Russia's Skolkovo Tech Picks First Research Centers

First 3 Skolkovo RCs:

• Infectious Disease and RNA Therapeutics: proposed by leading partners from MIT, and Lomonosov Moscow State University, (MSU), with participation from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
• Stem Cell Research: proposed by leading partners from University Medical Centre Groningen in the Netherlands, and Vavilov Institute of General Genetics in Russia.
• Electro-Chemical Energy Storage: proposed by leading partners from MIT and Lomonosov MSU.

Reliable efficient and affordable energy storage is one of the key components of the high-performance sustainable technology package.  Not surpisingly, I would like to know more about the last one.

Skolkovo again

Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (SkTech) launches a very interesting concept - Research Centre within the University. These centres will be one of the main pillars of the new university, comprised from at least one international (non-Russian) university, at least one Russian university, and a SkolkovoTech. While following the development of this initiative, I came across of this interesting article:
    
Skolkovo's Trickle-down Effect

When Continental Drift Was Considered Pseudoscience

One hundred years ago a German scientist was ridiculed for advancing the shocking idea that the  continents were adrift. Today it is a common knowledge.

Smithsonian

Skolkovo Tech’s Innovation Workshop underway at MIT

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/sktech-innovation-workshop-underway.html

Hybrid Solar Thermal / Solar Electric System

One of the several concepts in this direction. These look very much like familiar vacuum UV collectors. Take for example our favorite Sunda S1-16.  If you insert PV elements inside the tube, you will get the Naked Energy system.  The main idea is to offset the drop in efficiency of overheated PV elements by cooling them with the embedded solar thermal system module.

 Naked Emergy hybrid solar PV - solar thermal collector

Sunda Seido vacuum UV solar thermal collector

National Clean Energy Summit 2012

President Clinton's speech at the National Clean Energy Summit 5.0 

It is quite long, but very worth watching (you can right away move to about 8:40).

My favorite parts:
- The most successful species on Earth are the cooperators: termites, ants, bees and humans
- The aggregate weight of ants on Earth is more than the aggregate weight of all humans
- One of the most respected opponents of the global warming Prof. of Physics at Berkley Dr. Muller in a study funded by the Tea Party, confirmed the global warming is real  
- The wind in North Dakota can provide electricity for all America
- Painting black roof white in the city of New York will save 18-20% on air-conditioning  
- In one day Germany produced 22 GW of solar energy - equivalent to 20 nuclear power plants
- Germany has on average the same amount of sunshine as London and less than any state in America except Alaska 
- The most expensive electricity is in Caribbean countries (Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, pays 36 cents per kilowatt of electricity) 
- Costa-Rica decided to not develop its own oil reserves, but use only clean energy

Carson Graham goes green

Yesterday had an opportunity to observe the upgrade of Carson Graham Secondary School
in North Vancouver.  Among number of efficiency features there are solar thermal and PV
systems installed by my friends from Future Energy. They will not only provide energy, but
also serve for educational purposes.