Cheap Solar Electricity - The Essential Fuel of the 21st Century

该项目旨在让所有年龄和背景的公众参与EPSRC资助的科学家在太阳能发电领域的突破性发现。通过这个项目，我们在爱丁堡大学和其他地方的科学家团队将与许多公共参与专家合作，使学校学生和所有年龄和背景的公众能够探索、讨论和反思与低成本太阳能技术创新及其对地球未来的迫切需求相关的问题。这项提议将创新的EPSRC SuperGen激发式太阳能电池联盟中的科学家提供的专业知识和科学创业精神与英国科学和发现中心协会、苏格兰学校设备研究中心(SSERC)、科学媒体中心、CLEAPSS和国家STEM中心的公共参与专业知识结合在一起。将所有这些合作伙伴聚集在一起，将是一位新任命的公共参与领导者，拥有创新低成本太阳能领域的博士学位。这位专家的目标是提供资源，并在研究人员与科学中心、科学节、灯塔、学校网络和大学外联小组之间建立伙伴关系，使公众参与成为研究人员在这一领域的作用的一部分。低成本的太阳能可以说是人类有史以来面临的最重要的挑战，对21世纪社会的重要性怎么强调都不为过。我们将利用新的和建立的合作伙伴关系，最大限度地促进财团和公众之间的接触，并为双方带来实质性的好处。这将有两个目标：(I)激励和支持网络内的研究人员，使所有人都代表该联盟为正在进行的参与活动做出贡献；(Ii)通过大型媒体获得报道。在人类历史上，在维持社会财富和凝聚力方面，科学挑战，即可持续能源供应，从来没有比这更紧迫或更重要。预计到2050年，世界能源消耗量将翻一番，到2100年将增加两倍以上，但按照今天的水平，大气中正在积累危险数量的二氧化碳。政府间气候变化专门委员会(www.ipcc.ch/)估计，如果不采取行动，到2100年，二氧化碳浓度将是历史水平的三倍，从而导致极具破坏性的气候变化。可持续能源作为一项科学挑战是独一无二的，因为现状无法维持，洪水、干旱、大规模移民、经济混乱和战争可能是不采取行动的后果。解决气候变化问题是一个长期问题，需要科学家、政府和公众的持续承诺，才能使真正的变化成为可能。这需要该领域的研究人员作出承诺，使他们的工作变得容易获得，并就该领域当前的科学和未来方向与公众进行对话。由于每个人都与这一挑战息息相关，所有年龄和背景的公众都必须通过各种不同的方式，通过活动、家庭活动、媒体、对话机会、学校讲习班、展览、项目和节日，与科学家、政策制定者和工业专家进行定期的公开和诚实的对话。

This project aims to involve the public of all ages and backgrounds with the ground breaking discoveries of EPSRC-funded scientists in the field of solar energy generation. Through this project, our team of scientists at Edinburgh University and beyond will collaborate with a number of public engagement experts to enable school students and the public of all ages and backgrounds to explore, discuss and reflect upon the issues related to innovation in low-cost solar energy technologies and its pressing need for the future of our planet. This proposal brings together the expertise and scientific entrepreneurship provided by the scientists within the innovative EPSRC Supergen consortium on Excitonic Solar Cells, with the public engagement expertise of The UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres, The Scottish Schools Equipment Research Centre (SSERC), The science media centre, CLEAPSS and the National STEM centre. Bringing all these partners together will be a newly appointed public engagement leader with a PhD in the field of innovative low cost solar energy. The goal is for this specialist to provide the resources and embed partnerships between the researchers and science centres, science festivals, Beacons, schools networks and university outreach teams so that public engagement is an embedded part of the role of researchers in this area. Low-cost solar energy is arguably the most important challenge ever faced by mankind and the importance to 21st century society cannot be overstated. We will use the new and established partnerships to maximise engagement between the Consortium and the Public and deliver substantial benefit to both. This will be aimed at two outcomes: (i) energising and supporting the researchers within the network such that all contribute to ongoing engagement activities on behalf of the consortium and (ii) obtaining coverage through large media outlets. There has never been a time in human history when a scientific challenge, namely sustainable energy supply, has been more urgent or important in maintaining the wealth and cohesion of society. World energy use is predicted to double by 2050 and more than treble by 2100 but already at today's level, dangerous quantities of CO2 are building up in the atmosphere. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (www.ipcc.ch/) estimates that, without action, CO2 concentration will triple over historic levels by 2100 leading to very damaging climate change. Sustainable energy is unique as a scientific challenge as the status quo cannot be maintained and floods, droughts, mass migrations, economic disruption and wars may be the consequences of inaction. Solving the problem of climate change is a long-term issue that requires sustained commitment from scientists, governments and the public to make real change possible. This requires a commitment from researchers in the field to make their work accessible and to engage in dialogue with the public on the current science and the future directions of the field. Since everyone has a stake in this challenge, the public of all ages and backgrounds must be included in regular open and honest conversation with scientists, policy makers and industrial experts in a host of different ways, through events, family activities, media, dialogue opportunities, schools workshops, exhibitions, projects and festivals.