Stanford Energy

Why the experts should answer to the amateurs We need #experts to manage complex technologies and solve hard problems like #climate change,but they need to be accountable to non-experts, says Jonathan Bendor in new Stanford University Graduate School of Business study. Bendor brings all these ideas together in his discussion of climate change. Lawmakers and individuals who are not climate scientists have to figure out what to do and whom to listen to. That’s where meritocratic hierarchy comes in. Bendor acknowledges that some organizations are not based primarily on merit, but in fields with lots of accurate, relevant data — think baseball, drug development, or tech — there is a clear track record of judging successes and failures. That’s true of climate science, he says. If climate models are consistently wrong, people should stop listening to the scientists who built them. This dynamic is already built into traditional markets: If people don’t like a product, they’ll stop buying it. There’s no easy or ideal solution to climate change, so we have to start looking for the best possible answer. Rather than bemoaning the fact that amateurs will make that decision, Bendor argues, we should acknowledge this is an inherent feature of democracy — one that includes uninformed leaders, #policymakers, and voters. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In elevating oversight over specialized knowledge, Bendor believes we’re more likely to end up with an optimal (though not ideal) answer. Link to news in comments below.

More Black Americans die from effects of air pollution A new study reveals social factors that increase the risk of dying from air pollution and finds stark racial disparities. While PM2.5 levels have decreased dramatically since Air quality throughout the U.S. has improved dramatically over the last few decades, thanks in large part to regulations such as the Clean Air Act. Black Americans experienced the largest decline, yet were still the highest among all groups. These relative trends were consistent throughout the country. In 96.6% of counties, Black Americans had the highest PM2.5-attributable mortality. Background: Most particles form in the atmosphere as a result of complex reactions of chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are pollutants emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles. Link to news below. #AirPollution #ParticulateMatter #race

The future of polymers with Alberto Salleo (podcast) The materials scientist studies extremely long molecules known as polymers. Salleo says they often get a bad rap, but new-age organic #polymers could be a game-changer for energy-efficient #computing and #electronics. These polymers can conduct electricity, so they're useful in electronics. They might be useful for interacting with human tissue for prostheses and other electronic sensors. And they can form the basis for very low energy computing, or #neuromorphic computers. "The ions that travel in our devices are protons and those are really light and they don't consume a lot of energy when they move," said Salleo. Typical electronic device goes from off to on, and there's a huge difference between these two states. "You have to spend quite a bit of energy to take an electron from off to on. And ours actually operate, kind of, from a little bit on, more on, a little bit less on. So they're closer to equilibrium and you just kind of tweak them slightly away from equilibrium," he said. "And that's why I think they use less energy." Listen to or watch the new episode of Russ Altman's "The Future of Everything" at Stanford University School of Engineering. (link below) #energyefficiency

Stanford ENERGY newsletter is out! This week's stories: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's methods in #ultrafast science produce sharper molecular movies The atomic microscope allows scientists to peer into the behavior of molecules and atoms at ultrafast speeds and gain insights into processes that are key to #energy solutions and new materials, among other things. Stanford University Impact Founder awards fuel graduates’ high-impact ventures Five graduates win #Ecopreneurship awards from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability partnership. How startup Molten Industries turns methane into #graphite and clean #hydrogen Stanford spinout's process utilizes a high-temperature #methane cracking process powered by renewable electricity. Sasankh Munukutla, co-founder with James Kanoff of startup Terradot, harnesses Earth’s natural #CO2 removal process Terradot won TomKat Center Innovation Transfer and Stanford Impact Founder awards (see above) when Sasankh and Kanoff were at #Stanford. Molten seeks to accelerate gigaton-scale carbon dioxide removal. C3E Women in Clean Energy student poster competition Opportunity to participate in #C3E Symposium & Awards, which will be held at Stanford this Nov. 13. Poster application deadline is August 18. Interested in in sustainable, affordable, reliable energy for all? Link to newsletter online included below. Check it out and subscribe for free.

Stanford University Impact Founder awards fuel graduates’ high-impact ventures Five graduates win #Ecopreneurship awards from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability partnership. Their ventures seek to improve solar, batteries, sanitation, and #heating. Meghan Wood, MBA/MS Environment & Resources ’24, startup is democratizing residential #solar for Americans traditionally overlooked by electrification initiatives. Sankalp Banerjee, MBA/MS Environment & Resources ’24, startup Insitu Energy is "helping transition traditional assets, sites, and energy infrastructure into cleaner applications." Joseph Kao, Ph.D., MS ’24, venture CircuBat seeks to revolutionize second-life #batteries by unleashing reliability through innovative testing. Brandon Clark, PhD ’24, startup Recovered Potential seeks to make sanitation sustainable, presumably starting with #nitrogen recovery from #wastewater. Raj Tilwa, MBA ’24, venture Focal wants to revolutionize and decarbonize how we keep ourselves warm indoors. Congratulations to all five of you, and best of luck in these worthy endeavors! Link to news story at GSB in comments below. These five winners are the second group of four groups.

SLAC researchers pioneer new methods in ultrafast science for sharper molecular movies SLAC’s “electron camera” can reveal some of nature’s ultrafast processes. Now, researchers across the lab have collaborated to achieve improvements to that tool to make its molecular movies even sharper, keeping SLAC at the forefront of pioneering tools for ultrafast science. The result is a molecular movie that allows scientists to peer into the behavior of molecules and atoms at ultrafast speeds and gain insights into processes that are key to energy solutions and innovative new materials and medicines, among other things. “This atomic microscope can be used in fundamental science: materials science, chemistry, green energy, quantum information and more. It’s critical to achieve the femtosecond scales for investigating these science areas,” said Mohamed Othman, an associate scientist at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and co-author on both papers. Link to SLAC news article below. It has links to both papers.

Stanford ENERGY newsletter is out! Chevron overturned; Next-gen #geothermal; Perovskite #solar Engineering #EV's Chu's Compton Medal #ESG scrutiny Check it out and subscribe for free: https://lnkd.in/gMcgueGs Stanford Law School Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Stanford University School of Engineering Stanford Online

A day in the life of a #vehicle systems #engineer At Tesla, Sarah Spaugh, ’18, MS ’22, works on the flow of #energy through cars, from #storage to performance, in search of ever-better designs. Read her story @stanfordmag: https://lnkd.in/gZHz3ar9

A closer look at #ESG #verification is influencing the debate over requiring corporations to report their #carbon emissions. Read the news at Stanford University Graduate School of Business: https://lnkd.in/gBaTbW-X

#Stanford Impact Founder Fellow is building a science and technology company to accelerate gigaton-scale #CO2 removal. Read about his journey at Stanford University Graduate School of Business: https://lnkd.in/gn3K2HEY #climate #naturalsolutions