Florence Miskolczi stated in a series of four publications that there can be no Earth greenhouse gas warming because water vapor from the oceans will reconfigure to compensate for added anthropogenic gases.  Yet satellite radiometer data shows 0.076 ±..012°C/decade warming in the Southern Hemisphere Troposphere and .21±.0.014°C/decade in the Northern Hemisphere troposphere for the years 1979-2007 for example. This factor of 2.7 ratio exists even though NOAA CO2 data show only a 5 ppm drop (~1 %) between Burrow and the South Pole.

At UCSB IEE in October 2015, I characterized the stranded power opportunity and the ideas behind ZCCloud. Now, scientific studies show ZCCloud is economically viable, enabling TCO-competitive systems with higher capability, higher throughput (utility), and zero-carbon footprint. Cloud computing is the world's fastest growing consumer of electricity and has a rapidly growing carbon-footprint.

Structure, surface chemistry, and energetic disorder can dramatically affect excited state dynamics in low-dimensional systems. Using a combination of ultrafast laser spectroscopy, time-resolved optical microscopy, and kinetic modeling, I will show how these effects manifest in assemblies of colloidal quantum dots (QD) and lead halide perovskites, which are promising components of next-generation photovoltaic and lighting technologies.

Petroleum provides about 35% of total primary energy supply and meets about 95% of our transportation energy needs. Some argue that this dominance is short lived due to rapid expansion of electric vehicles, while others argue for a continued role for petroleum well into this century. While visions for the future use of oil vary widely, most model projections suggest that humanity will consume more than 1 trillion barrels of oil between now and the end of the century.  Where will this oil come from? What are the impacts of producing, refining, and consuming this oil?

Understanding, and then replicating, the computing paradigm(s) used in the brain’s neocortex is a computer architecture research problem that is of unquestionable practical and scientific importance, but one that will require an unconventional approach. Unconventional because it begins with the end product  ̶a biological computing engine possessing amazing capabilities and operating efficiencies  ̶and then tries to reconstruct, or reverse-architect, the underlying computational paradigm(s). When considered as a whole, the task is daunting.

The Institute for Energy Efficiency (IEE) at the University of  California, Santa Barbara would like to invite you to attend an Emerging Technologies Review,  Friday May 27th.  This review will cover new developments in areas of energy and energy efficiency. Recent progress of IEE industrial partners and other local companies  will be highlighted. Advances in energy generation and grid storage will be discussed, along with energy efficiency improvements in areas such as irrigation,  motors, power electronics, and photonics.

Please join us for a unique panel on the Future of Water in California bringing together leading farmers, government agencies, technology innovators, and sustainability experts. The panel will be in 1414 Bren Hall on April 12, 2019 from 3:30–5:00pm. California will experience a once-in-a-generation change with the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2020. Come and see how it will affect the food, energy, and water sectors.

With abundant resources and declining costs, both wind and solar technologies have the potential to significantly decarbonize our energy systems. Together with rapidly evolving battery storage and super-efficient end-use technologies, wind and solar now present an opportunity for both developed and developing economies to transition to a sustainable and low carbon future. However, their large-scale deployment introduces challenges in planning and operating future electricity systems and will require balancing trade-offs with social and environmental objectives.

Storage particles in lithium-ion batteries swell upon insertion of lithium, generating elastic stresses sufficient to crack them. This phenomenon is studied using a phase field method for fracture encompassing elasticity, lithium insertion and extraction and lithium diffusion within the particle. It is shown that high C-rates, large particles and large swelling strains motivate particle fracture and comminution.

The Institute for Energy Efficiency at the University of California, Santa Barbara invites you to attend the annual 2018 Emerging Technologies Review on Thursday, May 10th. This all-day review will feature seventeen speakers, covering new developments in areas of energy and energy efficiency.