Workshops and Forums
February 27-28, 2024
Pathways Towards the Safe and Effective Deployment of Engineered Microbial Technologies
A symposium hosted by the Linde Center for Science, Society and Policy and the Resnick Sustainability Institute, focused on the regulatory, ethical, and scientific challenges associated with releasing engineered microbes into the environment. The workshop led to the development of this report highlighting recommendations for regulating engineered microbes.
April 12-13, 2024
Innovations in the Science & Policy of Water Quality Measurement
Caltech's Linde Center for Science, Society, and Policy (LCSSP) hosted a workshop to address water quality challenges in an era of climate change. The workshop focused specifically on issues of managed aquifer recharge, saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers, and pollution from agricultural runoff and algal blooms.
Summer 2022 & 2023
Summer Workshop on Computer Vision Methods for Ecology (CV4Ecology)
A three-week intensive summer program teaching Computer Vision Methods for Ecology, seeking to empower ecologists to accurately and efficiently analyze large image, audio, or video datasets using computer vision.
Fall 2020
RSI Rhizosphere Workshop Series
RSI's Rhizosphere Workshops aim to identify scientific and technological gaps that currently impede both our understanding of the rhizosphere, and our ability to develop new tools to maintain and enhance biosphere function. These insights and knowledge will be particularly valuable in the context of climate change and its effects on soils, including the retention of water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus.
December 9, 2017
Plan B: Engineering a Cooler Earth
Since the middle of the 20th century, the surface temperature of the earth has increased by 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius), as a result of the rapid increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide concentrations have increased by 25 percent, while methane levels have almost doubled. Without a rapid switch over to low-carbon energy sources, predictions for future warming are dire. In the face of this challenge, several options have emerged for engineering a cooler climate. This one-day symposium explored some of these options – their technical and economic feasibility, as well as their risks.
At this one day event, experts in carbon dioxide removal and sequestration, and global brightening to reflect more of the sun's rays, a process known as albedo management, described the state of the science, as well as discussed issues of ethics, governance, and communication.
September 21-22, 2015
Water Resilience and Sustainability: Can We Make LA Water Self-Sufficient?
This workshop addressed the long-term potential for sustainable water use in urban environments, using the Los Angeles area as a case study for discussion. The Keynote Session: "State of the art and future technologies for the optimized urban water system" was open to the public. All other workshop discussions were private and by invitation only.
2013-2015
The Grid 2020 Discussion Series
The Grid 2020 Discussion Series focused on critical topics identified in the Resnick Report "Grid 2020, Toward a Policy of Renewable and Distributed Energy Resources". The report highlighted critical engineering, economic and policy issues that must be addressed to ensure a successful transition to a future grid with increased renewables and distributed energy resources.
March 28-29, 2013
Accelerating the Development of Earth-Abundant Thin-Film Photovoltaics Workshop
The aim of this workshop was to bring together leading experts in the field to discuss theoretical methods, thin-film deposition techniques, device architecture and fabrication, and commercialization prospects for earth-abundant semiconductors. The workshop agenda included a number of invited presentations and panel-led discussions, a poster session, and a workshop dinner. The event was sponsored in partnership with by the Light-Material Interactions in Energy Conversion (LMI) Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) and the Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technologies (QESST) Energy Research Center (ERC)
October 18, 2012
LA Region Clean Energy Economy Leadership Forum
This forum was sponsored by the Resnick Sustainability Institute in partnership with KE Squared and was attended by leaders from business, investment, government, research institutions, and philanthropies in a position to develop and promote a new vision for economic leadership and job creation in the greater Los Angeles area. Discussion focused on what it take for the region to build a sustainable economy in the face of today's new realities.
October 12-13, 2011
So. Cal Smart Grid Research Symposium & Workshop on Managing Uncertainty
The Symposium was a collaborative event for students, professors, and professionals to learn about and discuss the technical, economic, and policy challenges of integrating renewable resources into the grid. The event was preceded by an invitation only workshop that brought together a group of experts for a facilitated discussion on the question: "How do we manage the uncertainty of intermittent renewable energy as its penetration continues to increase?" This workshop addressed the technical, economic, and policy challenges in uncertainty management. Workshop participants were experts in the operation of the grid and electricity market, in the development and deployment of smart grid technologies, as well as in control, optimization, and economics theories.
April 14-15, 2011
Critical Materials in Sustainable Energy Applications Workshop
This workshop brought together a key group of people for a facilitated discussion to answer the question "How should we focus research and development efforts to best mitigate the effects of material criticality on achieving a sustainable energy future?" The workshop took place over the course of two days, and included four half-day closed-door working sessions, with additional plenary/keynote talks that were open to the Caltech community. The working sessions were structured to address resource scarcity from the perspectives of both supply (process innovations in production and extraction) and demand (materials innovations that substitute away from critical elements).
September 16-17, 2010
Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Forum
Parsons and the Resnick Sustainability Institute held this forum to identify needs and solutions associated with sustainable energy, sustainable infrastructure and sustainability in national programs. This invitation-only two-day forum was attended by technology leaders, corporate developers, policy makers, investors, and representatives from gorvernment and nonprofit sectors.