University of Birmingham - Full steam ahead

Scientists are to use a £1.5 million grant to conduct a four-year analysis of how best to change the UK's transport systems to limit their impact on the climate. The group at the University of Birmingham will work alongside the British Geological Survey and the universities of Nottingham and Loughborough, among other partners, to think ahead 40 years and consider what transport systems the country will need by 2050. The project will draw on expertise from across Birmingham's departments. Civil engineers will investigate infrastructure and technological considerations - for example, how future transport systems will cope with strong winds, heavy rains and high temperatures as the climate changes - and researchers from the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences will develop weather models to help them.