From IEEF to the mining and energy industries

Jason Furtney was a student at the Institute in the early 2000s, after studying geology at Edinburgh University. Since then, he has been working as a consulting engineer for Itasca International, a geomechanics consulting and software company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today, Jason was back in Cambridge and gave a special seminar at the Institute. He

Coastal upwelling in lakes

Large lakes tend to be thermally stratified, with a layer of relatively warm water near the surface, and a deeper layer of colder water underneath. The temperature of the surface water fluctuates over the year, while the temperature of the deeper water remains more stable: hence, the thermal stratification is strongest during the summer, when

Plumes in a turbulent cross-flow

During the second part of today’s seminar, MPhil student James Sear presented the results of his new experiments on turbulent plumes in a cross-flow. During the last few months, James has been studying what happens when a steady flux of contaminants are released into a river: the contaminants are transported by the current, while being

Efficiency of carbon storage in aquifers

During the first part of today’s seminar, PhD student Ross Shepherd presented some of his recent work on the injection and storage of CO2 into underground aquifers.  Carbon capture and storage will be required as one of many technologies in the global energy transition, and Ross has been studying how to optimise the injection of

Early cancer detection using nanoparticles

Professor Ljiljana Fruk has been studying the design principles and biomedical applications of organic and hybrid nanomaterials. These can be used for real-time detection of senescent cells in the body.  Large concentrations of senescent cells in an organ might be a precursor to cancer, and so detecting these cells in the body might help early

Novel Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Production

Today was the last seminar of Lent term, and Part III student James Fidler presented his recent work on new catalyst materials for hydrogen production through electrolysis.  Nobel metals are very expensive, and so research is ongoing to find affordable alternatives for catalyst production. Under the supervision of professor Clarke, James has been investigating the