Latest Events

Applications are open for a 10-week summer program The Architecture of Green Energy Systems at the Institute For Mathematical and Statistical Innovation (IMSI) in the University of Chicago. The program, co-convened by CEENRG Director Professor Laura Diaz Anadon, is aimed at early career researchers, including PhD students, postdocs, and early career faculty members. This is a trans-disciplinary program aimed at understanding the technological, social and economic challenges of transitioning to systems that generate, deliver and consume 100% renewable energy, with a view to creating an effective physical and institutional “architecture” for this transition. Participants in the program are drawn from engineering, social sciences, economics and the mathematical sciences.

The 10-week long program runs from 17 June until 23 August, 2024, and is accompanied by two kick-off and closing workshops: The Architecture of Green Energy Systems: The Underlying Problem and Its Challenges (17-21 June 2024) and The Architecture of Green Energy Systems: Next Steps (19-21 August 2024).

Find out more about the program and apply here: The Architecture of Green Energy Systems

The 2024 Armourers and Brasiers' Cambridge Forum will be held on Tuesday 18th June 2024. The afternoon programme includes talks, the award of the Armourers & Brasiers’ Materials Science Venture Prize, displays of current research, and the 25th Kelly Lecture.

Promoting Materials Science to Industry and Academia

The Armourers and Brasiers' Cambridge Forum is held annually at the Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy in Cambridge with the aim of raising the profile of materials science in the UK academic and industrial communities, while being international in scope. The Forum attracts high-level involvement from industry, research councils and other influential bodies. It incorporates the Kelly Lecture and the Gordon Seminars, inaugurated in 1999 to mark the opening of the Gordon Laboratory in the Department. It is generously supported by the Armourers and Brasiers' Livery Company and a number of other sponsors.

Our Annual Conference brings together an audience of policy professionals, academic experts and business leaders for a day of talks and presentations, and to share and discuss issues and ideas on a range of topics from innovation and economic growth to climate and sustainability. Speakers from government, academia, and industry will present examples of how we are working together to address new and emerging policy challenges.

Networking sessions

In addition to keynote talks and panel discussions, this year our conference will provide a forum for attendees to participate in small group discussions on topics of particular interest led by academics and policy professionals in our network. Sessions will also provide an opportunity for tech companies and university researchers to showcase their work and its benefits to public policy.

Register: https://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/events/2024-csap-annual-conference

Programme

Morning sessions (10am-1pm)

Future of science and technology in the UK (10:15-11:00)

• Andrew Griffith MP, Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation
• Chair: Hetan Shah, Chief Executive, British Academy

Break (11:15-11:45)

Parallel seminars (11:45-13:00)

1. Envisaging a quantum future

• Steve Brierley, CEO, Riverlane
• Helena Knowles, Assistant Professor, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge
• Chair: Hayaatun Sillem, CEO, Royal Academy of Engineering

2. Rebuilding nature - making it happen

• Stephen Elderkin, Director of Environmental Sustainability, National Highways
• Rachel Fisher, Deputy Director, Land Use Policy, Defra
• Emma Ward, Director General for Roads and Local Transport, Department for Transport
• Dr Silviu Petrovan, Senior Researcher, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge
• Chair: Fiona Reynolds, Deputy Chair of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission; Chair of Governors at the Royal Agricultural University

3. Retrofitting to decarbonise housing

• Ronita Bardhan, Associate Professor of Sustainability in the Built Environment, Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge
• Shaun Fitzgerald, Director, Centre for Climate Repair, University of Cambridge
• Chair: Becci Taylor, Director and Retrofit at Scale Business Leader, Arup

Lunch, networking, and themed discussions (1pm-3pm)

Afternoon sessions (3pm-5:45pm)

Parallel seminars (15:00-16:15)

1. AI in education

• Jenny Gibson, Professor of Developmental Psychology, University of Cambridge; and Chief Scientist, Nesta
• Kevin Martin, Managing Director, Digital Education Futures Initiative (DEFI), University of Cambridge
• Chair: Anna Vignoles, Director, Leverhulme Trust

2. Net Zero

• Niva Thiruchelvam, Executive, Hakluyt
• Anna Valero, Director, Growth Programme, LSE Centre for Economic Performance
• Dimitri Zenghelis, Senior Associate, Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge
• Chair: Nick Godfrey, Senior Adviser, Grantham Research Institute, LSE

3. Regional economic and social development

• Professor Andrew Westwood, Professor of Government Practice, University of Manchester
• Owen Garling, Knowledge Transfer Facilitator, Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge
• Professor Louise Kempton, Director, Insights North East
• Chair: Nicola Buckley, Director Fellowships and Networks, Centre for Science and Policy

Panel discussion on the future of science and technology in the UK (16:30-17:45)

• Chi Onwurah, Shadow Minister Science, Research & Innovation
• Chair: Hetan Shah, Chief Executive, British Academy

Networking drinks reception (5:45pm-7:30pm)

For further information, please email: annualconference2024@csap.cam.ac.uk

On behalf of the organising committee, we invite you to the Warwick Battery Days (WBD) Workshop, scheduled to take place at the University of Warwick (UK), between 20-21 June 2024. 

WBD 2024 will be the first of the annual workshop series that is co-organised by the Warwick Chemistry and Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG). WBD 2024 will bring together leading experts from the experimental and computational battery research community as well as the from the industry, aiming to facilitate discussions on the current state-of-the-art in the field and the future directions based on industrial and societal needs. We expect the conference to attract around 100 participants.

For more details, please visit our website [WBD 2024].

WBD 2024 will cover an array of scientific topics, including (but not limited to):

• Multi-scale Modelling of Battery Materials and Systems
  • Materials discovery through crystal structure predictions

• • Atomistic modelling of chemistry at the surfaces and interfaces
  • Machine-learning applications in  battery modelling
  • Continuum and larger-scale modelling
• Experimental characterisation of Battery Materials and Systems
  • Electrochemical performance, structure-property relations, microstructures, surface/interface morphologies, and alike.
• Role of Additives and Coatings in Enhancing Battery Performance
  • Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) and CVD in Battery Applications
• Industrial Perspectives on Scaling up Next-gen Battery Systems and related applications

13:00 – 13:40

Welcome and opening address from Dr Sally Pidgeon, Head of Environmental Sustainability, highlighting the University’s environmental sustainability successes within our Annual Environmental Sustainability Report.

Recognising our Green Impact Teams and Excellence through award presentations.

13:40 – 14:30

Presentations from:

Dr Belinda Bell, Co-Director of Finance for Environmental and Social Systemic Change, will discuss an ongoing project, led by Cambridge, in which over 65 UK Higher Education Institutions have collaborated on a new effort to create a market for cash products that do not contribute to the financing of fossil fuel expansion.

The University’s Climate Challenge led by Beth Simpson, Student Engagement Coordinator, Cambridge Zero. The Climate Challenge gives postgraduate students the opportunity to collaborate across disciplines to explore early stage, innovative solutions to climate change. Here, our two runner-up teams from the 2024 competition discuss their proposals and their experience on the programme. The Climate Challenge is led by Cambridge Zero in partnership with Carbon13, Cambridge Enterprise, CISL Canopy, the Maxwell Centre and Energy IRC, with sponsorship from Moda Living.  Introducing Postgraduate students Guillaume Bigot, MPhil in Technology and Jerrell Ong, MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development, who will be presenting on Terracotta Cooling is an early-stage climate pitch for a sustainable data centre cooling solution in equatorial climates to significantly reduce the emissions impact and resource use of capital-intensive technology ill-suited for local contexts.

Stewart Bethell, Transport Coordinator, Environmental Sustainability Team, showcasing Modeshift Stars transport platform.

14:30 – 16:00

Origin 8 will be providing refreshments and nibbles providing the opportunity for all staff and students engaged in sustainability University-wide to network and socialise. 

There will be the opportunity to have professional photographs taken.  

Short biodiversity focused walks will be on offer to explore the ecology at Eddington.

Click here for travel and accessibility information.

Get tickets here (access code 2024).