EnergyHarvesting



		Eric Mazur, Balkanksi Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard University, is no stranger to celebrity status. Research:Eric Mazur primarily studies electron behavior in solids, but he believes strongly in being able to teach the subjects he studies. As a scientist, Mazur’s work is highly lauded: among other research, his work with ultrashort laser pulses has lead to new nanosurgery techniques. Yet as a teacher, Mazur’s work has also created waves: his book Peer Instruction and teaching resources at www.TeachingDVD.com are changing the way large lecture courses are taught worldwide. About Video:Eric Mazur discusses his two accidental discoveries: black silicon and interactive teaching. Besides explaining the inefficiencies of regular silicon, he also highlights the inefficiencies of traditional university science courses, and in both cases, what he has done differently.
Eric Mazur Harvard University Boston, MA U.S.A

		Gian-Paollo Beretta is an expert in thermodynamics – he's written a textbook on it – but he also has a strong background and interest in history. This means that in addition to an understanding of energy as a physicist, he also has an informed perspective on the role of energy sources in both cultural and historical contexts. Research: Beretta's work, largely focused on entropy, has included a study of flame propagation in spark-ignition engines, performance analyses of urban waste-to-energy power plants, and the invention of a nonlinear equation which informs our understanding of the quantum thermodynamics of irreversible processes. About Video:Gian-Paolo Beretta explains the exponential increase in energy consumption, why the public thinks we're running out of fossil fuels, and predicts the actual rates of fossil fuel consumption.
Gian-Paollo Beretta University of Brescia Brescia, Italy

		Alan Aspuru-Guzik studies new nanomaterials - not how to use them or make them, but how they function at the nanoscale. His contribution to energy-harvesting materials lies in his predictions in how they will work, and how to improve them. He also predicts molecules which don't naturally exist and haven't been found yet - compounds which someday may be powering your portable electronic device. Research: Alan Aspuru-Guzik's research interests lie in quantum computation and its applications to chemistry. Two other interest areas of his group's research include: the theoretical studies of renewable energy materials and methods development for electronic structure theory. About Video:Alan Aspuru-Guzik explains why energy-harvesting engineers need to understand the physics of nanoscale synthetic materials, the significance of the new material his team found, and how a screensaver you download onto your computer may help him find another useful compound.
Alan Aspuru-Guzik Harvard University Boston, MA U.S.A