Recently, Amal Nammouchi, a doctoral student in Computer Science, participated in the winning team during AI meets climate: MIT Energy and Climate Hack.
Hundreds of students from around the world gathered both on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s campus and virtually for the event held in Massachusetts, USA. The hackathon brought together participants from various fields to develop innovative solutions for one of today’s most complex challenges: the global energy and climate crisis. Participants were tasked with creating an innovative solution for different companies and had two days to tackle their assigned challenge and present their proposals to company representatives, fellow hackers, and judges.
Amal Nammouchi, from Karlstad University, was part of the winning team alongside four students from MIT Sloan School of Business and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The team was given a task for the Silicon Valley-based startup Mitra Chem, addressing a need related to energy and climate
– As a computer science student, exploring how AI can positively impact the climate was particularly exciting for me. My research focuses on using AI models to optimize energy distribution from solar panels, enabling the collection of large amounts of data. The hackathon provided a fun opportunity to connect my research with a real-world company and I want to use my expertise to continue working on climate-related issues, Amal says.
Since its inception in 2013, the MIT Energy and Climate Hack has served as a platform for innovative and sustainable solutions, fostering exciting new ideas.
– It was inspiring to witness everyone’s dedication to finding solutions. Our solution, Unbiased Cathode, allows researchers to assess the supply chain implications of battery materials before development begins, thereby reducing the lab-to-production timeline. We created a tool supported by a large language model (LLM) that enables more efficient iteration and development of innovative battery technologies, Amal says.
This year’s focus areas at the MIT Energy and Climate Hack included energy markets, transportation, agriculture, and forestry. Participating corporate sponsors included Google, Crusoe, Ironwood, Foothill Ventures, Koidra, Mitra Chem, Avangrid, Schneider Electric, First Solar, and Climate Ledger. This year marked the first time that artificial intelligence (AI) was used as a tool to develop creative climate solutions.
