EBI March 2024 Newsletter

Announcements – Opportunities – Zilberman Blog – Events – Articles

1. Seminar Series Part 8: Science Communications

2. 2024 EBI Summer Internship Program

3. EBI Recharge Facility

4. EBI Business Incubator

5. On Oppenheimer, Lawrence, and Berkeley

6. Cal Day 2024!

7. Dear Human at Future’s Edge: Science, Creativity and Climate Futures Conference

8. CNN: Biden administration rolls out new tailpipe rules that will boost EVs and hybrids

9. Sustainability: Why Shell Spent US$5.6bn on Low-Carbon Energy Solutions

10. AZO Materials: Recyclable ‘Water Batteries’ That Do Not Catch Fire or Explode

Announcements

Seminar Series Part 8: “Science Communications”

Dione (Dee) Rossiter, the Executive Director for Science at Cal, joins Logan Roscoe to discuss the issue of systemic racism in science communications, as well as potential solutions to mitigate the field’s inequality.

The Energy & Biosciences Institute is excited to announce the eighth installment in this year’s “Science Communications” virtual seminar series! The goals of this series are to:

Explore the ways in which science is communicated to different audiences
Outline potential career paths for those interested in science communications
Discuss what laymen can do to understand science in the media better

We hope you enjoy this new series and all that it will cover. Please share with students and anyone else that could be interested!

Please find the video at this link here or click the box below.

Watch video

Opportunities

2024 EBI Summer Internship Program

Zilberman Blog

On Oppenheimer, Lawrence, and Berkeley

You can now find a new section on the EBI website dedicated to Executive Committee member and esteemed researcher David Zilberman’s blog! Our website features his recent installments, including Zilberman’s newest piece, “On Oppenheimer, Lawrence, and Berkeley.”

His work centers on the representation of UC Berkeley in the recent Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer. “I want to present some of the features emphasized in the movie that are consistent with my experience in Berkeley and some of the implications,” he writes.

Read more to hear Zilberman’s perspective on the similarities and differences between the Berkeley portrayed on-screen and the Berkeley we all know today.

Read here

Events

Cal Day 2024!

Cal Day is UC Berkeley’s annual celebration for newly admitted students. Prospective Bears and their families travel from all over the world to experience what Berkeley has to offer, as programs, departments, and clubs alike present all across campus in a day-long extravaganza.

Like last year, the Energy & Biosciences Institute will be participating in Cal Day 2024, providing information on the organization and engaging with incoming students. Be sure to find us at our booth, and enjoy the festivities on April 13th. Go Bears!

Dear Human at Future’s Edge: Science, Creativity and Climate Futures Conference

“Dear Human at Future’s Edge: Science, Creativity and Climate Futures” is a conference focused on the intersection of climate science, ecopoetry, and the arts. The program will celebrate two recent companion publications: the Fifth National Climate Assessment report, the U.S. Government’s preeminent report on climate change impacts, risks, and responses, and Dear Human at the Edge of Time: Poems on Climate Change in the United States.

The panel will be held in the Banatao Auditorium on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 1:00 – 5:30 PDT. Register at the link below.

Articles

CNN: Biden administration rolls out new tailpipe rules that will boost EVs and hybrids

A year ago, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) year-old proposed a rule to ensure that, by the end of this decade, two-thirds of all vehicles sold would be electric. However, just this month, the EPA has made some alterations to that rule, allowing for more flexibility with a slower-paced approach.

This new rule is making room for plug-in hybrids in the electric transition as opposed to focusing strictly and solely EVs. Plug-in hybrids are vehicles that combine gas engines and EV-like batteries. “Different automakers are going to approach this in different ways,” says White House national climate adviser Ali Zaidi. Learn what the implications of this are in business and environmental spheres by reading more.

Sustainability: Why Shell Spent US$5.6bn on Low-Carbon Energy Solutions

Informed by their recent annual reports and guided by their commitments to sustainability, the global energy company Shell works towards their net zero targets through multiple approaches. Their overarching goal is to create more value with less emissions, while still delivering the oil and gas that the global energy system relies on.

They have recently met multiple of their sustainability objectives, such as reducing both fresh-water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Explore their accomplishments and where they are looking to go from here by reading more.

AZO Materials: Recyclable ‘Water Batteries’ That Do Not Catch Fire or Explode

Lithium-ion batteries are fundamental to modern energy storage, however they host a plethora of safety concerns when they are implemented in large-scale grids. The volatile ingredients they contain have the potential to catch fire or even explode.

Luckily, a team of researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in Australia have discovered a way to largely circumvent these safety concerns by proposing their alternative battery type: aqueous metal-ion batteries, or “water batteries.”

Learn how these batteries are manufactured and what role they might play in future energy storage by reading more.