Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2021-44

Please register here for the Workshop and President’s Forum if you have not already registered to help making all arrangements before November 10, 2021

NAI-NJIT Chapter Workshop

Sustainable Societies: Global Environment and Climate Change

Innovations to Global Solutions

In Conjunction with

President’s Forum

and

NJIT 2021 Faculty Research Showcase

November 15, 2021; Ballroom, Campus Center, NJIT

NAI-NJIT Chapter Workshop: 10.00 AM – 12.30 PM

Lunch and Networking: 12.30 PM – 1.00 PM

NJIT Faculty Research Showcase: 1.00 PM – 3.00 PM

YouTube Live Streaming at https://youtu.be/6glZj1hhWkw

Event Website: https://research.njit.edu/nai/events

Climate change is no longer a distant apocalypse, but an emerging reality experienced on the ground by regions around the globe. The recent spate of natural disasters – from forest fires, to searing temperatures, to drought, to hurricanes – injects urgency into the search for sophisticated data, near-term technological solutions and strategies for coping in an altered world. Indeed, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change noted, “Many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, and some of the changes already set in motion—such as continued sea level rise—are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years.”

Sustained reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases are a top strategic priority that will require the involvement of communities around the globe and the participation of problem-focused partnerships among academia, industry, government and private and non-profit policy advocates. Societal gaps in knowledge about the severity and implications of climate change within individual countries and the political will to undertake coordinated global policies present real challenges. This workshop is designed to bring together key stakeholders with an eye toward developing an integrated approach toward the problem that focuses on education, research, innovation and technology translation. 

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This event is a part of the NAI-NJIT Chapter Workshop Series on “Innovations to Global Solutions” and the President’s Forum is a featured event in the Albert Dorman Honors College Colloquium Series and is made possible in part by the generous support of the DeCaprio Family.

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Program:

10.00 AM – 10.05 AM:   Welcome Remarks:

                                         Joel Bloom, President, NJIT

                                         Commissioner Upendra Chivukula, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

                                         Fadi Deek, Provost and Senior Executive Vice President, NJIT

                                         Atam Dhawan, Senior Vice Provost for Research, NJIT

10.05 AM – 10.35 AM:  Keynote Presentation:

                                         Distinguished Speaker: Karen Reif, Vice President – Renewables & Energy Solutions, PSE&G

10.35 AM – 11.25 AM:   Distinguished Panel Discussion I: Sustainable Environment and Climate Change         

Moderator:

       Govi, Rao, CEO Phase Change Solutions & Co-founder, CarbonGroup Global

Panelists:

       Robin Leichenko, Co-Director, Rutgers Climate Institute

       Professor, Department of Geography, Rutgers University

       Elie Bou-Zeid, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director, the Metropolis Project, Princeton University

       D. Scott Mackay, Professor & Chair, Department of Geography, Professor, Department of Environment and Sustainability, University of Buffalo

       Judith Sheft, Executive Director, New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology

11.25 AM – 12.15 PM:   Distinguished Panel Discussion II: Sustainable Environment and Climate Change

Moderator:

       Atam Dhawan, Senior Vice Provost for Research, NJIT

Panelists:

      Pallavi Madakasira, Director, Clean Energy, New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)

      Michel Boufadel, Distinguished Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Director, Center for Natural Resources

      Xiaonan (Shannon) Tai, Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

      Omowunmi “Wunmi” Sadik, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Chemistry and Environmental Science

12.15 PM – 12.30 PM:    Concluding Remarks: Distinguished Speaker: Mihri Ozkan, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Climate Champion Faculty, University of California-Riverside; Fellow, National Academy of Inventors (NAI)

12.30 PM – 1.00 PM:      Lunch and Networking Session

1.00 PM – 3.00 PM:        Faculty Research Showcase

          FY22 New Faculty Presentations

          FY22 Faculty Seed Grants Presentations

Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill: Congress passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package Friday, approving a signature part of President Joe Biden's economic agenda. It will deliver $550 billion of new federal investments in America's infrastructure over five years, touching everything from bridges and roads to the nation's broadband, water and energy systems. Experts say the money is sorely needed to ensure safe travel, as well as the efficient transport of goods and produce across the country. The nation's infrastructure system earned a C- score from the American Society of Civil Engineers earlier this year. Democrats claim the bill pays for itself through a multitude of measures and without raising taxes. But the Congressional Budget Office brushed aside several of those pay-for provisions, ultimately finding the bill would add $256 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years. It's significantly smaller than the $2.25 trillion proposal that Biden unveiled in March, known as the American Jobs Plan. More information is posted on the https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684

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Senate Unanimously Passes Secure Equipment Act: The Senate moved quickly Oct. 28 to pass by unanimous consent H.R. 3919, the Secure Equipment Act of 2021, just eight days after the House of Representatives passed it 420-4. The legislation now moves to President Joe Biden’s desk for him to sign into law. The act prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from reviewing or issuing equipment licenses to companies on the agency’s “Covered Equipment or Services List.” Companies are placed on that list over national security concerns. The five firms currently listed—Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua—all are Chinese. “This legislation adds an extra layer of security that slams the door on entities that pose a national security risk from having a presence in the U.S. telecommunications network,” House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., who cosponsored the bill with Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Calif., said in a statement. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

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GSA Seeks Federal Employees Ideas on Equity and Climate Change: The General Services Administration unveiled new investment priorities for 10x, an initiative that develops ideas from federal employees on how to modernize government operations through technology.  The program’s updated priorities reflect the Biden-Harris administration’s policies, with emphasis on technology to mitigate climate change and promote equity in public service.  “With 10x, we are harnessing the creativity of the federal workforce in order to address the big challenges in our country — because oftentimes the best ideas come from those who work most closely to the problem,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan in a statement. Some of the specific priorities the GSA is looking to fund include the optimization of infrastructure relating to how the government engages with the public, mainly expediting the public inquiry process. 10x is also looking to jumpstart employee-driven projects related to preparing for challenges emerging from climate change, including improving disaster preparedness and climate-resilience in communities and their infrastructure. The deadline for federal employees to submit ideas to the GSA is Nov. 16, with initial project selection and funding expected to begin in Jan. 2022. Decisions on funding are made through a phased approach examining each proposal and its anticipated impact.

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