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Vaclav Smil

Vaclav Smil writes Numbers Don’t Lie, IEEE Spectrum's column devoted to the quantitative analysis of the material world. Smil does interdisciplinary research focused primarily on energy, technical innovation, environmental and population change, food and nutrition, and on historical aspects of these developments. He has published 40 books and nearly 500 papers on these topics. He is a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (Science Academy). In 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the top 100 global thinkers, in 2013 he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2015 he received an OPEC Award for research on energy. He has also worked as a consultant for many U.S., EU and international institutions, has been an invited speaker in more than 400 conferences and workshops and has lectured at many universities in North America, Europe, and Asia (particularly in Japan).

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Vaclav Smil

Waiting for Superbatteries

They are still a long way from matching the energy density of liquid fuel

Why Is Hydroelectricity So Green, and Yet Unfashionable?

The oldest renewable source of energy deserves a better fate

Taming the Climate Is Far Harder Than Getting People to the Moon

Decarbonization is a project with no clear beginning or end

Trending Stories

The Future of Fission Reactors May Be Small

Wearable Ultrasound Patch Images the Heart in Real Time

Smaller, Cheaper Flow Batteries Throw Out Decades-Old Designs

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Vaclav Smil

Waiting for Superbatteries

They are still a long way from matching the energy density of liquid fuel

Why Is Hydroelectricity So Green, and Yet Unfashionable?

The oldest renewable source of energy deserves a better fate

Taming the Climate Is Far Harder Than Getting People to the Moon

Decarbonization is a project with no clear beginning or end

Trending Stories

The Future of Fission Reactors May Be Small

Wearable Ultrasound Patch Images the Heart in Real Time

Smaller, Cheaper Flow Batteries Throw Out Decades-Old Designs