Ratepayer-backed bonds for utility financings
Nature Energy, Published online: 10 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01755-3
Utilities are increasingly using ratepayer-backed bonds (RBBs) to provide financial protection against extreme weather and more broadly, the energy transition. Consequently, we outline best practices for public utility commissions and ratepayer advocates to reduce financing costs and protect ratepayers in the execution of RBBs.Heat treatment in an oxygen-rich environment to suppress deep-level traps in Cu<sub>2</sub>ZnSnS<sub>4</sub> solar cell with 11.51% certified efficiency
Nature Energy, Published online: 10 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01756-2
The efficiency of pure sulfide kesterite solar cells is limited by deep-level defects. Wu et al. develop a heat treatment in an oxygen-rich environment to suppress sulfur vacancies, achieving an 11.51% certified efficiency.The electrode-electrolyte interface of Cu via modulation excitation X-ray absorption spectroscopy
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE01068C, CommunicationAngel T. Garcia-Esparza, Xiang Li, Finn Babbe, Jinkyu Lim, K. Dean Skoien, Philipp Stefan Simon, Junko Yano, Dimosthenis Sokaras
Accessing the electrode-electrolyte interface under operating conditions and capturing time-resolved kinetics challenge electrochemical studies. Copper’s interfacial oxidation dynamics remain unclear despite extensive research. Modulation excitation X-ray absorption spectroscopy (ME-XAS) probes...
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Fri 06 Jun 15:00: Title to be confirmed
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Catherine Arnett and Tyler Chang (EleutherAI and UC San Diego)
- Friday 06 June 2025, 15:00-16:00
- Venue: Room FW26 with Hybrid Format. Here is the Zoom link for those that wish to join online: https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4751389294?pwd=Z2ZOSDk0eG1wZldVWG1GVVhrTzFIZz09.
- Series: NLIP Seminar Series; organiser: Suchir Salhan.
Thu 17 Jul 16:00: Dr John James, Immunology, Warwick Medical School. Warwick Medical School, Warwick
This Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar will take place on Thursday 17 July 2025, starting at 4:00pm, in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC)
Speaker: Dr John James, Associate Professor, Immunology, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick
Title: TBC
Host: Mathilde Colombe and Tim Halim, CRUK Cambridge
Refreshments will be available following the seminar.
- Speaker: Speaker to be confirmed
- Thursday 17 July 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Ruth Paton.
Thu 10 Jul 16:00: Dr. Jakob Zimmermann, Department for Biomedical Research, University of Berne
This Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar will take place on Thursday 12 June 2025, starting at 4:00-5:00pm
Speaker: Jakob Zimmermann, Department for Biomedical Research, University of Berne, Germany
Title: TBC
Host: Yorgo Modis, CITIID , Cambridge
Refreshments will be available following the seminar.
- Speaker: Jakob Zimmermann, Department for Biomedical Research, University of Berne
- Thursday 10 July 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Ruth Paton.
Thu 12 Jun 16:00: Professor Thomas Bowden, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford
This Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar will take place on Thursday 12 June 2025, starting at 4:00-5:00pm
Speaker: Professor Thomas Bowden, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford
Title: TBC
Host: Yorgo Modis, CITIID , Cambridge
Refreshments will be available following the seminar.
- Speaker: Professor Thomas Bowden, Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford
- Thursday 12 June 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Ruth Paton.
Thu 01 May 16:00: Self or non-self? Detection of nucleic acids in the endolysosome
This Cambridge Immunology and Medicine Seminar will take place on Thursday 1 May 2025, starting at 4:00pm, in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, MRC LMB , Francis Crick Avenue.
Speaker: Professor Veit Hornung, Gene Center and Department of Biochemistry, University of Munich
Title: ‘Self or non-self? Detection of nucleic acids in the endolysosome’
Abstract: A central function of our innate immune system is to detect microbial pathogens by the presence of their nucleic acid genomes or their transcriptional or replicative activity. In mammals, a receptor-based system – represented by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) – is primarily responsible for the detection of “non-self” nucleic acids. In recent years, tremendous progress has been made in identifying the key sensing and signaling components required for this complex task. The first group of PRRs identified as nucleic acid sensing receptors are the toll-like receptors (TLRs). TLRs are expressed as transmembrane receptors with their ligand binding domain facing either the extracellular space or the luminal compartment. A distinct evolutionary subset of TLRs is located in the endolysosomal compartment, which in the human system includes TLR7 , TLR8 and TLR9 . While TLR9 recognizes single-stranded DNA with unmethylated CG motifs, which are indeed suppressed in the host genome, TLR7 and TLR8 have evolved to recognize RNA degradation products. Although there has been considerable research on RNA -sensing TLRs, our understanding of their capability to differentiate between non-self and self-RNA remains limited, particularly considering the prevalence of self-RNA in the endolysosomal compartment. In this talk, I will provide an update on our recent work on this topic and present some novel insights into how TLR7 and TLR8 discriminate self from non-self.
Host: Felix Randow, MRC -LMB, Cambridge
Refreshments will be available following the seminar.
PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF VENUE
- Speaker: Prof. Dr. Veit Hornung, Gene Center Munich
- Thursday 01 May 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Max Perutz Lecture Theatre, MRC LMB, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH .
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Ruth Paton.
Fri 16 May 16:00: Maxwell’s tape measure
Tape-springs are thin, transversely curved strips, of which the carpenter’s tape measures is a familiar everyday example. When you bend a tape-spring, it initially deforms uniformly, before suddenly forming a highly curved “fold” region: an example of elastic localisation. The curvature in the fold and unfolded regions are governed by the Maxwell equal areas construction – familiar from thermodynamics – applied to the tape-spring moment-curvature relationship. In our recent work, we have introduced “tapered-springs”: tape-springs with varying cross-sectional geometry along their length. When bent, we observe novel spiral-shaped folds and “jumping” behaviour. Key to understanding this behaviour is the fact that the Maxwell equal-areas construction must be satisfied specifically on the propagating fronts of the fold
- Speaker: Jamie Clarkson, PhD student, CUED
- Friday 16 May 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: JDB Seminar Room, CUED.
- Series: Engineering - Dynamics and Vibration Tea Time Talks; organiser: div-c.
Advanced Energy Harvesting from Low-Frequency Ocean Waves for Lithium-Ion Battery Applications
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE01492A, PaperYingjin Luo, Wentao Lei, Pengfei Chen, Tao Jiang, Andeng Liu, Meidan Ye, Zijie Xu, Zhong Lin Wang, Wenxi Guo
The low root mean square (RMS) current density generated by triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) has significantly hindered their effectiveness in charging lithium batteries. In response, we present a universal energy storage...
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Upcycling spent medium-Ni cathodes via novel liquified salts sourcing
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE01086A, Paper Open Access   This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.Moonsu Yoon, Jin-sung Park, Weiyin Chen, Yimeng Huang, Tao Dai, Yumin Lee, Jungmin Shin, Seungmi Lee, Yongil Kim, Dongsoo Lee, Daiha Shin, Jaephil Cho, Yanhao Dong, Ju Li
The rapid growth in lithium-ion battery technology underscores the urgent need for sustainable recycling to address the environmental and economic challenges of battery wastes. This study introduces a liquified-salts-assisted upcycling...
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Dynamic Cathode Interlayer for Ultralow Self-Discharge and High Iodide Utilization in Zinc-Iodine Batteries
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE05584E, Paper Open Access   This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.Junming Kang, Jiajia Zhang, Wan Wang, Zhimin Zhai, Ganxiong Liu, Ying Ge, Lequan Wang, Chao Wang, Hongbin Lu
Aqueous zinc-iodine (Zn-I2) batteries are highly desirable for grid energy storage but subjected to polyiodide shuttling, which leads to low Coulombic efficiency (less than 98%), severe self-discharge (over 10% after...
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Fri 06 Jun 16:00: Unconventional nonlinear dynamics of carbon-based structures
Modern technologies rely on miniature structures that are essential to countless devices enabling communication, sensing, computation, and medical applications. Micro- and nanomechanical systems are embedded in a wide range of transduction and sensing technologies, making them nearly ubiquitous in contemporary products. Beyond their commercial impact across diverse fields, fundamental research continues to push the boundaries of their remarkable capabilities. However, the ongoing pursuit of miniaturization and improved performance makes the engineering of these devices increasingly complex, with nonlinearities playing a pivotal role in their design and operation. This talk delves into unconventional dynamical phenomena observed in one- and twodimensional carbon-based nanodevices. I will report that a carbon nanotube can exhibit nonhysteretic bistability, where self-oscillations coexist with a quiet state, a novel phenomenon previously unreported in the field of nanomechanics. Then, I will show that graphene resonators, when driven into the nonlinear regime of motion and modulated by a slow signal in the presence of noise, give rise to exotic switching dynamical paths. These newly observed dynamical regimes, along with the methods used to reveal them, are generic and applicable to a broad range of mesoscopic vibrational systems. They offer new opportunities for sensing applications and for enhancing weak signals through stochastic resonance.
- Speaker: Dr Pierpaolo Belardnelli, Universita Politecnica delle Marche
- Friday 06 June 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: JDB Seminar Room, CUED.
- Series: Engineering - Dynamics and Vibration Tea Time Talks; organiser: div-c.
Fri 02 May 08:45: Title to be confirmed
Chaired by Muriel Dresen and Andrew Conlan
- Speaker: Margarida Rodrigue, Department of Veterinary Medicine
- Friday 02 May 2025, 08:45-10:00
- Venue: LT2.
- Series: Friday Morning Seminars, Dept of Veterinary Medicine; organiser: Fiona Roby.
Fri 02 May 08:45: Investigating the relationship between inflammatory markers in peripheral blood and clinical presentation of intervertebral disc extrusions in canids
Ruweena graduated from Cambridge vet school in June 2024 and has stayed on to continue her research into IVDE with the neurology department, specifically looking at the inflammatory markers IL-6, IL-1β, MMP -9 & extracellular vesicles in the blood plasma of dogs presented to the QVSH for IVDE .
Chaired by Muriel Dresen and Andrew Conlan
- Speaker: Ruweena Perera, Department of Veterinary Medicine
- Friday 02 May 2025, 08:45-10:00
- Venue: LT2.
- Series: Friday Morning Seminars, Dept of Veterinary Medicine; organiser: Fiona Roby.
Fri 25 Apr 08:45: Title to be confirmed
Chaired by Elizabeth Murchison and Sophia Belkhir
- Speaker: Niv Froman, Department of Veterinary Medicine
- Friday 25 April 2025, 08:45-10:00
- Venue: LT2.
- Series: Friday Morning Seminars, Dept of Veterinary Medicine; organiser: Fiona Roby.
Fri 25 Apr 08:45: The global epidemiology of Streptococcus canis identifies genomic features of host adaptation, virulence and antimicrobial resistance
Speaker bio: • 2012-2018: Studies of Veterinary medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Germany • 2018-2021: PhD in Microbiology at the Institute for Microbiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Germany: Investigation of virulence and fitness factors of Streptococcus suis • 2022-2024: PostDoc at the Institute for Microbiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation and two-month research visit in the group of Dr Lucy Weinert at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge: Further education in bioinformatics, analysis of genome sequences of Streptococcus suis, teaching responsibilities • Since October 2024: PostDoc (DAAD fellowship) at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany and Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge: Genome studies of the epidemiology, virulence and host adaptation of Streptococcus canis, supervision: Dr Lucy Weinert and Prof Dr Marcus Fulde (Berlin)
Chaired by Elizabeth Murchison and Sophia Belkhir
- Speaker: Muriel Dresen, Department of Veterinary Medicine
- Friday 25 April 2025, 08:45-10:00
- Venue: LT2.
- Series: Friday Morning Seminars, Dept of Veterinary Medicine; organiser: Fiona Roby.
Mitigating chemo-mechanical heterogeneity of Ni-rich layered cathodes through the regulated medium-range order by doping
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE01180A, PaperJunfeng Luo, Gi-Hyeok Lee, Jiliang Zhang, Seongkoo Kang, Chi Liang Chen, Chung-Kai Chang, Zheng-Yao Li, Ronghua Zeng, Hong Li, Jialu Li, Ruirui Zhao, Qifeng Zheng, Yong-Mook Kang
Structural heterogeneity-induced chemo-mechanical interplay has been identified as the primary reason for the capacity degradation of high-voltage Ni-rich layered cathodes. In the current study, two dopants known to have different...
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Thu 01 May 13:00: Is There Hope for the Climate?
Abstract Stay tuned!
Bio
Srinivasan Keshav is the Robert Sansom Professor of Computer Science at the University of Cambridge, focusing on the intersection of computer science and sustainability. He earned his PhD from UC Berkeley and has held roles at Bell Labs, Cornell University, and the University of Waterloo. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, ACM , and IEEE , Keshav is recognized for his contributions to networking and sustainability. His research includes innovations in energy systems, carbon footprint reduction, and forest conservation using remote sensing. Keshav emphasizes practical applications of computer science to global challenges, fostering collaborative solutions in smart grids and biodiversity conservation.
- Speaker: Keshav Srinivasan, University of Cambridge
- Thursday 01 May 2025, 13:00-14:00
- Venue: GS15, William Gates Building. Zoom link: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=addon .
- Series: Energy and Environment Group, Department of CST; organiser: lyr24.
High-Conversion-Efficiency and Stable Six-Electron Zn-I2 Batteries Enabled by Organic Iodide/Thiazole-Linked Covalent Organic Frameworks
DOI: 10.1039/D5EE00365B, Paper Open Access   This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence.Wenyan Du, Qi Huang, Xunwen Zheng, Yaokang Lv, Ling Miao, Ziyang Song, Lihua Gan, Mingxian Liu
Six-electron I−/I5+ redox chemistry gives a promising platform to propel high-capacity Zn-I2 batteries, but faces limited conversion efficiency and instability of IO3− species. Here we design a thiazole-linked covalent organic...
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