy Geography Research Group will be hosting a one-day online conference on 10 July 2025 for postgraduate researchers and early career researchers (ECRs)

     

    A Just Energy Transition aims to achieve a low-carbon economy, promote sustainability and address social and environmental challenges (Inogen Alliance, n.d.). Its ultimate goal, therefore, is to create a more equitable and inclusive society. In the fields of energy, environmental, and climate justice, the concept of a just transition has been widely debated (Heffron & McCauley, 2018 ). While just transitions have the potential to play a crucial role in enabling energy democracy (Healy & Barry, 2017; Vachon & Sweeney, 2018). The adoption of green and renewable technologies without addressing broader social and economic issues could exacerbate global inequality, leading to a "divided, poverty-stricken, conflictual, and socially unsustainable low-carbon world" marked by resource conflicts (Swilling & Annecke, 2012, p. xix). This one-day online conference will provide postgraduate researchers and ECRs with an opportunity to showcase their work on justice in the field of energy scholarship. Our aim is to foster dialogue on new and emerging methodologies, concepts and trajectories in the study of justice and Energy Geographies.
     

    Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQ1_A38VleH2_0G0wY49HaL1Zp0Jv-...

    Contributions may focus on the following topics (although they need not be limited to
    these):
    ● Role of governance in just energy transition
    ● Energy Justice for All
    ● Technology & policy innovation in a just energy transition
    ● Just and inclusive energy futures
    ● Equitable energy access

    The deadline for abstract submission is: Tuesday, 10 June 2025