New Institute for Low-Carbon technologies

Aston University are proposing to establish a new research institute with the mission of realising technologies that contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide and the mitigation of climate change. The Institute will be interdisciplinary, not only providing a centre of excellence for the engineering and applied science needed to develop such technologies, but also addressing the challenges of introducing low-carbon technologies into business and society.

Activities supported by the Institute may include, but need not be confined to:

• Low carbon vehicles and transport

• Smart electrical grids including technology and policy aspects

• Solar energy systems and materials, including nano-materials and polymers

• Remote sensing and photonic devices for the detection of carbon sinks and sources and the assessment of resources needed for a low-carbon world

• Consumer behaviour relating to the adoption of low-carbon technologies; design for sustainable behaviour

• Policy and law for the successful implementation of low-carbon technologies

• Green supply chain management

• International engagement for the development of low-carbon energy sources and models of use especially for the provision of services (e.g. food and water) themselves threatened by climate change.

• Carbon reduction on campus (e.g. via procurement, especially where it involves the development of methods and tools that can be applied elsewhere) and in the activities (e.g. travel) associated with the activities of the Institute itself.

You are invited to put forward your ideas on how you would like to participate in such an institute. Proposed activities should:

• Have a quantifiable goal in terms of the reduction of carbon achievable, either directly or indirectly.

• Build on existing expertise and track records, as we are not looking to establish entirely new areas of research (though we can evolve our activities based on passed successes and new synergies).

• Have good prospects of attracting outside funding within the first two years

It is also important that the activities can be linked into a strategic framework, having both operational and thematic commonalities. This will enable us to formulate a coherent proposal that will justify initial funding by the University.

Please respond to Susan Doughty by 1st March 2010 using the following guideline.