Sustainable Tech

The rapidly emerging climate crisis has highlighted the urgency of developing effective renewable energy sources, of which solar power is a key example. However, many existing solar cells only make efficient use of a small portion of the solar spectrum. The use of spectral converters, either in downshifting high-energy light or upconverting low-energy light, allows the solar spectrum to be tuned to allow more efficient energy harvesting. This talk will explore different types of spectral conversion, and the materials challenges involved in effectively implementing these technologies.

Air pollution affects both our climate and our health. In this talk, Michelle shares two examples of machine learning methods which can help us better understand pollution risks and their health impacts. In the first example, they use smart algorithms to fill in missing data when air quality monitoring sensors break. In the second example, they combine this environmental data with information about wealth and poverty to predict health outcomes.