A Computer Scientist Looks at the Energy Problem

• October 7, 2009: 11:00am - 12:00pm
• Location: Banatao Auditorium, 3rd floor, Sutardja Dai Hall, UC Berkeley

Randy Katz and David Culler [Profs. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, UC Berkeley]

The complete series can be found at http://www.citris-uc.org/events/RE-fall2009.As always, these talks are free, open to the public and broadcast live on-line at mms://media.citris.berkeley.edu/Randy_Katz_and_David_Culler_10-7-09 the day and time of the event. Questions can be sent via Yahoo IM to username: citrisevents. Sponsored by Infineon Technologies.

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Abstract:
In this talk, we describe LoCal, a new research project at Berkeley that applies the lessons of the Internet, for building distributed and robust communications infrastructures, to a radical new architecture for energy generation, distribution and sharing. The project's objective is to understand how pervasive information changes energy production, distribution and use. The design of a more scalable and flexible electric infrastructure, encouraging efficient use, integrating local generation, and managing demand through awareness of energy availability and use over time, is investigated. Our approach is to develop a cyber overlay on the energy distribution system in its physical manifestations: machine rooms, buildings, neighborhoods, isolated generation islands and regional grids. A scaled series of experimental energy networks is being constructed, to demonstrate monitoring, negotiation protocols, control algorithms and Intelligent Power Switches integrating information and energy flows in a datacenter, building, renewable energy "farm", and off-grid village. These will be generalized and validated through larger scale simulations. We seek to understand broadly how information enables energy efficiencies: through intelligent matching of loads to sources, via various levels of aggregation, and by managing how and when energy is delivered to demand, adapted in time and form to available supply. Bi-directional information exchange is integrated everywhere that power is transferred. The project is supported by Siemens, Vestas, and the National Science Foundation.

Biographies:

Randy Katz received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the Berkeley faculty in 1983, where since 1996 he has been the United Microelectronics Corporation Distinguished Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He is a Fellow of the ACM and the IEEE, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2007, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Helsinki. He has published over 250 refereed technical papers, book chapters, and books. His textbook, Contemporary Logic Design, has sold over 100,000 copies in two editions, and has been used at over 200 colleges and universities. His current research interests are the architecture of Internet Datacenters and Energy System Networks. 

David Culler received his B.A. from UC Berkeley, 1980, and a M.S. and Ph.D. from MIT, 1985 and 1989 respectively. He joined the EECS faculty in 1989 and is the founding Director of Intel Research, UC Berkeley. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, an ACM Fellow, and was selected in Scientific American Top 50 Researchers and Technology Review 10 Technologies that Will Change the World. He was awarded the NSF Presidential Young Investigator and the Presidential Faculty Fellowship. His research addresses networks of small, embedded wireless devices, planetary-scale internet services, parallel computer architecture, parallel programming languages, and high performance communication.

Presentations