date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 16:10:41 +0100 from: Tomas Markvart subject: Re: selling ourselves ........ to: Mike Hulme Mike - Some more input from Southampton - engineering side: development and assessment of new and renewable energy technologies (photovoltaics). We operate national test and reference centre for the integration of photovoltaic systems into utility supply networks. We have worked with both UMIST and RAL on various aspects of renewable system technology. Colaboration - nationally with DTI and the Royal Academy of Engineering (plus funding from research councils). Internationally with the International Energy Agency and UNESCO. We are working with the DTI and the Electricity Association to develop a new regulatory framework for the integration of photovoltaic solar energy systems. [I think more information on links with DTI was requested - this is already somewhere in the text] I hope it helps Regards Tom At 11:15 13/10/99 +0100, you wrote: >This may be the last specific input I seek from you all, but it is perhaps >one of the most important. > >Nearly everyone was agreed that although such a section was not called for >in the invitation, our bid needed to demonstrate what assets this >particular Consortium will bring to the new centre. I have therefore >drafted the following, with various gaps. > >***************** >Please do your best, all of you to read this and make sure I get the best >examples and get them correct. My questions/requests for info. are in >square brackets. My rationale: > >- I am limiting names to institutions rather than individuals or >departments - space limit again. > >- I am deliberately drawing attention to our involvement with Hadley >Centre, UKCIP, IPCC, DETR and DTI - more please on the latter - since these >five are mentioned explicitly in the call for proposals. > >- the entries here may be a little biased to what I know - apologies to the >engineers and social scientists. >******************* > >Proposed text ............. > >The departments and institutes participating in this Consortium contain >unparalleled UK expertise in the field of climate change. The make-up of >the Consortium ensures the direct participation of many of the UK's leading >natural scientists, social scientists and engineers who are active in >climate change related science. These specific contributions include >climate change detection and climate scenario construction (UEA), climate >impact and climate change adaptation analysis (UEA, Southampton, CEH), >integrated assessment of climate change (UEA, UMIST, Cranfield), climate >policy evaluation (SPRU, UEA, UMIST) and the development and assessment of >new and renewable energy technologies (RAL, UMIST) [an entry for ITS and >Cambridge please]. The Consortium members also have a proven track-record >of collaboration over many years with the Hadley Centre (UEA, SOC, UMIST >and CEH) and, more recently, have been pre-eminent in the shaping and >execution of the UKCIP (UEA, UMIST, Southampton, CEH, SPRU) with several >Co-applicants being members of the UKCIP Scientific Advisory Panel. > >In each of these fields, members of the Consortium have, over the last >decade and more, made significant and internationally-recognised >contributions to the science climate change and in the generation of >policy-relevant assessments of climate change. Many of the Co-applicants >have contributed to previous IPCC assessments and three (?) of them are >Convening Lead Authors of the current IPCC Third Assessment Report. >International pre-eminence …………….. through collaboration with [name >strategic overseas partners]. > >The nine departments and institutes represented in this bid have also >successfully collaborated on a variety of Research Council, UK Government >and EU-funded research projects over recent years. For example, UMIST have >been collaborating with RAL for a number of years on renewable energy >research and have an on-going EPSRC project investigating the benefits of >energy storage for power systems fed from renewables. UMIST are active >participants in the EPSRC network operated by RAL on offshore wind energy. >UEA, Southampton and CEH have worked closely with the Hadley Centre in >undertaking fast-track climate change impacts assessments for the DETR, and >SOC and CEH are working with the Hadley Centre on the development of new >Earth System Models. UEA, SPRU and UMIST have worked on the [ESRC or UKCIP >example here please] [are these the best three examples??] [any good >examples of engineers working with natural and social scientists?] [what >is the ITS/Southampton link?] > >This Consortium brings a number of strategic and highly successful and >pioneering modelling, networking and data management initiatives to bear on >the objectives of the new climate change centre. Some examples of these >include the Cambridge econometric model, the hydrological and dynamic >global vegetation models of CEH, the Advanced Driving Simulator of ITS, the >data management and analysis expertise of UEA (the LINK Project working >closely with the Hadley Centre and the IPCC Data Distribution Centre), >blah, blah [give an strategic example each]. These intellectual assets of >the Consortium members means that the new climate change centre will have >an immediate and fully functioning platform from which to build new >research initiatives. Needless to say, all of the departments in the >Consortium which receive HEFCE funding were graded 5* or 5 in the last RAE >[am I correct? What else could I say?] > > >***************************************************************************** >Dr Mike Hulme >Reader in Climatology tel: +44 1603 593162 >Climatic Research Unit fax: +44 1603 507784 >School of Environmental Science email: m.hulme@uea.ac.uk >University of East Anglia web site: http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/~mikeh/ >Norwich NR4 7TJ >***************************************************************************** > Annual mean temperature in Central England for 1999 > is currently about +1.4 deg C above the 1961-90 average > *************************************************** > The global-mean surface air temperature anomaly for 1998 > was +0.57 deg C above the 1961-90 average, the warmest year yet recorded >***************************************************************************** > >