Robotics
More than 200 world leaders gathered at the United Nations 2015 Climate Change Conference to negotiate a binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Two Michigan Engineering students attended. They were among tens of thousands of observers helping to ensure that the meeting was transparent. The summit took place Nov. 30-Dec. 11, 2015. Find updates from the students and information…
More than 200 world leaders gathered at the United Nations 2015 Climate Change Conference to negotiate a binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Two Michigan Engineering students attended. They were among tens of thousands of observers helping to ensure that the meeting was transparent.
The summit took place Nov. 30-Dec. 11, 2015.
Find updates from the students and information about some of the climate and energy-related projects happening here. Understanding how Earth’s climate is changing and developing lower-carbon energy solutions are two important aspects of creating a more sustainable future. Michigan Engineering researchers are working on both fronts.
In Paris, ten University of Michigan students and faculty members took part in a global climate change meeting that they hope will be pivotal on society’s path toward a more sustainable future. Two Michigan Engineering students were part of the delegation, being steadfast in their resolve to attend despite the recent Paris attacks.
Follow the U-M delegation at @ClimateBlue and #UofMCOP21, and on the Climate Blue Facebook page. Students from Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering were tweeting from @umclasp.
Art-inspired solar cells for higher efficiency
Solar cells capture up to 40 percent more energy when they can track the sun across the sky, but conventional, motorized trackers are too heavy and bulky for pitched rooftops and vehicle surfaces. Now, by borrowing from kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of paper cutting, researchers at the University of Michigan developed solar cells that can have it both ways.
Read more about solar power research
Recycling nuclear waste: U-M helps test advanced reactor design
One of the major technological hurdles for nuclear energy is developing systems to dispose of the waste produced by typical reactors. It must be sealed away for hundreds of millennia while the radioactivity naturally decreases. An advanced nuclear reactor under development by Hitachi could help solve the nuclear waste problem, and University of Michigan researchers were involved in verifying its safe performance through computer simulations.
Read more about nuclear energy research
Sea level rise: Backward-moving glacier helps scientists explain glacial earthquakes
The relentless flow of a glacier may seem unstoppable, but a team of researchers from the United Kingdom and the U.S. has shown that during some calving events—when an iceberg breaks off into the ocean—the glacier moves rapidly backward and downward, causing the characteristic glacial earthquakes which until now have been poorly understood.
Read more about climate-related research
Flight of the methane hunters
At just a bit over crop duster height, Michigan Engineering researchers flew through a 50-square-mile hotspot of the greenhouse gas methane over the U.S. Southwest.
For a month they were part of a broad “air campaign” involving five planes and four institutions. The goal was to figure out more precisely where the methane plume was coming from. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas.
Read more about methane-related research
Scientists urge more research on climate intervention
Deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, while necessary, may not happen soon enough to stave off climate catastrophe. So in addition, the world may need to resort to so-called geoengineering approaches that aim to deliberately control the planet’s climate.
That’s according to a National Research Council committee that includes a Michigan Engineering professor.
Hurricane forecast satellites to keep a close eye on the tropics
A set of eight hurricane-forecast satellites being developed at the University of Michigan is expected to give deep insights into how and where storms suddenly intensify – a little-understood process that’s becoming more crucial to figure out as the climate changes, U-M researchers say.
Read more about extreme weather
Carbon capture
Serious flaws have been found in a decade’s worth of studies about the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize the climate. Researchers found that carbon capture and sequestration will be much more costly and less energy efficient than previously thought.
Read more about energy efficiency
Michigan Engineering researchers are regular contributors to The Conversation. Here are some recent articles they’ve written.
Let’s call it: 30 years of above average temperatures means the climate has changed. By Ricky Rood, climate and space sciences and engineering
The case for nuclear power despite the risks. By Gary Was, professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences
What would happen to the climate if we stopped producing greenhouse gases today? By Ricky Rood, professor of climate and space sciences and engineering
The keystone XL pipeline debate is over, but our infrastructure needs are not. By Mark Barteau, director of the U-M Energy Institute and professor of chemical engineering