The Vice Chancellor of the University of Cambridge led a delegation of academics to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, in January 2016, to explore issues including carbon reduction technologies and how science and engineering can best address society's greatest challenges.
Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor, introduced this event, which looked at how research by Cambridge academics has led to breakthroughs in carbon reduction technologies that will transform a range of industries including
- Decarbonizing industrial-scale processes using virtual avatars
- Self-healing concrete for low-carbon infrastructure
- Improving solar materials efficiency using quantum mechanics
- Quantum materials for zero-loss transmission of electricity
The event was supported by Energy@Cambridge, a Strategic Research Initiative that brings together the activities of over 250 world-leading academics working in all aspects of energy-related research, covering energy supply, conversion and demand, across a wide range from departments.
The speakers, all members of Energy@Cambridge, were:
- Professor Abir Al-Tabbaa, Department of Engineering
- Professor Sir Richard Friend, Department of Physics
- Professor Markus Kraft, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
- Dr Suchitra Sebastian, Department of Physics
Energy@Cambridge is working to develop new technologies to reduce the carbon footprint of industrial processes, energy generation and transmission, and building construction. Its aims include leveraging the University’s expertise to tackle grand technical and intellectual challenges in energy, integrating science, technology and policy research.