Learn about climate change solutions from a panel of UW experts. Click here for bios of panel.
March 12 Solar Energy: A Tool for Unlocking a Clean Energy Future
Description: Solar energy offers a beacon of hope as an abundant and renewable resource in the face of rising global energy demand and climate change. Starting with the fundamentals of its scientific background and moving into its current market prospects and policy interconnects, we will complete a wholistic evaluation of the full socioeconomic and technical potential of solar energy. We will examine solar energy materials, infrastructure, grid integration, and how their applications differ across residential and commercial sectors. Current challenges to solar energy, including intermittency and transmission, will be illuminated, and followed by a discussion of the emerging solutions being researched to overcome these hurdles to ensure solar energy is reliable and accessible to all.
March 19 Light Emitting Diodes: An Exciting Frontier in Efficient Lighting!
Description: As energy-efficient, tunable, economic light sources, light emitting diodes (LEDs) are important in lighting and display technology. This talk will go over a brief history of electric lighting, describe the basics of how LEDs work, and delve into exciting cutting-edge applications of LEDs from flexible displays to augmented reality technology.
March 26 Using and Producing Clean Energy: From Electric Cars to Carbon Capture
Description: This seminar discusses the fundamentals of battery science, and how to bridge the gap between fossil fuels and clean energy. We will tackle where the field is headed in the future, give examples of what scientists are working on to conquer challenges with energy storage. The science behind sustainable energy, from electric cars to carbon capture, is demystified in this talk.
April 2 The “Plastics Problem” and Emerging Chemical Solutions
Description: This talk will delve into the background of what plastics are, why they are so useful, and why they can be problematic. We will cover the policy decisions that can be made to alleviate widespread pollution, and how to plan for the future of plastics as a society. We will also discuss modern chemical recycling (also known as upcycling) approaches being investigated today, with a focus on research coming out of the UW.