Late last year a book I contributed to was launched by former Australian Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull, who wrote the foreword for the book, and Vice-Chancellor of The Australian National University, Prof Brian Schmidt. The launch can be viewed on youtube below and purchased from Booktopia here.
We are looking for a PhD scholar to work as part of a multi-party project on cooling – and thereby saving – the Great Barrier Reef.
The PhD project will contribute to the development of clean energy systems that power the equipment that increases the thickness of marine clouds above the reef. These systems may feature solar photovoltaics, wind power, bio fuels, wave power, batteries and other technologies. The project will assess the technical, economic, and social feasibility of these technologies and design systems to meet the needs of the reef cooling applications.
The student will work closely with the Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program at ANU (www.bsgip.com), as well as researchers at Southern Cross University and the broader Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (see https://gbrrestoration.org/program/cooling-and-shading/).
Full application details are here: https://cecs.anu.edu.au/research/student-research-projects/clean-energy-solutions-great-barrier-reef-phd-project-0
ABC TV’s Catalyst program was one of my favorite TV shows growing up, so it was a bit of a dream to get to be a part of the recent episode about the transformation of the electricity system.
The episode did a fantastic job, covering a huge range of the interesting developments underway across the system and the country, explaining the crucial facts and trends, and presenting everything in interesting, engaging and understandable ways.
So, I’d highly recommend giving watching here https://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/the-grid-powering-the-future/13491654
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After the success of the Optics in the Outback science outreach tour, Owen and I were hired to run a outreach show as part of the 2013 Australian Academy of Technology & Engineering “Extreme Science” event at the Melbourne Exhibition Center.
I sadly don’t have any footage from our show, but ABC science journalist Bernadette Hobbs had this to say about it:
Continue readingLight is an area of science that so often ends up in the ghetto of prisms and diagrams, but your team’s workshop was outstanding. The fact that I can still remember most of what you guys did two months ago speaks volumes about how creative and exciting your show was!
You brought light to life – the ‘Survivor’-style flame torch demonstrating wave motion was spectacular. The kids were hooked from that moment. And I’ve got to say the total internal reflection demo with laser light in a stream of water was simple and incredibly effective. You could see the light switch on in those minds.
Two weeks in Western NSW, taking our science outreach show to schools that don’t normally get access to such educational experiences. Conceived of and run with my good friend Owen Brassier.
An OpEd spelling out the loaded terms of Fair dinkum, Baseload, Intermittent, Variable, Dispatchable, and Alternative energy. The article is an antidote to the energybabble that is so often used to confound public energy discussions.
Originally published in the SMH https://www.smh.com.au/national/why-fair-dinkum-language-is-crucial-in-the-energy-debate-20181113-p50fug.html
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