The conference I attended was the International Conference on Applied Energy at University of Hong Kong, 5 - 7 January 2009. The conference offered a platform for scientists, researchers and decision makers to discuss the future development of technology and science in applied energy. It aimed to strengthen connection between academia and industry to facilitate application of advanced energy technologies. The paper I presented investigates the contrasting size and expansion of the environmental footprint between the developed North and majority South, looking into future scenarios up to 2100. With the conference taking place in Asia it seemed highly appropriate to encourage discussions surrounding these controversial issues.

I wanted to ensure that I made the most of the conference. I wanted to attend as many sessions as possible and converse with fellow researchers. I had looked through the book of abstracts to help me decide which sessions to attend. I was most interested in the sustainably energy technology sessions, but wanted to attend some of the other sessions, on policy for example, to broaden my experience. I met a lot of different people on the first day, and upon talking to them was encouraged to attend their sessions to hear more about their research. Some parallel sessions I was forced to miss, but I talked to people who attended these sessions and tried to speak with the presenters and ask them about their presentations in person. I found that people were quite happy to discuss their work with me and was approached myself to talk about my own research with others. I was lucky enough to get a space on the Technical Visit at the end of the conference. This was held at the Hong Kong Wetland Park. The building had been designed integrating man-made structures with the natural environment. The use of a geothermal heat pump air-conditioning system was demonstrated, as well as the success of energy efficient technologies My presentation was well received; I had already been approached by a few people who expressed interest in attending that session. One gentleman even asked for my slides in advance! I was pleased that a good number of people attended the session and were engaged during my presentation. My contribution was slightly different to the others as it was focused upon ‘Environmental Footprints’ which is a relatively new technique and one that some people are less familiar with. However, this was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the importance of such a tool and discuss its use and results with a different community. A lot of interest was generated and many were keen to learn more about my research and how footprints may change into the future. It was interesting to consider some of the other presentations during the session and discuss with them the impacts of footprinting on their own research. There were a few questions on the actual fundamentals of footprinting, but many of these were answered during the introductory slides in the presentation. People were more concerned with wanting to know how likely the predictions are to occur, but of course it is impossible to tell this as there will be many unforeseeable developments in the next 50-100 years. I was most impressed, not only by academics, but also industrial contacts that had a general commitment and understanding of the issue of energy and the need to be aware of pollutants and the impact of the environment as industries develop and grow; one of the keynote speakers was from The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited. It was my pleasure to meet many interesting people and discuss both my own and their research goals. I made a few contacts at IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis), an institution from which I utilise a lot of data, so it was most useful to converse with them. Next year’s conference to be held in Singapore was discussed and I was approached to discuss the possibility of doing a special afternoon session that could be more interactive, slightly different to the usual presentation style groups. It was suggested that perhaps a panel of speakers could be introduced, but rather than presentations it would be more of an open debate, with questions to the speakers, but also discussion among the floor too. This may encourage new ideas and spark some interesting debates. It may be beneficial to focus not only on academics, but involve industry and policy makers too. There is much uncertainty in the field of the environment and sustainable development and this was indeed highlighted at the conference. The way in which fuel prices may vary and how technology will develop is unclear. However, many scientists aimed to model such changes and make suggestions to policy makers. In some cases it was shown that renewables will still not offer reasonable investment choices, but that governments/decision makers should intervene in order to encourage the use of such technologies. The use of Carbon Capture and Storage was highlighted as an important current and future issue. Work has been undertaken to assess reducing flow of CO2 back to the surface once it is trapped in deep aquifers. There was also a definite movement towards modelling people’s trends in terms of energy use, and even a computer game style simulation to study travel behaviour.

I have returned to the UK with renewed vigour for my work, inspired by the presentations I saw and the people I talked to. Having attended many presentations, as well as discovering much about investigations in a variety of disciplines, I also learnt a lot about good presentation technique and will endeavour to utilise these in my next seminars. I feel that I am more confident now and will be even more comfortable approaching people and questioning them about their work at future international conferences. The conference was very well organised and proceeded smoothly, catering for all those attending. It was most interesting to attend such an international conference where the culture is different and to meet a variety of nationals from around the world. This really opened my eyes to the vast world of academia and research and the huge potential of collaboration. I am most grateful for the support of the Mark Lindgren Memorial Fund in enabling me to attend this most informative conference. I feel it has greatly benefitted my work and helped me develop as a researcher, both by presenting my results and in conversing with fellow academics and researchers.