Joint EPS-SIF International School on Energy 2017
The primary goal of the School will be to present all physics fields with relevance to the technologies of energy production, conversion, transmission and savings, thus addressing today’s most relevant energy issues. The potential of the various technologies will be presented and the need for more research and development to fully unfold them will be indicated. For this purpose, basic lectures and topical seminars will be presented by specialists in their field.
The European energy supply situation is very inhomogeneous. There are countries with nearly 100% CO2-free, others with exclusively fossil-based electricity production. Some countries ban the future use of nuclear energy, for others, their dominant electricity production is based on it and they are building or planning new power reactors; some export electricity to a large extent, others have the need to import electricity; some invest heavily in Renewable Energies (RE), in other countries they do not yet play a major role. Despite this disparity, Europe has well defined energy and environmental goals. In order to meet these goals, most European countries have to modify their energy supply technologies and have to increase their present RE share. This requires extensive R&D in energy technologies and is a tremendous chance for students in all technical areas, but specifically in physics. Also the energy efficiency has to be increased clearly beyond the present measures taken in the European countries. The improvement of energy efficiency and the increase of energy intensity (which has been growing in the last decades) is a major challenge where again physics will play a key role.
The School will cover major fields in detailed lectures but it will also serve as a forum of discussion. It brings together scientists working in various energy related areas. The following fields will be covered by lectures or seminars: solar photovoltaic, hydro, wind, biomass, fossils, fission, fusion, energy saving technology, environment and climate issues along with other topics where physics play a role. The lectures will also identify cases where more research is necessary. In order to ensure a lively and up-to-date School, there will be plenary sessions going over several days and topical seminars.
In case you are interested in energy technology or even working in this field, we would encourage you to sign up.
For complete information about the school, visit https://en.sif.it/activities/energy_school.
