News

Professor John Orr – 2022 Philip Leverhulme Prize winner

Professor John Orr has been announced a winner of the 2022 Philip Leverhulme Prize, securing £100,000 to advance his research in the field of construction and structural engineering. Professor Orr will specifically use the prize money to continue his work on reducing whole life embodied carbon of built assets in support of...

University of Cambridge academics elected as new RAEng Fellows

At its AGM on 20 September 2022 the Royal Academy of Engineering elected 72 leading figures in the field of engineering and technology to its Fellowship. Three University of Cambridge academics joined the Royal Academy of Engineering as Fellows. Congratulations to: Professor Manish Chhowalla, Department of Material Science...

Why COP27 matters

Prof Emily Shuckburgh, Director of Cambridge Zero: As we enter another COP, with the world at 1.15°C of warming, it feels as though the hope of “keeping 1.5°C alive” is similarly dwindling. But we cannot give up hope – too much depends on it.

The International Law of Energy book publication

Cambridge University Press has published The International Law of Energy by Jorge E. Viñuales . Founding Director of C-EENRG, Professor Jorge Viñuales , just published a new monograph 'The International Law of Energy' with Cambridge University Press. The world's energy structure underpins the global environmental crisis...

A retrofitting revolution

Laying the foundations for buildings to stay cool in extreme heat. Impact at a glance: Measured excessively hot summer conditions in UK hospitals from 2007–19 and developed proposals to boost resilience in hot summers. Adaptation solutions were designed for 248 National Health Service (NHS) England Acute Hospitals (12.4...

Fluid mechanics and the energy transition

Decarbonisation of the energy system is the greatest challenge we face. At Cambridge’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows, world-leading researchers in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and surface science are working to develop the solutions we need to replace fossil fuels and protect our planet. After an...

Floating ‘artificial leaves’ ride the wave of clean fuel production

Researchers have developed floating ‘artificial leaves’ that generate clean fuels from sunlight and water, and could eventually operate on a large scale at sea. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, designed ultra-thin, flexible devices, which take their inspiration from photosynthesis – the process by which...

CSIC Research Associate wins grant to identify policy instruments supporting low-carbon infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa

Dr Kwadwo Oti-Sarpong has received a grant from the Energy Interdisciplinary Research Centre for a policy-driven collaborative project to guide the delivery of low carbon emissions infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Working with Dr Rehema Msulwa, a Research Associate at the Bennett Institute for Public...

Energy IRC Small Grants awarded

The Energy IRC awarded the latest round of Small Grants funded by the Isaac Newton Trust/ Energy Policy Research Group (EPRG) and the NERC Discipline Hopping for Environmental Solutions initiative. The grants were awarded to interdisciplinary teams focussed on the theme of energy transitions to achieve net zero carbon by...

Natural clean-up: bacteria can remove plastic pollution from lakes

A study of 29 European lakes has found that some naturally-occurring lake bacteria grow faster and more efficiently on the remains of plastic bags than on natural matter like leaves and twigs. The bacteria break down the carbon compounds in plastic to use as food for their growth. The scientists say that enriching waters...