Energy Efficiency: fundamental physcial limits
Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge

This one-day meeting on "Energy Efficiency" will bring together some of the leading scientists from around the world to explore the fundamental limits set by science and engineering to the efficiency with which we can generate, store and use energy. This is the first of an annual series of topical meetings as part of the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability.

There is no registration fee for the Symposium and complimentary lunch will be provided, however participants are required to register on-line for the event. Click here to register now.
To set the scene for the symposium, Malcolm Keay from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies will talk on the link between energy efficiency and sustainability; this will be followed by three sessions.

Man versus Machine
Energy consumption for computing is growing rapidly, Prof. Eli Yablonovitch, Director of the NSF Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Science at University of California Berkeley and Prof. Stuart Parkin from IBM's Almaden Research Center will explore the trends and efficiency limits for computation and data storage respectively. Prof. Simon Laughlin Professor of Neurobiology at the department of Zoology in Cambridge will explain why the brain in contrast is so efficient at computation.

Energy Generation from the Sun
The sun is our primary source of energy, Prof. Jenny Nelson from Imperial College will explain the limits for solar cell technologies and Prof. Richard Cogdell, Director of the Glasgow Biomedical Research Centre will explore what we can learn from light harvesting in nature.

Energy Usage
Energy usage will be discussed in the context of two major consumers of power, transportation and lighting. Dr. Donald Hillebrand, Director of the Center for Transportation Research, Argonne National Laboratory will cover conventional and electric vehicle technologies and their relative efficiencies. Prof. James Speck from University of California Santa Barbara will review advances and fundamental efficiency limits for solid-state lighting.

The symposium is organised by Prof. Sir Richard Friend, Cavendish Professor of Physics and Director of the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability and Dr. Nalin Patel the Winton Programme Manager.