From (Energy) Farm to Table

Speakers: Tim Rafferty, Sawsan El Zahr, Dr Christopher Vogel, Dr Eve Schooler

Flora Anderson Hall, Somerville College Tuesday 22nd October, 5.30pm

The current government goal to achieve net-zero is getting ever closer, but how are we going to get there? Engineers from the University of Oxford discuss the current challenges of producing net-zero energy and using it effectively. From tidal and wind turbine energy production, to using energy efficiently across the globe and sustainable carbon-aware computing, this event will also dive into how wind farm dynamics and future wind resource prediction are reshaping the way we plan future energy production. Expect to learn about gravity waves, tidal flows, turbine wakes and energy networks from our expert. And don’t worry all the maths will be a breeze…

Watch From (Energy) Farm to Table (recorded Tue 22 Oct 2024)

Tim Rafferty Oxford-Thatcher Scholar, Somerville College

Timothy Rafferty is a second year PhD student with the Wind and Tidal Energy Research Group at the University of Oxford. Tims research interests focus on fluid dynamic engineering for which he has previously worked on projects ranging from the cooling pipes in nuclear reactors to the magma systems within volcanoes. Within the group at Oxford he now specialises in the interaction between offshore wind turbines and atmospheric flows. He has a particular interest in how wind turbines can trigger atmospheric gravity waves which in turn drastically impact wind farm power production. Tim is the recipient of an Oxford-Thatcher scholarship, which enables him to undertake this important research.

Sawsan El Zahr Oxford-Qatar-Thatcher Scholar, Somerville College

Sawsan El Zahr is a third year PhD student within the Computing Infrastructure Group at the University of Oxford and a Graduate Research Fellow at Netflix. Her current research focuses on reducing the carbon footprint of computer networks. Her focus is on carbon emissions, rather than energy consumption alone, and her research combines routing algorithms, power modelling, and net-zero solutions. Sawsan is a recipient of the Oxford-Qatar-Thatcher scholarship and a titular Clarendon scholarship. Her research has earned her several awards, including the Dyson Award for Outstanding Research at STEM for Britain 2024 and the Applied Networking Research Prize (ANRP) issued by IRTF.

Dr Christopher Vogel Department of Engineering

Dr Christopher Vogel is a UKRI Future Leaders research fellow who specialises in fluid mechanics for offshore renewable energy. His research interests focus in particular on wind and tidal stream energy applications, spanning a range of scales from turbines to farms to regional modelling, as well as the integration of wind and tidal energy into the wider electricity network.

Dr Eve M. Schooler, PhD

RAEng Visiting Professor of Sustainable Computing

Department of Engineering

Eve M. Schooler is a Visiting Professor of Sustainable Computing at University of Oxford, sponsored by the Royal Academy of Engineering. Her work is focused on evolving the Internet towards a net zero infrastructure and enabling carbon-aware network communication. She previously held leadership positions in industry, most recently at Intel as Principal Engineer and Director of Emerging IoT Networks. Before Intel, she held positions at AT&T Labs-Research, USC’s Information Sciences Institute, Apollo Computer (acquired by HP), and Pollere.