Events | Sustainable Innovation

Upcoming Events

AI, Health, & Sustainability: Data Centers & Human Health

Thursday, November 5th

3:30-5:45pm

Alan Magee Scaife Hall Auditorium

Please join us for a presentation and panel discussion on the health implications of data centers used for artificial intelligence. We will discuss the energy demands necessary to power our increasing use of AI and the impact our energy choices make on human health. Register here.

Moderators:

Melissa Bilec, PhD, George M. and Eva M. Bevier Endowed Chair in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Co-Director, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation
Rachel Wojcik, MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh and Co-Director, Medical Student Pulmonary Physiology Course Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep, and Critical Care Medicine, UPMC

Panelists

Patty Demarco, PhD, Rachel Carson Scholar & Mayor of Forest Hills
Sungwan Hong, PhD, Researcher, Economics
Justin Kitzes, PhD, AI for Science, Hub for AI & Data Science Leadership
Stephanie I. Maximous, MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Fellowship Program Director for Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Internal Medicine Residency Subspecialty, and Education Coordinator for Pulmonary
Tina Ndoh, PhD, MPA, BSCE, Director of Center for Public Health Practice & Associate Professor, Associate Dean for Public Health Practice
Hooman H. Rashidi, MD, MS, FCAP, Associate Dean of AI medicine

AI, Health, & Sustainability: Data Centers & Human Health; event details provided in text above.

From Purpose to Profession: Incorporating Sustainability into your Career Planning

Friday, November 13th

12pm-1pm

William Pitt Union Dining Room A

Discussion Topics:

Sustainability in the Workplace
Sustainability Across Industries
Professional Development Advice

RSVP here!

Green Speakeasy Events

The Green Speakeasy events were created to give both faculty and graduate students throughout the University the opportunity to meet and learn about each other’s research areas, with the goal of encouraging future collaboration and interdisciplinary work. If you have ideas for future speakers, please share them with us at mcsi@pitt.edu.

Past Green Speakeasy Events

Click on each accordion to learn more about our previous Green Speakeasy events.

Pitt Climate Action Town Hall (October 21st, 2026)

In 2020, Pitt committed to be Carbon Neutral by 2037. In 2022, we released the first Pitt Climate Action Plan detailing our strategy and approach to achieve this milestone. We monitor our progress toward this goal annually through the Pitt Greenhouse Gas Inventory. With five years of data, progress, and experience, it is time to update this plan and chart the course for the next 10 years of climate action at Pitt.

At this Town Hall, Pitt Sustainability, the Sustainable Economic Growth Coalition (SEGC), and SEGC Law and Public Policy Committee invited students to learn about Pitt's existing Climate Action Plan and our progress thus far, and to share their thoughts, priorities, and questions about the future of Climate Action at Pitt. At this Town Hall, we covered:

The strategies driving our 2022 Climate Action Plan
Where Pitt stands in its progress toward Carbon Neutrality by 2037
How students think the University should act on climate change

Planetary Health Day (October 16th, 2026)

The Health Sciences Office of Sustainability hosted Pitt's third annual Planetary Health Day! They explored the critical role sustainability plays in global health through a plenary speaker, poster sessions, research presentations, and more!

Activities:

Plenary Talk: "Building Better Brains: How Our Environments Shape How We Think"
- Speaker: Whitney Austen Gray, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Georgetown School of Nursing & Health Studies and Department of Urban and Regional Planning
Student poster competitions & lunch
Research presentations
Sustainable Healthcare Challenge winner announcement

Wild Connections: One Health, Planetary Health, and Sustainability (September 9th, 2026)

A keynote conversation with author Andrew Moore and a panel discussion exploring the connections between One Health, Planetary Health, and Sustainability

Speaker: Andrew Moore, Author of The Beasts of the East: The Fall and Rise of America's Eastern Wilderness

Moderator: Melissa Bilec, PhD, George M. and Eva M. Bevier Endowed Chair, Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Co-director of the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation

Panelists:

Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH, Dean, School of Public Health, Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health, Jonas Salk Chair in Population Health
Cori Richards-Zawacki, PhD, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences and Director Pymatuning Lab of Ecology
Noe Woods, MD, Assistant Professor of OB/Gyn at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Chair of Clinicians for Climate Action

Presented by Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, School of Public Health, and Office of Sustainability in the Health Sciences

What Should I Do About AI? (September 2nd, 2026)

This discussion served as an accessible introduction to what AI is, how it is used, and why it uses energy. Attendees had small group conversations about what they are already doing, what concerns them, and what they would like to understand better about AI's sustainability implications and beyond.

Speakers:

Mike Blackhurst Geologic & Environmental Sciences
Justin Kizes, Biological Sciences
Sungwan Hong, Economics
David Sanchez, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation

Presented by Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, Hub for AI and Data Science Leadership, and Office of Sustainability in the Health Sciences

International Learning Opportunities for Pitt Students (November 17, 2025)

These faculty panelists discussed how their international programs for students are developed and executed. The panelists shared their experiences, challenges, and successes in creating global learning opportunities. Together, we brainstormed strategies to strengthen international support and expand the reach of Pitt's sustainability-related international programs.

Moderator: Abdesalam Soudi, Teaching Associate Professor & Dean's Fellow for Experiential Learning, Linguistics and Experiential Learning

Speakers:

Muge Finkel, Public & International Affairs
Ian Nettleship, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science
Carey Treado, Economics
Joaquin Rodriguez, Chemical Engineering

Research Series: Regenerative Solutions Respecting Planetary Boundaries (September 17, 2024)

As the final installment in our Speakeasy Research Series, this panel discussed research and education initiatives at Pitt that help define and support the environmental limits within which humanity can safely and equitably operate.

Moderator: Götz Veser, Chemical Engineering Director, Circular Economy Program

Speakers:

Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, GSPIA and Law
Melissa Bilec, Civil & Environmental Engr.
Marcela Gonzalez Rivas, GSPIA
Carla Ng, Civil & Environmental Engr.

Research Series: Resilient Ecological Systems (May 7, 2024)

Speakers discussed ongoing and recent projects focused on understanding how living systems can achieve resilience by responding and adapting to human impacts.

Moderators:

Corinne Richards-Zawacki, Biological Sciences
Justin Kitzes, Biological Sciences

Speakers:

Tia-Lynn Ashman, Biological Sciences
Mason Heberling, Science of Botany, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Shishir Paudel, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
Patrick Shirey, Geology and Environmental Science
Martin Turcotte, Biological Sciences
Emily Wanderer, Anthropology

Research Series: Sustainability and the Arts (April 22, 2024)

Speakers discussed how sustainability and environmental concerns (and triumphs!) impact the creative practices of Pitt faculty. Enjoy seeing and hearing some of the art pieces in person.

Moderator: Sarah Moore, Film and Media Studies

Speakers:

Tony Balko, Film and Media Studies Program
Adam Hebert, Film and Media Studies Program
Aaron Henderson, Department of Studio Arts
Delanie Jenkins, Department of Studio Arts
Eric Moe, Department of Music
Elise Ryan, Department of English

Research Series: Thriving Futures (March 26, 2024)

This discussion centered on the needs and future aspirations of individual communities to support and promote sustainable regional change.

Moderator: Dr. Tina Ndoh, Public Health

Speakers:

Jane Cleary, Citizens' Environmental Association of the Slippery Rock Area (CEASRA)
Lisa Freeman, Freeman Family Farm and Greenhouse
Laura Kuster, Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP)
Ruby Velasco, Grounded Strategies

Research Series: Environmental Discourse (Feb. 20, 2024)

A Pitt research cluster focused on creative, critical, curatorial, communicative, and political dimensions of sustainability research and challenges.

Moderator: Ruth Mostern, History

Presenters:

Matthew Burton, School of Computing & Information
Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, Graduate School of Public & International Affairs
Michael Goodhart, Political Science
Steven LeMieux, English
Tomas Matza, Anthropology
Sarah Moore, Film & Media Studies
Abigail Owen, CMU, Environmental & Sustainability Studies
Cassie Quigley, Education
Stephen Quigley, English
Noah Theriault, CMU, Environmental Humanities
John Walsh, French & Italian

Community Partnerships and Tackling Regional Water Challenges (Jan. 23, 2024)

How can the university be a part of solving the challenges facing our region and support the efforts of communities and organizations fighting for change? Join the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory and three local NGO leaders for a panel discussion about the complexities of university and community partnerships, the value of engaged research, and opportunities for future cooperation.

Moderator: Jonathan Burgess, Director, Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory

Panelists:

Chavaysha Chaney, Advocacy and Health Policy Manager, Women for a Healthy Environment
Heather Hulton VanTassel, Executive Director, Three Rivers Waterkeeper
Jason Beery, Director of Applied Research, UrbanKind Institute

Grounded Justice (Oct. 5, 2023)

How might we imagine our collective environmental justice futures in Pittsburgh and beyond? In this panel, we will engage in generative discourse with four extraordinary women of color environmentalists in the Pittsburgh region, to explore possibilities for inter-dependent, earth-oriented, and radically just ways of being in community and in nature.

Moderators:

Beatrice Dias, Assistant Professor of Digital Media, Learning, and Leadership
Cassie Quigley, Professor of Science Education

Panelists:

Ariam Ford, Executive Director, Grounded Strategies
Ebony Lunsford-Evans, Founder, Farmer Girl EB; Executive Director, Out of the End, Inc.
Alyssa Lyon, Director, Black Environmental Collective
Roberta Mendonca De Carvalho, Professor, Urban Studies

Green Speakeasy Research Slam (Feb. 22, 2023)

Moderator: Todd Reeser, Chair, Humanities Council

Slammers:

Drew Armstrong, History of Art & Architecture
Daniela Fargione, Italian
Aaron Henderson, Studio Arts
Zach Horton, English
Apala Kundu, English
Ruth Mostern, History
Leopold Mvuezolo, French
Vicky Shen, History
John Walsh, French
Molly Warsh, History

Presented by Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation and the Humanities Council

Changing Energy for Good (Feb. 22, 2022)

Changing Energy for Good:
Scaling an Equitable Energy Transition with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet
Sundaa Bridgett-Jones, Chief Partnerships & Advocacy Officer, The Rockefeller Foundation

Launched at COP26, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet is made up of philanthropic, multilateral and development finance institution and government partners committed to accelerated and scaling equitable energy transitions in low- and middle-income countries. This talk shared how the Alliance aims to unlock $100 billion in public and private capital to tackle three human problems simultaneously: Access, Climate, and Jobs.

Presented by Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and Office of Sustainability

Food Shot (Oct. 19, 2021)

Food Shot:
Launching Moonshots for Better Food
Sara Eckhouse, Executive Director, FoodShot Global

FoodShot Global brings together a powerful partnership of world-class, mission-aligned venture funds, banks, corporations, foundations, universities, and nonprofits. Their leadership provides a long-term vision for our global food future, and works collaboratively with partners to invest in that future.

Co-hosted by Honors College Dean Nicola Foote, MCSI Assistant Director David Sanchez, and Sustainability Coordinator Nick Goodfellow

Earth Month Teach-In (April 13, 2021)

Earth Month Teach-In:
Leveraging Research to Inform Calls to Action

Join seven influential women who are advancing sustainability by discovering connections and building opportunities toward a healthier future.

Melissa Bilec, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation
Jessica Burke, Public Health
Emily Elliott, Geology & Environmental Science
Shannah Gilliam, Homewood Children’s Village
Mary Ohmer, Social Work
Carla Ng, Engineering
Kay Shimizu, Political Science

Watch a recording of the Earth Month Teach-In session on YouTube

Sponsored by Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation

Pitt Deans Talk Sustainability (March 16, 2021)

Pitt Deans Talk Sustainability:
Countering Climate Change, Forging Sustainability the Pitt Way

Ann Cudd, Provost, University of Pittsburgh
Carissa Slotterback, Dean, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Maureen Lichtveld, Dean, Graduate School of Public Health
Amy Wildermuth, Dean, School of Law

Watch a recording of the Deans Talk on YouTube

Asia—the Planet's Battleground for Climate Change (Feb. 16, 2021)

Asia—the Planet's Battleground for Climate Change
Divya Nawale, International Research Associate, Asian Development Bank

One of Asia's top 20 sustainability women of 2020, Divya Nawale (GSPIA /16) currently works with Asian Development Bank on clean energy and energy programs across Southeast Asia. She also serves as an advisor for the nonprofit Nirmaain back home in India where she has launched a climate action program that envisions engaging 10 million people in the coming decade. In this talk, Divya will talk about her journey from SPIA to the Arctic and the Antarctic, and back to the tropics of Asia, and her experiences of how the battleground of Asia is fighting climate change while embracing sustainable development. Read more in Pitt Magazine: Earth Wise.

Co-hosted by Center for Sustainable Business, Graduate School for Public and International Affairs, and Pitt Sustainability

Making the Invisible Visible (Nov. 19, 2020)

Making the Invisible Visible: Developing Hyperlocal Air Monitoring Networks to Better Inform Policy Development and Enactment
Dr. Harold Rickenbacker, Manager, Clean Air and Innovation Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

Hosted by the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation

Adapting to Climate Change (Oct. 15, 2020)

Adapting to Climate Change: Lessons Learned Relocating an Alaskan Village
Donald Antrobus, Village Infrastructure Protection Program Manager for the Denali Commission
Joel Neimeyer, P.E., retired Federal Engineer

Hosted by the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation

Responsible Investment for a Sustainable World (Sept. 24, 2020)

Responsible Investment for a Sustainable World
Tom Croft, Executive Director, Steel Valley Authority, and Managing Director, Heartland Capital Strategies Network

Hosted by the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation and the Center for Sustainable Business

Pitt and Water Resources (Feb. 25, 2020)

Pitt and Water Resources: Building University-wide Capacity to Meet Water Sustainability Challenges
Emily Elliott, Director at the Pittsburgh Collaboratory for Water Research, Education & Outreach
Dr. Dan Bain, Associate Director
Dr. Eitan Shelef, Associate Director

Co-hosted by the Pitt Office of Sustainability and the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation

Environmental Protection in the Trump Era (Oct. 16, 2019)

Environmental Protection in the Trump Era: the Staining of Science, Economics and Legal Analysis
Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Amy Wildermuth, Dean, School of Law

Co-hosted by the Pitt Office of Sustainability and the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation

Green Computing (April 4, 2017)

Green Computing: Saving Energy In and Through Computing
Daniel Mosse, Professor, Computer Science