Skip to main content Skip to navigation

School Seminars, Events and Open Lectures

Show all calendar items

DSSP: Future Energy Needs and Engineering Reality

- Export as iCalendar
Location: L4, Science Concourse

'Future Energy Needs and Engineering Reality'

Professor Mike Kelly, University of Cambridge

Abstract
The climate science community has convinced many policymakers and politicians
of the need to decarbonise the world economy in short order. Their case, and
whether it is credible or not, is not the issue in this presentation, but rather some of
the lessons of the recent history of technology evolution that should not be lost in
the rush.
There are rules concerning the introduction of new technologies, and there are
penalties for flouting them. If we are setting out to decarbonise the world economy,
we should set out as if we mean to succeed, and not, as now, take actions that will
certainly not succeed, and even make matters worse in some cases.
Speaker
Michael Kelly was born in New Zealand and educated to Masters level in
Mathematics and Physics. He spent the decade 1971-1981 at the Cavendish
Laboratory completing a PhD and undertaking postdoctoral research in
condensed matter theory, before a period of 11 years as a researcher and
research leader at GEC plc. After a decade as Professor of Physics and
Electronics at the University of Surrey, he returned to his present position in 2002,
where his main focus are the physics and engineering issues associated with
manufacturability. During 2006-9 he was, part time, the Chief Scientific Advisor to
the Department for Communities and Local Government where the use of energy
in buildings and national energy system was the main topic of advice. This
seminar is an overview of his contribution to a 4th year engineering course on
‘Present and Future Energy Systems’ he developed on his return from London.

Show all calendar items