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Department of Computer Science and Technology

 

Energy and Environment Group (EEG)

The Energy and Environment Research Group applies computer science to address renewable energy integration, energy demand reduction, and the assessment and management of environmental impact (e.g. climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation) from anthropogenic activities.

We operate in an interdisciplinary manner, collaborating with climate scientists, ecologists, engineers, lawyers, regulators, and economists, and conducting wide engagement with external partners to effect evidence-based outcomes.

Goal

Our primary goal is to have a measurable impact on tools and techniques for de-risking our future. To do so, we share recent advances at the intersection of computer science, energy, and the environment through seminars, workshops, and scientific publications. We also help form collaborations between group members to coordinate interdisciplinary initiatives across University departments. 

Membership

EEG members are, in the first instance, faculty members in the Department for Computer Science and Technology and their students. We also invite membership from Postdocs, PhDs, Lab Visitors and Master’s students primarily from other departments, as appropriate.

Seminars

A list of talks for the current term can be found below; talks from prior terms are linked to this page. Seminar details can also be found at Talks.cam. Recordings from the EEG seminar series are available to watch online. We thank the Institute of Computing for Climate Science for their sponsorship of this series.


Partners


Upcoming seminars

Easter term

  • 17Jul
    Julia Gschwind ETH Zurich, University of Cambridge

    *Abstract*

    The growing accessibility of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems offers a promising pathway for homeowners to decarbonize their buildings. However, determining the appropriate size of a PV system and battery storage remains a complex task, influenced by household energy demand, daily activity patterns, and local solar potential. This decision becomes more complex with the increasing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), as commute patterns and charging strategies, including bidirectional charging, significantly influence electricity demand profiles.
    Conventional approaches to sizing PV and battery systems rely on detailed simulations that, while accurate, are computationally intensive and often take several minutes to hours to complete. This latency reduces interactivity and limits users' ability to explore different scenarios, such as varying EV charging policies or desired levels of energy self-sufficiency.
    In this work, we introduce SolarFit, an application that delivers instant, high-accuracy sizing recommendations based on simple user-provided inputs. SolarFit leverages a neural network-based surrogate model, which generates results within milliseconds. By drastically reducing computation time, our approach enables users to efficiently evaluate a range of scenarios and identify system configurations that best match their needs.

    *Bio*

    Julia Gschwind is a visiting Master's student at the University of Cambridge from ETH Zurich. She is supervised by Prof. Srinivasan Keshav and her research focuses on using neural networks to predict the optimal sizing of photovoltaic systems.

Michaelmas term

  • 10Oct
    E-Ping Rau, University of Cambridge

    *Abstract*
    Stay Tuned.

    *Bio*

    E-Ping is a third-year postdoc, working with Keshav and Professor David Coomes (Plant Sciences) on using satellite data to quantify the benefit of emissions reduction and its permanence in tropical forest conservation projects in the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) framework, with the aim of improving credibility of conservation finance mechanisms through carbon markets.