Hi, I'm Charlie and I love science!

As you'll be following the Living Solar Panels research journey, I thought it would be nice for us to get to know each other. I'll go first and then you can introduce yourself in the comments.

 

That's little Charlie at 5 years old just after moving to California in 1998. My family moved from a small village called Frampton Cotterell, located just outside of Bristol, England (about 100 miles west of London). My love of science stems from my childhood in England - my family frequented Bristol Zoo, Slimbridge Wetland Center, and the "Squirrel Park". Needless to say, most of my memories from England involve animals and curiosity.

 

Let's fast forward to my undergraduate years at San Francisco State University. During my first Biology lecture, Dr. Kimberly Tanner said to us all: "Get involved in a research lab!" As a Zoology major, I wanted to study large animals and what better place than at the San Francisco Zoo? Luckily, the newly hired head of the SF Zoo's Wellness and Conservation Center, Dr. Jason Watters, agreed to meet with me. My first assignment was to write an ethogram for the Southern Ground Hornbills and, at the time, I had no idea what that was (ethograms are charts that describe every behavior that an animal does). I guess I did a good enough job because I continued researching animal behavior at the Zoo until I graduated in 2015.

 

After graduating, I wanted to focus more on conservation and gain experience working in the field. I first spent a season in Yellowstone National Park counting migrating raptors (like eagles and hawks) before spending 6 months working with California Condors for the Ventana Wildlife Society (photo by Tim Huntington; me releasing a condor after a medical checkup).

 

While I loved my field jobs, I longed for the thrill of conducting my own research project! So, I went to grad school. I don't know where it came from, but I had a childhood dream of attending the University of Oxford. With the help of my wonderful parents (Mrs. Chesney pictured above, left), I got to attend Oxford in 2017-18 and received my MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management. I dove into the program focused on birds, but I somehow found my way into blockchain and cryptocurrencies. I wrote my thesis on attracting new investment to conservation using a bison herd non-fungible token. And suddenly I was hooked on technology.

 

I then worked at a startup company focused on sustainability analytics and machine learning before volunteering with World Wildlife Fund's Panda Labs. I then focused on several of my own startups, including NeuTreeLize that WWF listed as an idea that could change the world. After, I became an AmeriCorps Climate Corps volunteer placed at the environmental education nonprofit Earth Team and spent my free time developing a machine learning algorithm that writes nature "facts." 

 

My journey began on the individual animal scale: loving our family cats, studying the animals at the Zoo, and becoming passionate about saving a species from extinction. Graduate school opened my eyes to larger issues such as the causes of biodiversity loss and the need for sustainability. Through this, I became excited by technology; I love the challenge of learning how to program and understanding concepts that are new to me. I'm also motivated by the potential for innovative new technologies to enable human societal growth without sacrificing ecosystem health. For instance, how might we generate enough electricity to meet California's demand while also supporting our conservation goals?

 

In 2020, I joined the Environmental Studies department at the University of California, Santa Cruz to work with Dr. Michael Loik because of his unique approach of combining plant and climate science with technology and sustainability. The department also offers excellent opportunities to work with other scientists to explore how cactus-based electricity might lower the impacts of renewable energy infrastructure on birds with Dr. Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela and how Living Solar Panels might compare to other electricity sources with Dr. Brent Haddad. I look forward to sharing Living Solar Panels updates with you all!

I'd also love to get to know you! What first sparked your interest in science?