22 / 05 / 14 - Congratulations to Laura Tobin, Winner of the inaugural UCD CleanWeb Sprint Award

Congratulations to Laura Tobin, Cluster PhD Researcher who won the inaugural UCD CleanWeb Sprint Award on the 21 May 2014. Laura, a UCD PhD engineering student, is carrying out research in collaboration with Cluster investigator Prof Ravindranathan Thampi, UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, under the supervision of Cluster Deputy Director, Prof John T. Sheridan, UCD School of Electrical, Electronic and Communications Engineering, on high-powered LEDs as an improved alternative light source for solar simulators.

The UCD CleanWeb Sprint is a new one-day initiative designed and delivered by the UCD Earth Institute in collaboration with NovaUCD. It aims to encourage the development of commercial outputs arising from UCD CleanWeb research by engaging with researchers at an earlier stage in the commercialisation process.

Solar simulators are light sources which simulate natural light and are used for photovoltaic testing and for the provision of indoor lighting. The bulbs currently used as light sources tend to have relatively short life spans, are expensive to purchase and have high maintenance requirements.

Unlike the currently used light bulbs, LEDs exhibit very high energy efficiencies are considerably cheaper to buy, have longer life-spans and have lower maintenance requirements.

The results of Laura’s research demonstrate that LED lights can be easily varied on a real-time basis to allow tailored artificial sunlight to be used for both photovoltaic testing and indoor lighting. Using a sensor to detect the level of light in a room or location, the technology can then vary the light intensity and spectral distribution accordingly.

CleanWeb combines clean technology research with IT, web and social networking technologies to optimise the usage of resources such as food, water and energy. CleanWeb technologies can enable, access, and accelerate the mass-market adoption of clean technologies.

The UCD CleanWeb Sprint, which took place in the UCD O’Brien Centre for Science, involved a total of 4 early-stage CleanWeb business ideas being developed by UCD researchers and scientists. At the end of UCD CleanWeb Sprint Laura Tobin was presented with the award and a €1,000 prize fund to assist her to further develop her business idea, as it was judged to have the most commercial potential. - See more at: http://www.ucd.ie/innovation/newsevents/news/2014/may/abrightideaforledlightswinsinauguralucdcleanwebsprintaward/#sthash.1dGCgYY5.dpuf