We are a group of researchers at the University of Cambridge, all tackling climate change from a different perspective (i.e. energy, nature, food, and shelter). We met in the spring of 2019, as members of the Rising Stars public-engagement cohort. This programme was provided through Cambridge’s incredible Public Engagement Team, and was the perfect breeding ground for creativity, which is where 2050: A New World was originally developed.
Our goal: to engage the public in an interactive way to solve this resource crisis.
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Welcome to 2050 - how resilient is your city?
meet the team
Beth Tennyson
Solar Energy Researcher
Department of Physics, University of Cambridge
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My research explores new solar cell materials to improve the overall sun-to-electricity conversion efficiency while reducing costs. The materials I investigate could possibly be implemented into flexible solar devices or be used in other applications beyond roof panels. I envision a world where many materials, surfaces, or devices are, in fact, solar panels. I think the more ways we generate electricity from renewable energy resources, the easier it will be to mitigate effects of climate change and transition to a zero-carbon society.
Laura Bentley
Forest Ecology PhD Student
Department of Plant Science, University of Cambridge
Pamela Ribone
Plant Biology Researcher
Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge
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I was always fascinated about the fact that plants cannot look for shelter if the temperature around them is not optimal. When plants are subject to either too cold or too warm temperatures, they need to adapt their bodies to survive. With my research I try to understand better how plants perceive temperature. I particularly focus on the role of uORFs (a type of small DNA sequences) in temperature sensing and responses in plants. Understanding how these small sequences act will allow us to engineer them in the future, and to obtain plants that withstand better the temperature fluctuations due to climate change.
Savia Palate
PhD Student Architecture H+T
Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge