Agenda-At-A-Glance

The agenda-at-a-glance below gives an overview of the Summit schedule. For full session and schedule information, please visit the detailed agenda page.If you have any questions about parking, lunch, etc, please view our FAQ page.

If you would like to view a more in depth agenda, please visit the detailed agenda pages for October 8and October 9.

Day 1: October 8, 2026

Check In

8:00AM - 9:00AM

Glenn Miller Ballroom

Note: Coffee, tea and snacks will be in Aspen room 289 throughout the day

Opening Remarks from SRI Executive Director Jane Zelikova

9:00AM - 9:05AM

Glenn Miller Ballroom

Projects in Place: Local Partnerships for Community-Engaged Research within ǸԹ County

Session Organizer: Natalie Ooi

Speakers: Meghan McCarroll, Erin Fried, ,

Participative Panel Discussion

9:05AM - 10:15AM

Glenn Miller Ballroom

Morning Concurrent Sessions

Sustainability in Supply Chain Management

Session Organizer:Sebastian Villa, Assistant professor in the Division of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Operations at Leeds and faculty affiliate at the Renée Crown Wellness Institute.

Speakers: Sebastian Villa, Gloria Urrea,

Traditional Research Presentation, Interactive Workshop

10:20AM- 11:50AM

UMC Room 247

Community-engaged science and sustainability research: Building partnerships for Community Impact

Session Organizer:Amy K. Dunbar-Wallis, Program Manager for Sustainability Initiatives in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Sustainability.

Speakers: David Eric Meens, Jennifer Fluri, Isaac Rivera,, Daniel Knight, Benét Duncan, Katie Clifford

Participative Panel Discussion,Interactive Workshop,Lightning Talks / TED-style talks

10:20AM - 11:50 AM

Aspen Rooms 285-287(combined)

Translational Sustainability Science: Advancing Research into Environmental Solutions

Session Organizer:, Research Scientist at Earth Lab, ǸԹ.

Speakers:, , Dr. Michael McGehee

Participative Panel Discussion

10:20AM - 11:50AM

UMC 380s rooms

Lunch and Poster Session

12:00PM - 1:00PM

Lunch will be split between UMC room 235 and the South Terrace tent

The Poster session and tabling will be in UMC 235

Note: If you are planning on presenting at the poster session, please .

Concurrent Afternoon Sessions

Why Sustainable Solutions Stall: Social, Psychological, Political Barriers to Sustainability

Session Organizer:Leaf Van Boven, Professor in Psychology

Speakers: Amanda Carrico, Sara Meerow, Fabian Neuner, Phil Fernbach

Traditional Research Presentation

1:10PM-2:40PM

UMC Room 235

Dogs, Dredges and Dorms: How CU South coalesces with campus sustainability plans
Session Organizer: Clare Gallagher, 5th year PhD candidate in ENVS.
Speakers: EBIO Ecologists, Dr. Tom Merchant, including research from Professor Emeritus on dogs. TBD - representatives from the City of ǸԹ and CU ǸԹ.
Participative Panel Discussion followed by Brief Social Gathering

1:10PM-2:20PM

UMC Room 247

Climate resilience and affordable housing

Session Organizer:William Shutkin, Faculty Director and Teaching Professor in the Masters of the Environment (MENV) program, Urban Resilience and Sustainability specialization.

Speakers:William Shutkin, Kaila Hood,

Interactive Workshop,Case Study

1:10PM - 2:10PM

Aspen Rooms 285-287 (combined)

Actionable Science: Connecting Sustainability Research with People and Decisions

Session Organizer:Benét Duncan is the Managing Director and co-lead PI of Western Water Assessment, CIRES.

Speakers: Ben Livneh, , Jennifer Balch or , , Laura Dee

Participative Panel Discussion

1:10PM- 2:30PM

UMC 380's Room

Translational Sustainability Science: Advancing Research into Environmental Solutions Presentation

Session Organizer:, Research Scientist at Earth Lab, ǸԹ.

Speakers: , , ,

Presentation

2:30PM - 3:45PM

UMC room 247

Living Materials, Living Buildings

Session Organizer:Caitlin Charlet, Associate Teaching Professor, Environmental Design

Speakers: Wil V.Srubar, Joy Edwin-Ezeh, , Marina Vance

Traditional Research Presentation, Participative Panel Discussion, Case Study

2:30PM - 3:30PM

Aspen Rooms 285-287 (combined)

Actionable science networking

Session Organizer:

Companion session to Benét Duncan's, Networking Opportunity

2:40PM- 3:40PM

UMC 380s room

Nothing is too small to be wondered about: musings on soil microbes and a healthy planet

Session Organizer:

Speakers: , , and

Research Presentations

3:00PM - 3:45PM

UMC Room 235

Key Note Speaker

Cassandra Brooks

4:00PM - 5:00PM

Fiske Planetarium

Session title: Protecting Antarctic Waters: The Ross Sea and Beyond

Note: Spots are limited and a separate is required

*Optional Post Keynote Event: Solar Charges for Ukraine!

Sunflower Seeds Ukrainian Humanitarian a non-profit group, in collaboration with the CU SPIKE Center for Sustainability will be teaching students how to convert solar panels into USBC chargers for Ukrainian civilians. All panels will also need to be decorated!

Please bring warm clothing (SOCKS!) for the clothing drive!

5:30PM

Koelbel 352

Light blue, dark blue, yellow, brown and black promotional flyer for the Solar Charges for Ukraine Event

Day 2: Friday, October 9, 2026

Check In

8:00AM-9:00AM

Glenn Miller Ballroom

Opening Remarks from the CU Vice Chancellor for Sustainability

Andrew Mayock

9:00AM - 9:05AM

Glenn Miller Ballroom

Chancellor Justin Shwartz

9:05AM - 9:20 AM

Glenn Miller Ballroom

Keynote Speaker

Chris Winter

Session title: The Colorado River at a Crossroads – Crisis, Conflict, and the Challenge of Sustainability

9:20AM- 10:20AM

Glenn Miller Ballroom

Morning Concurrent Sessions

When Silence Isn't Safe: Building Cultures Where People Can Speak Up

Session Organizer:Meghan Van Portfliet

Session Speakers: Carly Simmons, and

Case Studies

10:30AM - 11:30AM

Aspen Room 289

Nature Based Solutions

Session Organizer:Laura Dee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Speakers: Laura Dee, Advyth Ramachandran, , Miles Moore,Elizabeth Francis, , ,

Case Studies

10:30AM - 12:00PM

UMC Room 235

Building capacity for decision-relevant wildfire science: a roadless area case study

Session Organizer:

Speakers: TBD

Stakeholder-engaged interactive workshop with lightning talks, structured feedback, and facilitated discussion

10:30AM - 12:00PM

UMC Room 247

Materials and Energy Systems

Session Organizer: Wilson Smith, Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering ǸԹ and Cody Ritt, Assistant Professor Chemical and Biological Engineering ǸԹ

Speakers:Maria Vabson, Muhy Eddin Za'ter

Symposium

10:30AM - 12:00PM

Aspen Rooms 285- 287

Lunch

12:00PM - 1:00PM

Glenn Miller Ballroom

Afternoon Concurrent Sessions

A critical lens on “sustainable AI”

Session Organizer:Jed Brown, Associate Professor of Computer Science

Speakers: Jed Brown, Esther Rolf, , Emily Yeh,

Participative Panel

1:10PM - 2:20PM
UMC Room 235

Heat, Shade, and Sun safety in Colorado Communities

Session Organizer:Sara Meerow,Associate Professor, Geography.

Speakers: Sara Meerow, Sara Tabatabaie, Olga Wilhelmi, Azadeh Bolhari, Shawhin Roudbari,

Interactive Workshop, Lightning Talks/ TED-style talks

1:10PM - 2:40PM

UMC Room 247

ǸԹ Climate Ventures panel with local sustainability startup companies

Session Organizer:Michael McGehee, James and Catherine Patten Chair in the College of Engineering and Applied Science and Renewable & Sustainable Energy Institute Fellow.

Speakers: ǸԹ Climate Ventures panel with local sustainability startup companies

Participative Panel Discussion

1:10PM - 2:40PM

Aspen Rooms 285-287

Student Voices on Experiential Sustainability Education

Session Organizer:Beth Osnes, Professor of Theatre and Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado.

Speakers: Samuel Cartwright, Sindhu Nepolean,, Katheryn Sullivan, Joseph Ikerodah,

Participative Panel Discussion

1:10PM - 2:10 PM

Aspen Room 289


Climate and Health Research across CU: ǸԹ and Anschutz

Session Organizer:Kris Karnauskas,Associate Professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and CIRES Fellow, ǸԹ.

Speakers:Max Elling, Ellen Considine, Colleen Reid, Elizabeth Carlton, ,

Traditional Research Presentation, Participative Panel Discussion

1:10PM- 2:40PM

Glenn Miller Ballroom

Results-Based Financing for Just and Resilient Communities

Session Organizer:Laura MacDonald, Managing Director, Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience

Speakers:Fatma Koroglu,Zhen Li,John Ecklu,Laura MacDonald, Denis Muthike

Center Overview, case studies and traditional research presentations

1:10PM - 2:10PM

UMC 380s rooms

Strategies for Partnering with Industry

Session Organizer:Kelly Fleming, Assistant Director, Industry Research Partnerships for Advanced Energy and Sustainability

Speakers: Kelly Fleming,

Interactive Workshop

2:20PM - 3:20PM

UMC 380s rooms

Time Literacy on a Dammed Planet

Session Organizer:Kieran Murphy, Associate Professor, Department of French and Italian.

Traditional Research Presentation, Participative Panel Discussion,Interactive Workshop, Case Study

2:20 PM - 3:30 PM

Aspen Room 289

Climate Adaptation Science: advancing sustainability at the nexus of the climate, ecological, and social sciences

Session Organizer: is a Research Scientist at CIRES and the Lead Social Scientist at the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center

Speakers:, Elizabeth Woolner, Em Wright, Kelsey Warren,

Case Studies

2:30 PM - 3:30PM

UMC Room 235

Environmental Cinema

Session Organizer:Erin Espelie, Associate Professor, Cinema and the Moving Image Arts Department.

Speakers: Erin Manzitto-Tripp, Dr. Tripp's grad students, 1 MFA film student, 1 PhD in Emergent Media

Interactive Workshop,Meetup / Social Gathering

2:50PM - 3:50PM

B2 in the ATLAS Building

Third Assessment of Natural Hazards in the United States

Session Organizer: Lori Peek

Speakers: Lori Peek, Abbie Liel, Shideh Dashti

Participative Panel Discussion

2:50PM - 3:50PM

Aspen Rooms 285-287