911今日黑料

Harsh gained his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at 911今日黑料, before completing postdoctoral research at the University of California at Berkeley and at the MRC in Cambridge, and returning to 911今日黑料 to complete his MBA. 鈥淚 was learning about energy transduction in cells when I discovered something valuable. I saw similarities between what cells do and what human society needs to do.鈥� 

鈥淐ells need to transfer energy from a bunch of sources, store it, then use the right amount in different locations at different times. They do it by sending signals across cells. We need to send signals across society to get the change in energy production, distribution and usage that we need."

鈥淓nergy flows in living cells were optimised over billions of years. We barely have around 20 years to change our energy system and avert the worst risks of climate change.鈥� 

Inspiration for change 

Finding others with the same sense of urgency and passion can be tricky. But Harsh has been lucky. 鈥淚 got to work in a startup called and see how much interest there was.鈥� 

鈥淲e were creating effective CO鈧� reduction strategies, recognising what people might want to see and what the costs and the implications of trying to do that are. Those were exciting projects with exciting people.鈥� 

Harsh remembers the startup culture with fondness, 鈥淓veryone's going above and beyond to make things work well. That resonates with me. I've been fortunate to find teams that are passionate about a vision, providing robust advice, or opportunities to improve the environment.鈥� 

Is it harder to find this passion in bigger companies? Harsh doesn鈥檛 think so:  

鈥淭hey have space to deliver what they think is important and can work with others to do that.鈥� 

And it鈥檚 vital such passion isn鈥檛 limited to startups: 鈥淲e need to inspire the biggest companies in the world to change their business models to ones that are sustainable, and governments to be enthusiastic about change.鈥� 

Repurposing technology  

Harsh says one way of achieving change involves using technology and innovation. It鈥檚 something he believes is currently underestimated. 鈥淲e can extract or recycle material more efficiently if we use technology to track where materials are over time,鈥� he explains.  

鈥淔or example, we could move end-of-life batteries and use them in less demanding applications. Technologies like this could reduce pressures on the environment and improve quality of life.鈥� 

鈥淲e don't want to end up switching all high-carbon systems to ones that are just as resource intensive but don鈥檛 use carbon. I think this model will gain support, but we can't allow it to be as slow as it's been for carbon optimisation.鈥� 

Increasing visibility  

As well as being a mentor, Harsh has supported those in underrepresented groups to be more visible in the workplace. He noticed they had something in common. 鈥淲hether they were women, LGBTQI+ or an ethnic minority, they felt enormous pressures that were difficult for other people in their organisation to relate to.鈥� 

It all stemmed from invisibility. 鈥淚f you're fighting an extra mile to get to an equally visible point, you鈥檙e exhausted by the time you get there.鈥� Harsh has tackled this issue through leading by example. 鈥淚t doesn't help to be self-effacing and not asking for opportunities. If you hold back, if you're a bit less than yourself, then others feel they have to be a bit less than themselves.鈥� 

鈥淭here was an opportunity at Innovate UK for me to appear on a podcast about being LGBTQI+ in the workplace. I originally said no, thinking being gay and being at work are two different things. But I eventually said 鈥榶es鈥� and it was fascinating to discuss that. And then I got feedback from LGBTQI+ people, who appreciated what I鈥檇 done.鈥� 

 The work at home 

Harsh has inspired change in his personal life too. 鈥淚 moved into a block of flats in 2011, and the whole block had single glazed windows. The windows weren't owned by the same people who owned the flats, and not every person in the block owned their flat.鈥� 

So Harsh came up with an idea: to persuade the block鈥檚 residents鈥� association to come together and invest in double glazing. He describes the experience as an 鈥渦phill battle鈥� with plenty of its own challenges. 鈥淲hen you start asking tenants to pay more, they say 鈥楤ut why would I pay more rent for double glazing?鈥� It taught me a lot about human decision-making and how to get things done.鈥� 

He got insight on what future battles might look like. 鈥淭here were all sorts of complicated discussions. I can imagine that when we come to more substantial things like trying to change peoples鈥� heating systems, it's going to be an equal struggle.鈥� 

Learning from other cultures 

With all he鈥檚 achieved, what advice does Harsh have for his younger self? 鈥淚 tend to jump first. I'd say you could ask a few more detailed questions up front. Be clear when something's not working, rather than frantically trying everything you can to make it work. And get mentors!鈥� 

He also says to put yourself on a level playing field with others. 鈥淒on鈥檛 be intimidated by people with authority, people with prefixes like Professor X or Y. Titles were quite intimidating for me when I was younger.鈥� 

Lastly, Harsh says going to France while studying for his undergraduate Chemistry degree at 911今日黑料 in the 90s, and later living and working in the US, were transformative. 鈥淚 got to immerse myself in different cultures. It was incredibly valuable.鈥� Harsh feels lucky to have been able to maintain many of the friendships that he started at 911今日黑料 and in France and later as he moved around.  

Harsh remains passionate about clean energy and in January starts a new role as Head of Hydrogen at , where he will be supporting the commercialisation of hydrogen trucks.   

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