Brian Norton (engineer)

Last updated

Brian Norton
Born1955
Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Alma mater University of Nottingham
Cranfield University
Scientific career
Fields Energy Engineering
Physics
Solar Energy
Institutions Tyndall National Institute
University College Cork
Technological University Dublin Dublin Institute of Technology
Ulster University
Cranfield University

Brian Norton is a solar energy applications researcher and technologist. As president of Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) from 2003 to 2018, [1] [2] he was an advocate for diversity of higher education in Ireland. [3] [4] He has also been associated with the relocation of DIT from a multiplicity of scattered buildings to a single city centre campus in the Grangegorman neighbourhood of Dublin [5] [6] and the creation of the Technological University Dublin, Ireland's first Technological University.

Contents

In 2020 he became head of energy research at Tyndall National Institute, [7] [8] [9] research professor at University College Cork as well as professor of solar energy applications at Technological University Dublin.

Biography

In 1989 Norton was appointed by Sir Derek Birley as the first professor in the field of the Built Environment at the University of Ulster, prior to which he taught at Cranfield University. He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy [10] [11] and a fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering. [12] Norton studied physics at the University of Nottingham and engineering at Cranfield University and holds doctorates from both universities. He has been conferred with an honorary doctorate by the University of Technology of Troyes. [13] His most-cited research papers are on improving photovoltaic module efficiency via use of various types of heat sink that enable operation closer to ambient temperatures. [14] He co-chaired, with Wim van Saarloos, the European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC) activity that led to a 2021 report on “Decarbonisation of Buildings [15]

Selected bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy storage</span> Captured energy for later usage

Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an accumulator or battery. Energy comes in multiple forms including radiation, chemical, gravitational potential, electrical potential, electricity, elevated temperature, latent heat and kinetic. Energy storage involves converting energy from forms that are difficult to store to more conveniently or economically storable forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renewable energy</span> Energy that is collected from renewable resources

Renewable energy is energy from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. Renewable resources include sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy sources are sustainable, some are not. For example, some biomass sources are considered unsustainable at current rates of exploitation. Renewable energy is often used for electricity generation, heating and cooling. Renewable energy projects are typically large-scale, but they are also suited to rural and remote areas and developing countries, where energy is often crucial in human development. Renewable energy is often deployed together with further electrification, which has several benefits: electricity can move heat or objects efficiently, and is clean at the point of consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar energy</span> Radiant light and heat from the Sun, harnessed with technology

Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy, and solar architecture. It is an essential source of renewable energy, and its technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on how they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power, and solar water heating to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light-dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.

A Trombe wall is a massive equator-facing wall that is painted a dark color in order to absorb thermal energy from incident sunlight and covered with a glass on the outside with an insulating air-gap between the wall and the glaze. A Trombe wall is a passive solar building design strategy that adopts the concept of indirect-gain, where sunlight first strikes a solar energy collection surface in contact with a thermal mass of air. The sunlight absorbed by the mass is converted to thermal energy (heat) and then transferred into the living space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar thermal energy</span> Technology using sunlight for heat

Solar thermal energy (STE) is a form of energy and a technology for harnessing solar energy to generate thermal energy for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dublin Institute of Technology</span> Former technical institution in Dublin, Ireland

Dublin Institute of Technology was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological University Dublin, as TU Dublin City Campus. The institution began with the establishment of the first technical education institution in Ireland, in 1887, and progressed through various legal and governance models, culminating in autonomy under a statute of 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar water heating</span> Use of sunlight for water heating with a solar thermal collector

Solar water heating (SWH) is heating water by sunlight, using a solar thermal collector. A variety of configurations are available at varying cost to provide solutions in different climates and latitudes. SWHs are widely used for residential and some industrial applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy development</span> Methods bringing energy into production

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermal energy storage</span> Technologies to store thermal energy

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable architecture</span> Architecture designed to minimize environmental impact

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renewable energy commercialization</span> Deployment of technologies harnessing easily replenished natural resources

Renewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years. First-generation technologies, which are already mature and economically competitive, include biomass, hydroelectricity, geothermal power and heat. Second-generation technologies are market-ready and are being deployed at the present time; they include solar heating, photovoltaics, wind power, solar thermal power stations, and modern forms of bioenergy. Third-generation technologies require continued R&D efforts in order to make large contributions on a global scale and include advanced biomass gasification, hot-dry-rock geothermal power, and ocean energy. As of 2012, renewable energy accounts for about half of new nameplate electrical capacity installed and costs are continuing to fall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concentrated solar power</span> Use of mirror or lens assemblies to heat a working fluid for electricity generation

Concentrated solar power systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight into a receiver. Electricity is generated when the concentrated light is converted to heat, which drives a heat engine connected to an electrical power generator or powers a thermochemical reaction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">100% renewable energy</span> Practice of exclusively using easily replenished natural resources to do work

100% renewable energy means getting all energy from renewable resources. The endeavor to use 100% renewable energy for electricity, heating, cooling and transport is motivated by climate change, pollution and other environmental issues, as well as economic and energy security concerns. Shifting the total global primary energy supply to renewable sources requires a transition of the energy system, since most of today's energy is derived from non-renewable fossil fuels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rakesh Agrawal (chemical engineer)</span> American chemical engineer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">DIT School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technological University Dublin</span> Technological university in Dublin, Ireland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Academies' Science Advisory Council</span>

The European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC) is a regional association of National Academies of science. Its members are 25 National Science Academies of the Member States of the European Union (EU), and the National Science Academies of Norway, Switzerland and the UK. Malta and Luxembourg do not have National Academies of Science. A pan-European Academy (Academia Europaea) and a network of all Academies from across the continent of Europe also have membership (ALLEA). EASAC was founded in June 2001 and was headquartered at the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in Halle (Saale) until 31 December 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "New President is appointed for DIT". Irish Independent. 27 April 2003.
  2. ↑ "Prof Brian Norton reappointed as DIT President". The Irish Times. 17 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "ITs or Tech Unis". The Irish Times. 16 February 2014.
  4. ↑ "The transforming landscape of higher education in Ireland". Public Affairs Ireland. 4 April 2014.
  5. ↑ "Finishing touches as DIT campus opens in the heart of city". The Irish Times. 4 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "DIT opens new campus in Grangegorman to first students". Irish Independent. 10 September 2014.
  7. ↑ "Pádraig Hoare: Time for a green light for the sustainable energy of the future". 24 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "Special Report: Endless possibilities of solar power investment". 9 November 2020.
  9. ↑ "Incentives needed for heat pumps to take off". 24 November 2020.
  10. ↑ "DIT President elected to membership of the Royal Irish Academy". Astronomy Today. 1 June 2016.
  11. ↑ "Admittance Day 2016 | Royal Irish Academy". Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "EuroCase website".[ permanent dead link ]
  13. ↑ "deux sommites de la science a troyes naomi j halas et brian norton seront presents a lutt du samedi 25 au mercredi 29 septembre 2021". utt.fr. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  14. ↑ "Brian Norton".
  15. ↑ (PDF) https://easac.eu/fileadmin/PDF_s/reports_statements/Decarb_of_Buildings/EASAC_Decarbonisation_of_Buildings_Web_publication030621.pdf.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ Norton, Brian (2013). Harnessing Solar Heat. Springer. ISBN   978-94-007-7275-5.
  17. ↑ Norton, Brian (1992). Solar Energy Thermal Technology. Springer. ISBN   978-1-4471-1744-5.
  18. ↑ Sayigh A (Editor) (2012). Comprehensive Renewable Energy. Elsevier. ISBN   978-0-08-087872-0.{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  19. ↑ Enteria N and Akbarzadeh A (Eds) (2013). Solar Energy Sciences and Engineering Applications. CRC Press. ISBN   978-1138000131.
  20. ↑ E Michalena (Editor) (2013). Renewable Energy Governance. Springer. ISBN   978-1-4471-5595-9.{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  21. ↑ E. Coyle and R.A. Simmons, eds (2014). Understanding the Global Energy Crisis. Purdue University Press. ISBN   978-1-55753-661-7.{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  22. ↑ G Crawley, ed (2016). Solar Energy. World Scientific Press. ISBN   978-981-4689-49-6.{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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