"Explore Caltech" Talks

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

5:00pm to 6:00pm

Online Event

Brian Lee, Graduate Student, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,

Michael Kipp, Postdoctoral Scholar, Geochemistry,

Lily Dove, Graduate Student, Environmental Science & Engineering,

Public Event

You are invited to join us for a series of 10-minute science talks presented by the Caltech community and coordinated by the Caltech Postdoc Association (CPA) and the Explore Caltech organizing committee. Every Wednesday from 5pm to 6pm in May, members of the Caltech community will share short talks on science and engineering topics that interest them via Zoom. These talks, which will be targeted to a general audience, are free, and members of both the Caltech community and the general public are invited.

JOIN US ON ZOOM: https://caltech.zoom.us/j/97030969175

Presenters for May 20

Next-Generation Batteries for Renewable Energy
Brian Lee, graduate student in chemistry and chemical engineering

Much work has been done for technology such as solar cells to harness renewable. However, we do not have a good way to store that energy. Batteries are an efficient way to store electrical energy, with the current commercial batteries using lithium ions. Unfortunately, lithium ion batteries are costly to produce which makes products prohibitively expensive. In addition, lithium ion batteries have safety issues due to flammable electrolytes. To address these issues, we work towards all solid-state batteries using more abundant metals such as zinc, and present preliminary results.

Where Does Atmospheric CO₂ Go during Ice Ages?
Michael Kipp, postdoctoral scholar in geochemistry

During the last ice age, atmospheric CO₂ levels plunged by about one-third, resulting in cooler temperatures and expansion of ice sheets. While we can quantify changes in atmospheric CO₂ using air bubbles in ancient ice, we lack a clear understanding of where the "missing" CO₂ goes during ice ages. In this talk, I will discuss work at Caltech that aims to answer that question. I will also discuss how studying ice ages informs our understanding of forthcoming climate change.

Seafaring Robots: How Oceanographers Use Autonomous Vehicles to Better Understand Our Blue Planet
Lily Dove, graduate student in environmental science & engineering

In the early days of oceanographic exploration, learning about the world's oceans primarily involved putting buckets over the side of ships. However, recent developments in autonomous vehicles and sensor accuracy have allowed oceanographers to explore new and previously inaccessible regions of our planet, including beneath Antarctica's ice shelves, within highly energetic continental boundary currents, and across the uncharted open ocean. In this talk, I will share about some of the ultimate exploration you can do without ever leaving planet Earth.

For more information, please contact John Bostick at [email protected], or Pablo Garrido Barros at [email protected].

Event Series

"Explore Caltech" Talks

Event Sponsors

Caltech Postdoctoral Association (CPA) More Events from this Sponsor