Marian Scott
Professor of Environmental Statistics, University of Glasgow
Marian Scott is Professor of Environmental Statistics, University of Glasgow, School of Mathematics and Statistics and elected fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the International Statistics Institute. She is a chartered statistician of the Royal Statistical Society. Her research lies firmly in applied Statistics, with specific interests in the environment, (past, present and future), archaeology and animal welfare. Marian is chair of the EU Scientific Committee on Health, Environment and Emerging Risk (SCHEER) and member of the DEFRA and NatureScot Science Advisory Committees and of the Scottish Science Advisory Council. In 2009, she was awarded an OBE for services to science, in 2019 the RSS Barnett award and 2021, the EMS impact award.
Talk title: A digital earth - contributing to delivering net zero, nature plus and a sustainable world.
Abstract: As a planet, we face many crises and challenges, amongst them, are the climate change crisis, but also biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. Policy ambitions are to achieve net zero, halt biodiversity loss and reverse environmental degradation, couched in language of sustainability and achieving a just transition. Digital earth and digital twin are words that are increasingly being used in these discussions, reflecting the growth in all things digital in the environment. Underpinning both are models (or ensembles of models), data and uncertainty. In this lecture, I will use some examples from my work to explore new and old statistical challenges in this complex environmental, social, political and digital space as we work to address the different crises.
Vincenzo Nava
Senior Researcher at BCAM/Tecnalia
Vincenzo Nava has been a Senior Researcher in Offshore Renewable Energy at TECNALIA, Bilbao, since 2013 and BCAM in the MATHDES group since 2017, working in technical and managerial tasks of R&D European, national and local projects. He obtained his PhD in Ocean Engineering in May 2009 at the "Mediterranea" University of Reggio Calabria, Italy. From 2006 to 2009 he was a fellow visitor at Rice University (Houston, USA). In 2007 he did an internship at BP America, Houston. In 2012 he developed his research activity at the Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa, Portugal, Department of Naval Architecture (CENTEC). He is the author and co-author of several articles for international conferences and journals, book chapters and other publications.
Talk title: Mathematics for the sustainable development of offshore wind renewable energy
Abstract: Offshore wind energy can help the world achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals by providing accessible, clean energy (Goal 7), fostering energy security (Goal 9), lowering CO2 (Goal 13), and conserving ecosystems (Goal 14). Aligned with this, offshore wind energy is essential for meeting the Paris Agreement targets for emission reduction. The Green Deal strategy, adopted by the European Commission, is a clear commitment to achieving these ambitious targets. This strategy has become a roadmap establishing the deployment of 300 GW offshore wind power by 2050. At a national level and on a closer horizon, in 2030, the Roadmap for the Development of Offshore Wind and Sea Energy contemplates targets for installing floating wind power of up to 3 GW. The development of innovations in offshore wind energy is geared towards the reliable, efficient, economical and safe design and operation of wind turbines. In this sense, the progressive increase in the power of the machines implies challenges in the structural elements that will be subject to greater loads. In addition, these wind farms are installed at greater distances from the coast and greater depths, which makes it necessary to develop floating solutions. Moreover, the marine environment introduces additional challenges due to the high costs of installing and accessing the assets and the enormous cost of stopping energy production due to failure.
This talk will discuss how progress in the renewable energy sector, particularly in deploying offshore wind solutions, can benefit from applied research in numerical and computational mathematics and artificial intelligence. We show examples of the current research lines we are working on to improve the viability of offshore wind solutions during the project lifecycle. During the design stage, we aim to optimise the designs and reduce the time-to-market by speeding up CFD simulations via AI techniques. We also show advances in developing autoencoders to detect damaged components early during the operation phase to plan maintenance actions, reduce the share in Operation and Maintenance costs, and keep the energy production at the highest level possible.
Marta Enesco Garrido
Senior Data Scientist - Business Consultant @ NTT DATA
Marta is a data scientist with 7 years of experience implementing machine learning techniques, including 5 years in data science consulting. Prior to consulting, she worked inresearch applying programming and analytics to geoscience. Marta studied a bachelor's degree in mathematics at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and a master's degree in computational science at Potsdam University, Germany. Marta is interested in developing advanced analytics solutions with economic and environmental impact. She believes that delivering business value can go hand in hand with making positive impact for a sustainable future.
Talk title: Efficiency in the Utilities sector: advanced analytics with a sustainable impact
Abstract: Advanced analytics have gained increasing popularity in many technological fields. Beyond hyper-personalization or fraud detection, business solutions based on data science techniques can be delivered with a positive, sustainable impact. The carbon footprint of the Utilities sector can be reduced by improving physical assets and commodities management. NTT DATA works in a wide range of projects where efficiency plays a key role. From minimizing the risk of asset failure with predictive maintenance to maximizing the availability of renewable power plants with optimized workplan schedules. For this matter, applied mathematical techniques such as forecasting or optimization are used to deliver important insights and improve decision-making.
Roberto Mínguez Solana
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
Roberto Mínguez Solana is a civil engineer who holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Cantabria. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in academic settings and research, as well as in carrying out projects with companies, mainly in the field of engineering and in developing numerical models to reproduce physical processes. He co founded the company Escission, S.L. (escission.com) and he is currently Visiting Professor at the Department of Statistics of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
Talk title: Using Artificial Intelligence for Smart Water Management Systems
Abstract: Data-driven “intelligent” applications have become disruptors to daily living. Innovative water utilities can benefit from this digital technology revolution to improve their performance. By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence algorithms and big data analytics, water utilities can maximize information and data available to make better decisions while enhancing service delivery and reducing costs. This brief introduces the principles of artificial intelligence for water utilities embarking on this digital transformation to improve their water distribution operation in general, and to address unaccounted-for-water problems in particular. The brief describes some of the most extended applications of big data analytics and artificial intelligence-related algorithms in water supply, discusses how water utilities can pilot artificial intelligence toward the prognosis of unaccounted-for-water, and presents recommendations for implementation and preliminary cost estimates.
María Erquiaga Mendoza
Senior Manager at BBVA
María graduated in law with a specialization in economics at Deusto University and in an MBA at IE Business School. She has17 years of experience in the ESG field, an acronym that stands for environmental, social and governance. For the last 2 years and currently, she has been developing sustainable solutions to fight against climate change and to promote inclusive growth at BBVA, a global financial institution in which sustainability is at its core strategy. Always on global roles, with reach to local banks, corporate areas and foundations.
Talk title: Sustainability at BBVA
Abstract: BBVA considers sustainability to be an important part of its overall strategy. Their approach to sustainability focuses on two main areas: climate action and inclusive growth. To achieve this, BBVA works towards supporting business growth while also managing their own environmental impact. BBVA has a clear plan with three main goals: promoting new businesses, achieving net zero carbon emissions, and making a positive impact on society. Within this framework, climate action is considered to be a key aspect. This involves using sustainable finance as a business opportunity, aligning their investment portfolio with targets for sectors that have high carbon emissions, and helping clients with their own decarbonisation strategies. BBVA also engages with the community and stakeholders to combat climate change.
Ricardo García Herrera
Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at Complutense University and IGEO (CSIC-UCM)
Ricardo has been president of the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) and has held different managerial positions in regional administrations. Specialist in Climatology, his research includes the analysis of extremes, the reconstruction of the climate of the last 500 years, and the patterns of climate variability in the troposphere. He is co-author of more than 200 articles in scientific journals. He has coordinated international and national research projects and has directed 15 doctoral theses. He has been a member of the Executive Committee of the World Meteorological Organization and Contributing Author and reviewer of the 4th report of the IPCC. He has represented Spain on various international committees.
Talk title: Climate Change: the future has arrived
Abstract: The talk will analyse the physical basis of climate change and will review the more recent climate data. The agreement between the observational evidences and the scenarios derived from climate models will be discussed.
David Gómez-Ullate Oteiza
Professor of Applied Mathematics at IE University
David Gómez-Ullate is Professor of Applied Mathematics and Department Head at IE University. He is also President of the Knowledge Transfer Commission of the Royal Spanish Mathematical Society. For the past 10 years he has specialized in knowledge transfer of mathematics to industry, where he has coordinated projects in the financial, fisheries, biomedical, legaltech and aeronautical sectors. He is currently leading a project on optimization of shipping routes that aims to have a considerable impact on decarbonization of the maritime sector.
Talk title: Mathematical optimization of maritime shipping routes
Abstract: Despite being the most efficient way to transport goods across the globe, maritime transport is still responsible for 3% of the global CO2 emissions. The latest regulation from the International Maritime Organization imposes severe restrictions on the efficiency and carbon emissions of vessels in order to decarbonize the maritime industry. While alternative fuels and better ship design require strong investments and research, there is a simple way of attaining a 3-5% reduction in fuel and emissions: optimizing shipping routes. Indeed, shortest distance (orthodromic) paths which most commercial routes follow are not optimal, in much the same way as the shortest path in road transport is not necessarily the best one. We will provide a short introduction to the mathematics involved in tackling this challenging issue. This project is funded by the BBVA Foundation and the Agencia Estatal de Investigación, and it includes naval engineers, meteorologists, data scientists, mathematicians and software engineers.