Thu 09 Oct 15:00: Reliable and Sustainable AI: From Mathematical Foundations to Next Generation AI Computing
The current wave of artificial intelligence is transforming industry, society, and the sciences at an unprecedented pace. Yet, despite its remarkable progress, today’s AI still suffers from two major limitations: a lack of reliability and excessive energy consumption.
This lecture will begin with an overview of this dynamic field, focusing first on reliability. We will present recent theoretical advances in the areas of generalization and explainability—core aspects of trustworthy AI that also intersect with regulatory frameworks such as the EU AI Act. From there, we will explore fundamental limitations of existing AI systems, including challenges related to computability and the energy inefficiency of current digital hardware. These challenges highlight the pressing need to rethink the foundations of AI computing.
In the second part of the talk, we will turn to neuromorphic computing—a promising and rapidly evolving paradigm that emulates biological neural systems using analog hardware. We will introduce spiking neural networks, a key model in this area, and share some of our recent mathematical findings. These results point toward a new generation of AI systems that are not only provably reliable but also sustainable.
- Speaker: Gitta Kutyniok, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
- Thursday 09 October 2025, 15:00-16:00
- Venue: Centre for Mathematical Sciences, MR14.
- Series: Applied and Computational Analysis; organiser: Matthew Colbrook.
Tue 21 Oct 11:00: Water-based quantum dots liquid scintillator for particle physics
Quantum dots are an emerging technology with many applications in industry. Pre-determined and controllable optical properties of the quantum dots, as well as the existence of large libraries of established protocols for their dispersion in aqueous solutions, make them an attractive option for nuclear and particle physics applications. In this talk, we introduce quantum dots and our R&D effort to develop a water-based quantum dots liquid scintillator. Then, we show the results of the optical measurements and cosmic ray test. Finally, we discuss the future potential of a radiation detector for nuclear and particle physics, with a special interest in neutrino physics.
- Speaker: Teppei Katori, King's College London
- Tuesday 21 October 2025, 11:00-12:00
- Venue: Ray Dolby Center -- Seminar Room: D2.002 .
- Series: Cavendish HEP Seminars; organiser: Dr Paul Swallow.
Fri 21 Nov 16:00: Detailed analysis of Seismicity and Seismic structure beneath Northern Borneo
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Wuttinan Tonprasert
- Friday 21 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
- Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.
Fri 14 Nov 16:00: Passive Seismic Imaging of Plate Margins
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Yingbo Li
- Friday 14 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
- Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.
Fri 24 Oct 16:00: Searching for Expressions of Mantle Plume Behaviour in North Atlantic Contourites
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Dylan Palmer
- Friday 24 October 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
- Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.
Wed 26 Nov 13:30: 2024 Robin Paul prize lecture: The Hydrogen Catalyst: Removing a Quantum Barrier to Fuel Sustainable Aviation
The single greatest barrier to hydrogen (H₂) aviation is the immense challenge of storing and distributing liquid hydrogen (LH₂). This challenge is the primary obstacle to making flights that emit only water a practical reality. A significant part of this challenge stems from a fundamental property of H₂ itself: the interconversion of its isomers, ortho- and para-H₂, under liquid storage conditions. This exothermic isomerisation reaction is a major, direct contributor to the quick evaporation of LH₂, making fuel storage inherently inefficient. A solution is to promote the ortho-para conversion (OPC) with a catalyst in liquefaction. This enables the supply of stable LH₂ fuel that meets the standards required by H₂ aircraft designs.
This lecture will present findings from a recent study demonstrating that the industry-standard pursuit of >99% para-hydrogen purity is not only more expensive than we thought but also energetically sub-optimal for the aviation fuel cycle. The findings reveal that a strategically-tuned OPC process, accepting purities of 83-95%, reduces liquefaction energy demands by 8-13% while reducing evaporation losses during storage for the critical 1-7 day transport window. This optimisation, when coupled with green H₂ production, leads to a >92% reduction of CO₂ emissions from fuel production to flight on routes such as London-New York. Furthermore, this talk will outline the experimental continuation of this work, building on the kinetic understanding of the catalytic OPC . The new insights gained into this quantum phenomenon directly address the evaporation of H₂ in storage tanks, the economic viability of H₂ aviation, and the carbon footprint of the LH₂ supply.
- Speaker: Paula Mendoza-Moreno - Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge
- Wednesday 26 November 2025, 13:30-14:30
- Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, West Cambridge Site.
- Series: Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology; organiser: .
Wed 29 Oct 13:30: AI-Driven Chemical Processes: From Human-in-the-Loop to Self-Optimising Labs
Artificial intelligence offers a new path to chemical processes: enabling chemical systems that not only learn from data but also improve themselves over time. In this talk, I will outline how AI can close critical gaps in process development and operation, paving the way towards autonomous, self-optimising laboratories and process plants. I will focus on three complementary algorithmic approaches. The first, Bayesian optimisation, provides a framework for experimental design and optimisation. I will particularly discuss how we can use multi-fidelity and human-in-the-loop strategies for a more informed process optimisation. Second, I will discuss how large language models (LLMs) can and are being leveraged to capture human knowledge, interact with algorithms, and enable autonomous processes via symbolic reasoning and algorithmic search. Finally, I will talk about how reinforcement learning, famous for making computers “learn” and beat the best humans in the world at various tasks, unlocks new opportunities for control and real-time optimisation of complex, dynamic processes, with particular promise in bioprocess applications. Together, these advances point to a unifying vision: AI-driven chemical processes that are faster to develop, safer to operate, and inherently more sustainable. I will conclude by reflecting on the emerging paradigm of autonomous process innovation and the opportunities it creates for the chemical sciences and industry.
- Speaker: Dr Antonio del Rio Chanona - Imperial College London
- Wednesday 29 October 2025, 13:30-14:30
- Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, West Cambridge Site.
- Series: Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology; organiser: .
Fri 03 Oct 14:00: Intelligent Sensing and Energy Devices for Pervasive and Sustainable Healthcare
Abstract:
The rapid ageing of populations and the global impact of the COVID -19 pandemic have exposed critical shortcomings in medical resources and healthcare systems, underscoring the urgent need for innovative biomedical technologies. Traditional centralized healthcare remains predominantly offline and reactive, with physiological monitoring occurring intermittently at clinical facilities. In contrast, recent advancements in smart materials, wearable technologies, wireless communication, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things are paving the way for a paradigm shift toward continuous, pervasive, and personalized digital health solutions. However, significant challenges persist in achieving advanced monitoring modalities, accessibility, and sustainability.
This talk will first present our recent progress in developing cost-effective, accessible sensing technologies for ambulatory monitoring of deep-tissue signals. I will introduce wireless, flexible near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) devices for measuring local hemodynamics and tissue oxygenation, mechano-acoustic sensors to decode tissue mechanics, and radio-frequency metamaterial sensors for non-contact vital sign detection. The second part of the talk will cover our recent efforts in developing flexible energy devices targeted at sustainable and reliable power sources for wearable bioelectronics. These works represent steps toward accessible, affordable, and continuous health monitoring, addressing diverse needs such as pediatric care, rehabilitation, and energy autonomy, and paving the way for pervasive and sustainable healthcare.
Short Bio:
Changsheng Wu is a Presidential Young Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is also an assistant professor by courtesy in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a PI in the Institute for Health Innovation and Technology and the N.1 Institute for Health, NUS . He received his PhD in MSE from Georgia Tech and carried out postdoctoral research in the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics at Northwestern University. His research focuses on developing wireless wearables and intelligent robots for energy harvesting, biosensing and therapeutic applications, leveraging bioelectronics, materials science, and advanced manufacturing to create solutions for sustainable living and environment. He has been recognized by international awards including MRS Early Career Distinguished Presenter, Asia Pacific Biomedical Engineering Consortium (APBEC) Young Scholar Award, NGPT Young Investigator Award, and TechConnect Innovation Award.
- Speaker: Dr Changsheng Wu, National University of Singapore
- Friday 03 October 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Oatley 1 Meeting Room, Department of Engineering.
- Series: Engineering - Mechanics and Materials Seminar Series; organiser: div-c.
Mon 17 Nov 14:00: Molecular Wires and Nanorings
Molecular wires are the simplest single-molecule electronic devices, and they can be viewed as the elementary components of bulk organic semiconductors. Molecular wire rings exhibit fundamentally different behaviour from straight molecular wires, leading to the phenomenon of aromaticity. This lecture will present the synthesis and investigation of various linear and cyclic molecular wires, including polyynes, cyclocarbons and porphyrin nanobelts, with an emphasis on understanding electronic delocalisation in long chains and large rings.
- Speaker: Prof. Harry Anderson, University of Oxford
- Monday 17 November 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Dept. of Chemistry, Wolfson Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Synthetic Chemistry Research Interest Group; organiser: Chris Hunter.
Fri 28 Nov 16:00: Metamaterial-inspired strategies for structural control
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Dr Kyriakos Alexandros Chondrogiannis, ETH Zurich
- Friday 28 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: JDB Seminar Room, CUED.
- Series: Engineering - Dynamics and Vibration Tea Time Talks; organiser: div-c.
Wed 15 Oct 15:00: Applied Research and Technology in Design and Construction
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Alessandro Beghini, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
- Wednesday 15 October 2025, 15:00-16:00
- Venue: CivEng Seminar Room (1-33) (Civil Engineering Building).
- Series: Engineering Department Structures Research Seminars; organiser: Lowhikan.
Thu 07 May 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Host: Dr Virginia Pedicord, CITIID , Department of Medicine
- Speaker: Charlotte Odenall, King's College London
- Thursday 07 May 2026, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 12 Mar 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Host: Dr Virginia Pedicord, CITIID , Department of Medicine
- Speaker: Roser Vento-Tormo, Sanger Institute
- Thursday 12 March 2026, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 12 Feb 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Host: Maike de la Roche, CRUK
- Speaker: Prof James Arnold, Professor and Head of Tumour Immunology Group, King's College London
- Thursday 12 February 2026, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 29 Jan 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Host: Prof Ravi Gupta, CITIID , Department of Medicine
- Speaker: Prof John Tregoning, Professor of Vaccine Immunology, Imperial College London
- Thursday 29 January 2026, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 05 Feb 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Host: Prof Yorgo Modis, CITIID , Department of Medicine
- Speaker: Prof Neil Brockdorff, Biochemistry, University of Oxford
- Thursday 05 February 2026, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 04 Dec 13:00: Title to be confirmed Note unusual time
Host: Maike de la Roche, CRUK
Note unusual time
- Speaker: Clair Gardiner, Professor in Immunology, Trinity College Dublin
- Thursday 04 December 2025, 13:00-14:00
- Venue: Clifford Allbutt Lecture Theatre, Clifford Allbutt Building.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 27 Nov 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Host: Patrycja Kozik, LMB
- Speaker: Sebastian Amigorena, Director of Research, Institut Curie, Paris
- Thursday 27 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 13 Nov 16:30: Title to be confirmed Note unusual time
Host: Tim Halim, CRUK
Note unusual time
- Speaker: Prof Mark Cragg, Professor in Experimental Cancer Biology, University of Southampton
- Thursday 13 November 2025, 16:30-17:30
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 02 Oct 15:30: Chronic stress-mediated effects on the immune system: links to mental health Note unusual time
Dr. Stacey Kigar is a research associate in the Department of Medicine and affiliate of the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge. She obtained her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and did postdoctoral work at the National Institute of Mental Health in the United States before moving to Cambridge in September 2020. Dr. Kigar uses both preclinical animal models and clinical research samples to investigate biological mechanisms underlying mental health and neurological disorders. She is generously supported by the Cambridge BRC , Alzheimer’s Research UK, and the MindEd Charitable Trust.
Host: Dr Chrysa Kapeni, CRUK
Note unusual time
- Speaker: Stacey Kigar, CRUK
- Thursday 02 October 2025, 15:30-16:30
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.