Plant Engineering for Sustainable Futures

Join us for a full‑day event focused on Plant Engineering for Sustainable Futures, including: Sustainable Foods, Sustainable Medicines and Sustainable Carbon Management. The event, organised by Cambridge Zero with the Global Food Systems IRC and Engineering Biology IRC, has a dual-aim of: strengthening Cambridge's multidisciplinary plant-engineering research community (spanning multiple Schools) and strategically mapping future funding opportunities subject to UKRI's recently revised funding framework. Our goal is to explore how plant engineering can drive sustainable solutions in key sectors, while building stronger connections across disciplines, Departments, and Schools.

Speakers: Dr Jake Harris, Dr Nicola Patron, Dr Caroline Ibe, Prof. Jim Haseloff, Dr Leonie Luginbuehl, Dr Noam Prywes, Dr Nadia Radzman, Prof. Erwin Reisner, Prof Paul Dupree

Chairs: Dr James Levine, Francesca Manning, Dr Francis Krampa, and Dr Jenny Molloy.

The programme will be structured around four sessions - three thematic plenaries and a fourth breakout session to identify which areas of research in this field already map, could be reframed to map, and don't map to the Sector Plans of the UK Government's Industrial Strategy informing UKRI's funding moving forward. We will be considering further sources of funding to support those areas of research that don't map to these Sector Plans. 

       🌱 Sustainable Foods   

       💊 Sustainable Medicines            

       🌍 Sustainable Carbon Management

       🎯 Strategic UKRI Funding Mapping             

Why Attend?

• Build new internal networks across the University.
• Discover interdisciplinary research connections.
• Identify suitable sources of funding to support  this research moving forward. 

Please note this event is for University of Cambridge staff and students only. 

Programme

09:30 Registration with refreshments on arrival

10:00 Welcome (Dr James Levine, Francesca Manning & Dr Francis Krampa)

10:05 Message from PVC for Education & Environmental Sustainability (Prof. Bhaskar Vira)

10:15 Plenary Session 1: Sustainable Foods (talks & panel discussion)

          Chair: Francesca Manning

          Speakers: Dr Jake Harris, Dr Nicola Patron & Dr Caroline Ibe, Nicolás Garcia Hernandez

11:25 Comfort break

11:35 Plenary Session 2: Sustainable Medicines (talks & panel discussion)

           Chair: Dr Francis Krampa

           Speakers: Prof. Jim Haseloff, Prof. Paul Dupree, Dr Connor Tansley

12:45 Buffet lunch

13:30 Plenary Session 3: Sustainable Carbon Management (talks & panel discussion)

           Chair: Dr Jenny Molloy

           Speakers: Dr Leonie Luginbuehl, Dr Noam Prywes, Dr Nadia Radzman & Prof. Erwin Reisner

14:40 Introduction to Breakout Session 4 (Dr James Levine)

14:50 Refreshments

15:10 Breakout Session 4: Strategic UKRI Funding Mapping (parallel group discussions)

          Group Chairs: Khadija Amir, Dr Francis Krampa & Dr Jenny Molloy

15:50 Rapporteur feedback from Breakout Session 4
           Chair: Dr James Levine

16:20 Concluding remarks (Dr James Levine, Khadija Amir & Dr Francis Krampa)

16:30 Close