Computing to combat climate change and conserve nature
Professor Srinivasan Keshav. Photo credit: Joe Petrik
Meet Professor Srinivasan Keshav, the new Robert Sansom Professor of Computer Science. At the heart of his work is a desire to use computer science to help the world, in particular by contributing to the fight against climate change
A Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, his research interests range from the vast — forest restoration and conservation — to the everyday, such as making group conference calls more immersive experiences.
After completing his PhD, Keshav joined the research staff at Bell Labs and held visiting faculty positions at IIT Delhi and Columbia University, before becoming an associate professor at Cornell University. In 1999, he left academia for a few years to co-found the software company Ensim Corporation. He returned to academia to take up the Canada Research Chair in Tetherless Computing at the University of Waterloo in Ontario from 2004 to 2014. He also held the position of Cisco Chair in Smart Grid at the University of Waterloo between 2012 and 2017.
A major thrust of Professor Keshav’s research is examining the use of sensors, communication, and control to increase the carbon efficiency of energy systems. The carbon emissions responsible for climate change come from a few key areas: electricity generation, transportation, buildings, agriculture and deforestation.
I asked myself the question ‘Can we use computer sensors to reduce energy consumption in the world?’ We can try to reduce the number of flights we take to cut down our carbon footprint but overall, that equates to around 2% of global emissions. The built environment contributes around 40% of the UK’s total carbon footprint — that is mostly down to natural gas heating and cooling systems.
He began to investigate heating and ventilation systems to see whether it was possible to take an Internet of Things (IoT) approach to reduce heat, light, and cost: “If no one is in a room we shouldn’t need to heat or light it, so if we can sense that, we can then control the heating or lighting unit. In my experience facilities managers have so many problems to solve every day, and they tend to be more interested in the comfort of people rather than trying to save energy. So we looked to use comfort to reduce the consumption of energy.”
This approach has led to the development of a new type of smart fan, which houses a heater and a small computer that senses comfort levels and can be personalised using a website hosted by the fan. Around 70 smart fans were deployed for a field trial that recorded 400,000 hours of usage. The analysis showed that deploying systems such as these can greatly reduce cooling and heating costs as well as the carbon footprint of commercial buildings. A Canadian start-up is looking into fabricating smart fans based on this research.
Professor Keshav’s work has also identified practical actions for the end-users. One of his recent projects uses blockchain technologies to enable homeowners to get paid for their green electricity generation. By establishing an end-to-end chain of trust, homeowners are able to obtain highly trustworthy Renewable Energy Certificates, which can then be sold in existing certificate markets.
An emerging interest for Professor Keshav is the role of computer science in forest landscape restoration (FLR) and conservation. Forests are vital for air purification and flood prevention, providing habitats for a major proportion of global biodiversity, as well as providing food and jobs for millions of people. While some research suggests that denuded land on Earth can sustain a trillion more trees, careful planning on reforestation programmes is essential. Planting non-native species would pose increased fire risks and provide limited benefits for biodiversity conservation. It is equally important to conserve existing forests, which continue to sequester carbon.
Techniques from Computer Science can help FLR and conservation programmes. Existing agent-based models that simulate the growth of a multi-species forest, as well as replicating extreme weather and interventions for disease management can take a very long time to run. Computer science techniques can greatly improve the performance of these models.
Another kind of technology that has an important role to play in monitoring forests are sensors, such as satellites and drones. A long-term mass-scale forestation project requires sensors that are self-managing, robust, and have longevity. Professor Keshav and his colleagues are exploring low-cost and robust sensor systems that are capable of estimating the carbon content of soil and monitoring poaching, theft, and vandalism. Working with Professor Keshav on his FLR research are Professor David Coomes (Director, University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute), Amelia Holcomb (University of Waterloo) and Gemma Gordon, Tom Kelly, Dr Jon Ludlam and Dr Anil Madhavapeddy (all University of Cambridge).
The Robert Sansom Professor of Computer Science
The Robert Sansom Professorship of Computer Science was established in 1998 through donations from Dr Robert Sansom (Emmanuel 1978). Dr Sansom has been a generous supporter to Collegiate Cambridge, especially in the fields of computing and conservation.
Cambridge Zero
The University of Cambridge launched an ambitious new climate change initiative — Cambridge Zero. Cambridge Zero will harness the full range of the University’s research and policy expertise, developing solutions that work for our lives, our society and our economy. Zero-carbon Energy Transformation is one of the areas in which Cambridge Zero is working, supporting and building on the expertise of academics such as Professor Keshav.
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