The Solar Forecasting Laboratory at the University of California Merced has collected over 15 months of high quality horizontal and direct normal irradiance measurements at different wavelengths (UV, IR and visible) with the primary objective of developing, calibrating and benchmarking novel and more accurate forecasting models for solar irradiance at the ground level. Without effective forecasting methodologies, neither solar nor wind power plants cannot be effectively connected to the power grid, which presents a major obstacle for high-penetration utilization of intermittent sources.
The Banatao Institute and the Building Sustainability at Cal Program have teamed up to implement UC Berkeley’s first building-wide composting program, which launched on April 6, 2010.
Are we investing too little in information security? Are we investing too much? Since Anderson and Varian posed these questions in 2002, much progress has been made in understanding rational decision-making in information security.
California ISO operates much of the California power grid. The ISO works with federal regulators, State agencies and market participants to conduct grid planning, improve system operations, and adapt wholesale markets for energy and ancillary services in anticipation of achieving a 20% renewable portfolio standard (by about 2013) and then a 33% renewable portfolio standard by 2020.
Knowledge is power. Knowing of the quantities of specific molecules present in a biological system is fundamental to understanding systems level operation. This understanding is critical for translating basic knowledge of specific molecules into applied medical, agriculture, forensic, and drug development assays, and has created a need for methods that more accurately quantify an ever-increasing number of newly identified analytes with greater precision.
We are pleased to announce that the seed funding awards for CITRIS have been chosen. The projects this year are from all four CITRIS campuses: 4 from UC Davis (25% of submitted), 4 from UC Santa Cruz (27% of submitted), 7 from UC Merced (64% of submitted), and 12 from UC Berkeley (33% of submitted). Thank you to all who submitted innovative proposals. We look forward to the discoveries and developments that will arise as a result of this round of funding.
The Tsinghua-Berkeley Global Technology Entrepreneurship program is a joint program established in Fall 2009. Taught by faculty from both Tsinghua and Berkeley Engineering and based at Tsinghua, the program combines curriculum from Tsinghua’s School of Economics and Management and Berkeley Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology to introduce Tsinghua graduate students, primarily in engineering and the sciences, to technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
The Carbon Roadmap project is a multidisciplinary study to develop a trajectory for the energy system transformation from a high-carbon, lowefficiency system to a low-carbon, high-efficiency system, and will serve as a guide for the industries and government policies that will deliver this transition. This two-hour session will be divided into separate, one-hour overview and discussion sessions focusing on Tsinghua and Berkeley resources and potential collaboration on topics in energy efficiency for buildings (1–2 p.m.) and green electronics (2–3 p.m.).
Although the Smart Grid promises to help meet goals of energy efficiency and renewability, incorporating IT into the electric grid poses new and substantial risks to individual privacy. At the same time, Smart Grid deployment is proceeding along a path that could make it difficult for individuals to control the flow of information about their energy use while also raising barriers in the market for in-home smart devices.
