Schedule of Sessions – JHU Sustainability Symposium 2025

Sessions

50 minute concurrent sessions throughout the day from 10 AM – 4 PM will include series of speakers, panel discussions, workshops, and other session content types. Sessions are organized by topic, and all will have time for audience Q&A.

Session 1 | 10:00 am – 10:50 am

New Materials for Sustainable Chemical Transformations & Energy Storage –Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI)

10:00 am | Colonnade Room 

Discovering New Materials for Sustainable Chemical Transformations and Energy Storage

The discovery of new materials for efficient energy storage and sustainable conversion of waste feedstocks (e.g. CO2, plastic)  into valuable chemicals requires new approaches that leverage interdisciplinary engineering fundamentals. In this panel, Bukowski and Liu will discuss how ROSEI pioneers these important topics and what new research developments are underway.

Panelists:

• Brandon Bukowski, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, WSE
• Hadas Elazar-Mittelman, PhD Candidate, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, WSE
• Yayuan Liu, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, WSE

Greening Healthcare: Bridging Clinical Practice and Planetary Health  

10:00 am | Eisenhower Room

Planetary health depends on systematic change in both healthcare and healthcare education settings. In this session, clinical leaders with the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health describe how healthcare providers, educators, and students can collaborate to disrupt ongoing threats to Planetary Health, ranging from apathy to waste management. We’ll explore specific efforts, including the Planetary Health Report Card, the Sustainability Working Group, and the integration of Planetary Health competencies into preservice education. With JHIPH serving as a vital convening force, it aims to bridge hospitals and universities to enable meaningful conversations and actionable healthcare sustainability plans.

Moderator: Christopher Lemon, MD, Assistant Professor, JHIPH Faculty Director, EM Med Clinical Programs, SoM

Panelists:

• Moriah Barr, Sustainability and Engineering Project Manager, JHHS
• Jeremy Greene, PhD, Professor, History of Medicine, SoM
• Jessica Mo, Med Student
• Cecilia Tomori, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Nursing, SoN

Students Advancing Urban Sustainability in City Halls

10:00 am | Hubble Room

In this 50-min session, the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins (the Center) will feature the contributions of Hopkins graduate students to advancing sustainability in cities. Through their participation in the Center’s 2024 Summer Scholars Program, students from SAIS and Carey spent 10 weeks embedded with innovation teams in U.S. and international city halls to advance projects related to local governments’ urban sustainability efforts. Projects include work in Fortaleza, Brazil, where SAIS student Noah Martin analyzed the financial and institutional viability of issuing recycling credits through worker-led, waste picker associations, and in Raleigh, N.C., where Carey student Akansha Anbil supported the implementation of the city’s Community Climate Action Plan by identifying resident engagement barriers and developing outreach strategies. Participants in this session will learn about public innovation methods and their application to delivering urban sustainability initiatives in cities as well as opportunities provided by the Center’s Summer Scholars program.

Moderator: Cory Anderson, Program Manager for Experiential Learning, Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation

Panelists:

• Akansha Anbil, MBA Candidate, Carey Business School
• Noah Martin, MA Candidate, SAIS

Learning & Engagement

• Creating a Lasting Network for Sustainable Climate Action
• Development of Low-Carbon Education (LCE) Learning Design to Improve Elementary School Students’ Systems Thinking Skills
  

10:00 am | Tuscany Room

Moderator: Lisa Nehring, PhD Candidate, School of Education

Creating a Lasting Network for Sustainable Climate Action

The focus of AS.420.670 – Sustainability Leadership is to cultivate leadership in the climate and sustainability fields. As this field course implores its participants to create a capstone leadership project that affects change in their sphere of influence, 10-14 new projects are created each time this class is offered. Continued collaboartion across different cohorts of the course have led to expansive opportunities for lasting change, support, and large-scale project development or policy change. This session seeks to highlight the projects, actions, and collaboration that has been created by JHU alumni since 2020.

Presenter: Amber Lively, MS, Lecturer, MS in Environmental Sciences and Policy Program

Development of Low-Carbon Education (LCE) Learning Design to Improve Elementary School Students’ Systems Thinking Skills

This study aims to develop a valid and practical Low-Carbon Education (LCE) learning design to enhance students’ systems thinking abilities, addressing the urgent need for educational frameworks that foster sustainability. Using the 4D research and development model, which includes the stages of Define, Design, Develop, and Disseminate, the study involved middle school students as the sample from 3 elementary schools (42 students) in Alastuwo, Indonesia. Data were collected through observation sheets, systems thinking assessments, questionnaires, and field notes. The results indicated that the LCE learning design demonstrated strong content validity, with a Content Validity Index (CVI) score of 0.88. While students’ systems thinking abilities were rated as sufficient (primarily at Levels 1 and 2), their responses to the LCE model were overwhelmingly positive. These findings suggest that the LCE approach is effective in fostering systems thinking; however, further refinement is necessary to deepen students’ understanding of complex environmental issues. Future research should explore the integration of a multiple-representation approach to further engage students and enhance their ability to address sustainability challenges.

Presenter: Anton Surawi, MS Candidate, Education

It’s Getting Worse: The Growing Evidence Base for the Human and Planetary Health Consequences of Industrial Agriculture

10:00 am | Canterbury Room

The industrial model of food animal production is responsible for the current state of agriculture, and has played an enormous role for nearly a century in how agriculture is conducted, what it produces, and how we eat. A sizable literature has documented the ways in which this system has significantly harmed the environment, workers, fenceline communities, and consumers. This panel will communicate the role of modern animal agriculture in the US food system in creating environmental injustices, contributing to the amplification of pandemic potential viruses, thwarting efforts to mitigate climate change, eliciting many forms of environmental degradation, creating food safety challenges, and other economic and societal ills. Panelists will also describe the current state of the animal agriculture industry and its practices, including the latest information regarding farm consolidation and market concentration in the US meat and dairy industries. As a case example, panelists will discuss the public health implications of manure biogas production, a growing industry trend that links the food system directly to the energy industry. The panel will conclude with a discussion of research needs, potential interventions, and the prospects of policy change in the short term, given changes in the presidential administration.

Moderator: Tom Philpott, Senior Research Associate, Center for a Livable Future

Panelists:

• Darriel Harris, PhD, Assistant Scientist, Center for a Livable Future
• Brent Kim, MHS, Assistant Scientist, Center for a Livable Future
• Allie Wainer, MS, Program Officer, Center for a Livable Future

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Session 2 | 11:00 am – 11:50 am

Public Innovation for Climate Action: Experiences from Three U.S. Cities

11:00 am | Colonnade Room

U.S. mayors are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Knitting together public and private investments and diverse resident input to make cities more climate resilient, local governments are generating substantial evidence for mitigation, adaptation, and systems transformation. Yet, most city halls desire greater expertise, organizing capacity, and resources to confront the climate crisis at the scale required. Three programs at the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins support cities to build urgently needed climate action capabilities and knowledge: the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities initiative (BASC), the Youth Climate Action Fund (YCAF), and Love Your Block (LYB). These programs partner with almost 60 cities in 29 states across the United States (and for YCAF, another 70 cities worldwide). This panel features local government leaders from three municipal partners in the Northeast that are co-creating equitable climate responses centering historically disadvantaged and underrepresented communities.

Moderator: Abby Miller, Training and Learning Lead, Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins

Panelists:

• Mayor Nicola Armacost, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
• Nicole Hewitt-Cabral, Chief Sustainability Officer, Newark, New Jersey
• Rajan Hoyle, Senior Program Associate, Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins
• Leila Pedersen, i-team Director, Raleigh, North Carolina

Healthcare: Exposure to Microplastics & Pesticides

• Plasticizers, Skin Disease, and Sustainability: Growing Environmental Concerns in Medical Biology
  
• Acute Kidney Injury and Exposure to Pesticides among Chilean Agricultural Workers in the Maule Cohort (MAUCO) Study

11:00 am | Eisenhower Room

Moderator: Ryan Weeks, PhD, Office of Climate and Sustainability

Plasticizers, skin disease, and sustainability: Growing environmental concerns in medical biology

There’s a general public acknowledgement of potentially health-altering chemicals in our food. And while some instances of accusations and claims are baseless and designed to be inflammatory, there are studies showing the presence of some compounds are detrimental to health outcomes and are ubiquitous in our food and water. Specifically, microplastics and other plastic compounds have been systematically identified as pervasive and deleterious to human health. For example, recent landmark studies have shown increased microplastics in arterial atherosclerotic plaques correspond to worse cardiovascular outcomes. In this study, we identify Nicastrin (NCSTN) loss as common between genetic and acquired hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), and inflammatory skin disease. Furthermore, we show plasticizer endocrine disruptors (p-EDs) as present in HS skin tissue compared to controls, potentially related to higher rates of ultra-processed food consumption in HS patient populations. These higher levels of p-EDs persist when cells are extracted and grown in vitro over several culture passages. Finally, we show that normal cells treated with nanomolar levels of p-EDs, well below FDA regulations, lose NCSTN expression and show the same inflammatory signature as HS cells. Ultimately, we have identified another example of plastic-related compounds being detrimental to health and possibly a foundational cause of disease.

Presenter: Kaitlin Williams, MD/PhD Candidate

Acute Kidney Injury and Exposure to Pesticides among Chilean Agricultural Workers in the Maule Cohort (MAUCO) Study

Globally, growing evidence suggests that occupational pesticide exposures are linked to chronic kidney disease among agricultural workers. Here, we examine associations between pesticide exposures and acute kidney injury (AKI) in a nested cross-sectional study of 43 male agricultural workers from the Maule Cohort study in Chile.     We captured demographic and occupational characteristics through questionnaire. Five biomarkers of kidney injury, inflammation, and repair (NGAL, KIM-1, IL-18, MCP-1, YKL-40) were quantified. We measured urinary concentrations of ten pesticide biomarkers for organophosphorus and pyrethroid insecticides and select herbicides, and twenty pesticides in silicone wristbands worn by participants for 7-10 days. We modeled associations of pesticide exposures with kidney injury biomarkers using covariate-adjusted linear regression.  On average, participants were 53(±6) years of age with 24 years of agricultural work experience. Biomarkers of acute kidney injury were positively correlated (Spearman correlations: 0.00-0.60). Six pesticide biomarkers and eight pesticides were detected in 40% or greater in participant urine samples and wristbands, respectively. Doubling of select pesticide exposures was associated with increased urinary concentrations of AKI biomarkers. Findings provide suggestive evidence of how pesticide exposures contribute to the development of kidney disease through acute injury and will inform future epidemiologic investigations of kidney disease among agricultural workers.

Presenter: Grant Tore, MPH, PhD Candidate

Understanding Nature: Stormwater Management, Aquatic Vegetation, & Urban Trees

• Monitoring the Performance of Hopkins Stormwater Management Infrastructure at Olin Pond
• Organic Carbon Storage Potential of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Across Salinity Regimes in the Chesapeake Bay
• Survival and the City: The Genetic Diversity of Trees Used in Urban Tree Planting Initiatives

11:00 am | Hubble Room

Moderator: Katalin Szlavecz, PhD, KSAS, Earth & Planetary Sciences

Monitoring the Performance of Hopkins Stormwater Management Infrastructure at Olin Pond

The artificial wetland beside Olin Hall on the Homewood campus currently serves multiple roles: it is an ecosystem supporting local wildlife, it is a greenspace, and it is an important piece of stormwater infrastructure. The wetland is designed to reduce the peak discharges reaching Stony Run from the western side of the campus, and trap contaminants that would otherwise head downstream into Baltimore Harbor. Despite its importance, municipal stormwater infrastructure like this is rarely monitored to examine how it performs as a buffer between developed areas and sensitive stream ecosystems. Are the peak discharges truly mitigated to the extent intended? Are the retention time and mixing dynamics within the wetland sufficient to trap contaminants? Is there a meaningful change in the water quality between inputs and outputs? Funded by the “Campus as a Living Lab” program, we have begun to instrument the wetland with hydrometric and water quality sensors that quantify the impact of the Homewood campus on its surrounding waterways, and the ability of an important piece of stormwater infrastructure to mitigate that impact. Here we will describe the vision for the project and report on the initial progress and data.

Presenter: Ciaran Harman, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, WSE

Organic Carbon Storage Potential of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Across Salinity Regimes in the Chesapeake Bay

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is a foundational part of the Chesapeake Bay estuarine ecosystem. There are more than a dozen species of SAV in the Chesapeake that vary in salinity tolerance, with distinct communities in each salinity zone. These ecosystems provide critical habitat and food for fish, shellfish and waterfowl, acting as nurseries for juvenile organisms. Additionally, SAV contributes to global carbon cycling through what is known as “blue carbon”. This term refers to carbon sequestered in coastal ecosystems such as seagrass beds (including SAV), mangroves, and tidal marshes. In seagrass beds, carbon is stored both in living biomass (via photosynthesis) and in detrital biomass and underlying sediments. This study explores the carbon sequestration potential of SAV ecosystems in Chesapeake Bay in order to determine their capacity as a carbon sink for climate change mitigation. This was measured using sediment cores and biomass samples from each of four salinity zones. Preliminary results show that the moderately salty areas adjacent to tidal marshes show the highest carbon content at ~68 GtC per hectare of SAV, comparable to published values for marshes. These findings are significant in understanding the role that SAV systems play in the global carbon budget.

Presenter: Faith McCarthy, Undergraduate Student, Earth & Planetary Sciences, KSAS

Survival and the City: The Genetic Diversity of Trees Used in Urban Tree Planting Initiatives

Many cities are expanding tree canopy as trees are known to mitigate to provide a variety of ecosystem services. Within Baltimore, there is an effort to plant 5 million trees by 2031. Planting a diverse array of species is recommended, however, studies have shown that those recommendations are often not put into practice. Trees that can tolerate difficult urban conditions are preferentially planted. Many of the planted trees are cloned cultivars that have very limited genetic diversity. Homogeneity of both genetic makeup and species makeup can expose trees to other threats and create a community that lacks resilience, especially in the face of climate change and/or invasive pests. To evaluate this, I examined the genetic diversity of the most commonly planted species: Acer rubrum (red maple). Genetic information was gathered from planted trees and from spontaneously generating trees and wild type trees in urban forests. There is significant evidence of reduced genetic diversity of A. rubrum trees across the urban to rural gradient. As urban trees are increasingly under stress from climate change, invasive species, and diseases, understanding the genetic diversity of urban trees and forests will help us to maintain more resilient and robust urban vegetation.

Presenter: Beatriz Shobe, PhD Candidate, Earth Sciences, KSAS

Paving the Way for Planetary Health Education

11:00 am | Tuscany Room

As the global community faces increasingly complex challenges at the intersection of human health, environmental change, and social equity, integrating planetary health principles into academic curricula is more urgent than ever. Planetary health, which examines the interconnections between human health and the Earth’s natural systems, offers a vital framework for addressing these challenges. This session will highlight opportunities and challenges in embedding planetary health into diverse educational settings at JHU, including collaboration with the Planetary Health Alliance, which is leading similar efforts globally. The panel will explore the journey of advancing planetary health education and share strategies for overcoming key obstacles.

Moderator: Stacy Villegas, MPH, Academic Program Manager, JHIPH

Panelists:

• Jessica Kronstadt, MPP, Program Director, Planetary Health Alliance
• Megan Weil Latshaw, PhD, Associate Teaching Professor, Environmental Health and Engineering, BSPH
• Lindi Shepard, PhD Candidate, School of Education
• Nicole Warren, PhD, MSN, MPH, RN, Associate Professor, Department of Nursing Faculty, SoN

Accelerating Zero Waste: Hospital Medicine, Fashion Industry, & Pediatric Operating Rooms

• Advancing Sustainable Healthcare: Reducing Plastic Waste in Hospital Medicine Dispensing
• Integrating Circular Economy and Life Cycle Assessment: Strategies for Advancing a Zero-Waste Future in the Fashion Industry
• Solid Waste Reduction Programs in the Pediatric Operating Rooms

11:00 am | Canterbury Room

Moderator: Leana Houser, MS, Sustainability Manager, Zero Waste, Office of Climate and Sustainability

Advancing Sustainable Healthcare: Reducing Plastic Waste in Hospital Medicine Dispensing

Healthcare waste management is an escalating global crisis, with the healthcare sector contributing nearly 5% of total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. The increasing reliance on single-use plastics in medical settings, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbates environmental and health risks. Plastic waste from medicine dispensing, including zip-lock bags and small plastic bottles, remains largely unaddressed despite its significant volume in hospital settings. Through observational data collected during clinical rotations, it was found that in a single shift within one hospital block, approximately 30 zip-lock bags and seven plastic medicine bottles were discarded post-use. Extrapolating this data across multiple units and hospitals reveals an alarming level of plastic waste. Addressing this issue necessitates a systematic, multi-disciplinary intervention involving nursing, pharmacy, environmental health, and infection control departments. This proposal recommends implementing structured recycling and reusability protocols, including collection points at nursing stations for sterilization and reuse by pharmacy departments. Comparative studies, such as those from NHS Trusts, indicate that similar sustainable initiatives have significantly reduced waste without compromising patient safety. Additionally, quarterly waste audits, interdisciplinary environmental health training, and integration of reusable alternatives such as sterilized medicine cups can further enhance sustainability in hospital practices. With a transition towards circular economy principles in healthcare, structured interventions for reducing single-use plastic waste in medicine dispensing can serve as a scalable model for sustainability across hospitals in the U.S. and globally.

Presenters:

• Rakhshanda Ramzan, MS Candidate, Environmental Health, BSPH
• Harshitha Lingegowda, MS Candidate, Environmental Health and Engineering, BSPH

Integrating Circular Economy and Life Cycle Assessment: Strategies for Advancing a Zero-Waste Future in the Fashion Industry

In 2019, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development identified the apparel industry as “the second most environmentally polluting industry in the world.” As concerns about the linear economy in fashion grow, transitioning to a Circular Economy (CE) is increasingly critical. CE provides a framework for circularity, while Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) identifies environmental impacts at each product stage. They can significantly reduce environmental burdens and support zero-waste objectives. This session explores the integration of CE and LCA in the fashion industry, addressing two key challenges. First, the diversity of raw materials complicates sustainability efforts. While natural fibers have lower end-of-life impacts, they require excessive water and fertilizers. However, synthetic fibers contribute to GHG emissions and waste. Blended materials further hinder efforts to achieve zero waste, highlighting the need for an “Environment for Design.” Second, the globalized supply chain obscures traceability. Most clothing sold in developed countries is produced in developing nations, making it difficult to track environmental impacts upstream. Therefore, policies targeting these stages are essential. EU initiatives, the “Eco Design for Sustainable Products Regulation” and “Digital Product Passports” address this gap. This session provides strategies to align CE and LCA, advancing a Zero-Waste future for fashion.

Presenter : Mitsuyo Sugimoto, DIA Candidate, MIPP, SAIS

Solid Waste Reduction Programs in the Pediatric Operating Rooms

It is well recognized that hospitals produce a large volume of solid waste, and the operating rooms produce at least 30% of that solid waste. Much of the waste is recyclable or preventable. Biohazardous waste that must be incinerated accounts for only a small percentage of the total. Our efforts to reclaim and recycle or eliminate use of disposable items, in favor of reusable items includes four specific programs: 1) Elimination of foam head positioning devices; 2) recycling of laryngoscopes; 3) extended use of breathing circuits; and 4) recycling of # 5 & 6 plastics, using a baling device. We will present benefits, cost data and challenges with these four programs.

Presenters:

• Moriah Barr, Sustainability and Engineering Project Manager, JHHS
• Nicholas Dalesio, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and Pediatrics, Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Director of Pediatric Anesthesia Clinical Operations, SoM 
• Lindsay Schuster, Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Student, KSAS
• Deborah Schwengel, MD, MEHP, Associate Professor, Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine and Pediatrics, Director Education Research Core, SoM

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Session 3 | 1:30 pm – 2:20 pm

Net-Zero Future: Offshore Wind Farms and GHGs in Pediatric ORs

• Hopkins Student Wind Energy Team: Developing a Project Plan for a Floating Offshore Wind Farm (FOWF) in Coos Bay, Oregon
• Successful Reduction of Greenhouse Gases from Pediatric Operating Suites

1:30 pm | Colonnade Room

Moderator: Magdalena Klemun, PhD, Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, WSE

Hopkins Student Wind Energy Team: Developing a Project Plan for a Floating Offshore Wind Farm (FOWF) in Coos Bay, Oregon

The Hopkins Student Wind Energy Team is a passionate group of Johns Hopkins University students competing in the 2025 National Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC). This year’s challenge focuses on the complex interplay of environmental, political, social, and economic factors in developing wind energy projects in Oregon, USA. Our team proposed a detailed plan for a 330 MW floating offshore wind farm (FOWF) spanning 76 km², located 90 km off the coast of Coos Bay, Oregon. Using 22 state-of-the-art Vestas V236-15.0 MW turbines, our project conducts in-depth modeling and analysis on site selection to maximize energy production efficiently. In this presentation, we also share our research on project financing, as well as the societal impacts of the farm. We also outline a comprehensive plan for the farm’s design, construction, and long-term business models, emphasizing collaboration with industry leaders, government entities, and educational institutions. Our work highlights the transformative potential of floating offshore wind energy to support a sustainable future while navigating the challenges of real-world implementation in a rapidly evolving energy landscape.

Presenters:

• Brendan Glennon, Undergraduate Student, Mechanical Engineering, WSE
• Chris Lo, Undergraduate Student, Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering, WSE
• Joy Yeh, Undergraduate Student, Electrical Engineering, WSE

Successful Reduction of Greenhouse Gases from Pediatric Operating Suites

Through elimination of desflurane, intra-operative warnings in fresh gas flows, as well as reduction of use and de-centralization of nitrous oxide delivery significantly reduced our greenhouse gas emissions from the pediatric operating rooms. Plans to expand these throughout JHHS are underway.

Presenters:

• Moriah Barr, Sustainability and Engineering Project Manager, JHHS
• Nicholas Dalesio, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and Pediatrics, Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Director of Pediatric Anesthesia Clinical Operations, SoM 
• Deborah Schwengel, MD, MEHP, Associate Professor, Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine and Pediatrics, Director Education Research Core, SoM

Shaping Planetary Health Policy: Governance and Advocacy for a Sustainable Future

1:30 pm | Eisenhower Room

This panel will explore how the JHIPH Policy Initiative is advancing Planetary Health through governance, legislation, and policy advocacy across local, national, and global levels. Panelists will discuss strategies to integrate Planetary Health principles into institutional governance at Johns Hopkins University, influence local policy-making, and engage in global networks to shape international law and policy. Key initiatives include fostering partnerships, advocating for sustainable governance, and developing training programs to build expertise in Planetary Health policy and advocacy. This session will highlight opportunities to establish JHU as a global leader in Planetary Health law, governance, and policy.

Moderator: Alexandra Phelan, SJD, LLM, LLB, Associate Professor, Health Security, BSPH

Panelists:

• Shere Abbott, MFS, Research Professor, Environmental Health and Engineering, WSE
• Sonia Angell, MD, MPH, Distinguished Professor of the Practice, Epidemiology, BSPH
• Megan Weil Latshaw, PhD, Associate Teaching Professor, Environmental Health and Engineering, BSPH

Cities and Community

• Expectations of Future Climate Change Harm and Costs in the Baltimore Area
• BSPH Facilities Management Sustainability Update
• The Challenges and Successes of Seasonal Purchasing: Hopkins Dining’s Partnership with The Common Market

1:30 pm | Hubble Room

Moderator: Mac McComas, MA, MLitt, Senior Program Manager, 21st Century Cities Initiative; Project Manager, BSEC

Expectations of Future Climate Change Harm and Costs in the Baltimore Area

As Baltimore-area communities face increasing threats from climate events such as flooding and extreme heat, it is important to invest in adaptation and mitigation strategies that effectively address these challenges. An important consideration when implementing climate adaptation strategies is how communities may differ in their assessment of the impact of climate change on their life and their perceptions about how it may affect them. For Baltimore to have a climate resilient future, solutions will need to be responsive to differences in assessments and perceptions when investing in climate resilience. In a research presentation, we examine the extent to which Baltimore-area residents are concerned about the future impacts of climate change and differences in expectations by race, income, age, and geography. We use data from the 2023 Baltimore Area Survey (BAS) to report the share of Baltimore-area residents who reported that they are concerned that climate change will harm them and how they think climate change will affect costs in the coming years. To our knowledge, this is the first representative survey of Baltimore-area resident perceptions of climate change, and could add value to this sustainability symposium and its audience of other researchers and invested community stakeholders.

Presenters: 

• Raghav Agrawal, Undergraduate Student, Economics, KSAS
• Mac McComas, MA, MLitt, Senior Program Manager, 21st Century Cities Initiative; Project Manager, BSEC

BSPH Facilities Management Sustainability Update

How is sustainability being implemented at the divisional level at Johns Hopkins? BSPH Facilites Management Energy and Engineering team will highlight some of the ways in which sustainability initiatives are being incorporated into our facilities maintenance and operations.

Presenters:

• Carly Hinton, Sustainability Manager, BSPH
• Bill Jamieson, Energy and Engineering Manager, Public Health Facilities Management, BSPH 
• Swastik Jha, MS Candidate, Sustainability Intern, BSPH

The Challenges and Successes of Seasonal Purchasing: Hopkins Dining’s Partnership with The Common Market

This presentation will be a discussion on the drive for local, seasonal purchasing, the challenges surrounding it, methods to overcome and implement, and plans for Hopkins Dining’s future with The Common Market.

Presenters:

• Graham Browning, Sustainability Manager, Hopkins Dining
• Colin Anderson, Outreach Specialist, The Common Market

The Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative: Community-Engaged Science Activities

1:30 pm | Tuscany Room

This short talk and panel session will feature participants in BSEC’s community science and education activities. It will address accomplishments, plans, and challenges for community engaged research in BSEC and in Baltimore more broadly. Potential panelists include a JHU undergraduate student who helped lead community education programs in 2024, the BSEC community engagement fellow from Morgan State University, a community-based organization leader who specializes in elementary school education, and other project partners and participants.

Moderator:

• Ben Zaitchik, PhD, Professor, Earth & Planetary Sciences, KSAS

Panelists:

• Ariana Strasser-King, Undergraduate Student, KSAS, Environmental Studies & Public Health; Research Intern, BSEC
• Katalin Szlavecz, PhD, KSAS, Earth & Planetary Sciences
• Mateusz Rozanski, MPP, MA, Green Strategist Coordinator, BSEC
• Samantha Votzke, PhD Candidate, Earth & Planetary Sciences, KSAS
  

30 Years of Integrating Research and Practice in Food Systems Education

1:30 pm | Canterbury Room

Leading and supporting efforts to understand and advance sustainability within a university environment presents unique opportunities to engage students while also educating consumers and future leaders. For nearly 30 years, the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) has worked with graduate and undergraduate students to understand the important role that food systems play in planetary health and to apply that understanding in making meaningful change. Moreover, CLF also has a long track record of engaging and supporting alumni in their efforts to promote and advance sustainable food systems. During this panel session, current and former JHU students will share their perspectives about how experiences in CLF’s research and practice activities informed their perspectives and professional development. Panelists will describe their work on important topics related to food systems sustainability (e.g., industrial food animal production, dietary behavior change, climate change). Faculty will highlight the diverse ways CLF has engaged students in and out of the classroom, and lessons learned over time. The panel will conclude with a presentation and open discussion about innovative educational strategies and approaches to effectively address the enormous sustainability challenges we face.

Moderator: Phil McNab, PhD, MPH, MA, Education Program Specialist, Center for a Livable Future; Assistant Scientist, Environmental Health and Engineering, BSPH

Panelists:

• Pam Berg, MPH, Academic Program Manager, Center for a Livable Future, BSPH; Research Associate, Environmental Health and Engineering, BSPH
• Elizabeth Chatpar, PhD Candidate, Environmental Health, BSPH
• Aisha Kante, MSPH Candidate, BSPH
• Jessi Silverman, JHU Alum, MSPH, RD, Campaign Manager, Center for Science in the Public Interest
• Lisa Weltzien, JHU Alum, VMD, MPH, Veterinarian

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Session 4 | 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Data for Climate Action

• Optimizing Space Travel Emissions: A Data-Driven Approach at JHU
• Using AI for Climate Tipping Point Discovery and Forecasting
  
• Designing a Climate Dashboard for Air Travel Emissions

3:00 pm | Colonnade Room

Moderator: Marsha Wills-Karp, PhD, Chair and Professor, Environmental Health and Engineering, WSE/BSPH

Optimizing Space Travel Emissions: A Data-Driven Approach at JHU

This presentation examines methodologies for quantifying and tracking institutional travel-related emissions, drawing insights from our initial case study of space mission travel. Our previous research on NASA/Johns Hopkins APL missions demonstrated significant cumulative impacts of team travel, with single meetings generating upwards of 20.9 tCO2 and mission lifetimes potentially producing 1,881-4,702.6 tCO2 in travel emissions alone. We present our developed methodology for efficient travel emissions tracking and discuss its potential adaptation for broader institutional application. This work aims to contribute to Johns Hopkins’ ongoing sustainability initiatives by providing tested approaches for comprehensive travel emissions accounting and visualization. We will discuss challenges in data collection, opportunities for streamlining tracking processes, and recommendations for implementation at scale.

Presenters:

• Bowen Bai
• Max Carroll, Undergraduate Student, Environmental Science and Behavioral Biology, KSAS
• Benjamin Fernando, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Earth & Planetary Sciences, KSAS

Using AI for Climate Tipping Point Discovery and Forecasting

With increased warming, several climate subsystems are in danger of reaching critical thresholds or tipping points, including the Arctic and Antarctic ice, the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC), coral reef, Amazon rainforest, and monsoon systems. Tipped subsystems could have detrimental effects on societies across the globe and warrant careful consideration in understanding the drivers, their nonlinear interactions, and potential ways to avoid tipping. Climate models used to study these tipping elements are unable to efficiently model the parameter space, resulting in an incomplete understanding of tipping events. We describe how Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be used to discover tipping states and forecast when tipped states will occur. This could enable a better understanding of the nonlinear drivers of tipping events and how interactions between tipping elements could result in unanticipated events. We share results when applying these AI methods to coarse, box models of the MOC, the Arctic, and coral reefs. We also describe how these same methods could be configured to learn cascading tipping behavior across tipping elements, enabling studies that would otherwise be limited in scope.

Presenter: Jennifer Sleeman, PhD, Senior AI Research Scientist, APL; Research Associate Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)

Designing a Climate Dashboard for Air Travel Emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from air travel have generated approximately 3.5% (1.90-4.7%) of all human-caused warming, with annual GHG emissions equivalent to Germany’s total emissions and outpacing emissions growth among other transportation modes (EESI, 2022). For universities, air travel often represents a substantial proportion of all emissions. The Johns Hopkins Climate Action & Sustainability Plan includes measurement of scope 3 emissions, including business travel, with mitigation efforts planned.  As part of the Campus as a Living Lab initiative, an interdisciplinary team created a web dashboard to visualize business travel emissions. A student-led group from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health organized three human-centered design workshops to ensure the dashboard is accessible and usable for faculty and staff across academic divisions. The Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence provided frontend design support, with data provided by the Johns Hopkins Travel Program, analysis by the Office of Climate and Sustainability, and data visualization via the Whiting School of Engineering.  At the summit, presenters will share insights from the workshops and highlight the final dashboard with summit participants. We will facilitate a discussion about dashboard dissemination, optimizing business travel, and approaches for feasible short- and long-term mitigation strategies.

Presenters:

• Mary Conway Vaughan, Deputy Director of Research & Analytics, Center for Government Excellence
• Rose Weeks, MPH, Senior Research Associate, International Health, BSPH

Environmental Humanities: Critical Approaches to Ecological Crises   

3:00 pm | Eisenhower Room

This panel engages humanistic scholars as they grapple with concepts and problematics in the global ecological crisis. Each will present a study focused on contemporary communities who face life-altering changes in their ways of living and thinking. Topics include: rot, waste, and repair; commoning, alternative forms of land property or stewardship, and sustainable urban environments; collective land restoration practices and sustainable art studio on Smith Island, a threatened small island communities; how war is kept separate from issues related to climate change such as carbon emissions and sustainability within the UN led climate negotiations and within street politics in Bangladesh; and how Brazilian biochemists are converting agricultural waste into sustainably biotechnologies. The panelists will also discuss what it means to work in the environmental humanities, and why humanistic perspectives are critically necessary to understanding and facing the challenges of ecological crisis.

Moderator: Nicole Labruto, PhD, Director, Medicine, Science, and the Humanities; Assistant Research Professor, Anthropology, KSAS

Panelists:

• Jana Kopelent-Rehak, PhD, Lecturer, Advanced Academic Programs, KSAS; Lecturer and Researcher, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
• Anand Pandian, PhD, Professor, Anthropology, KSAS
• Valeria Procupez, PhD, Lecturer, Anthropology, KSAS

Planetary Health Principles for Urban Planning   

3:00 pm | Hubble Room

This panel will explore how to develop and implement core Planetary Health principles to guide urban planning and asset management in fostering thriving, sustainable cities. Discussions will include smart city innovations, strategies for the built environment, and approaches to socializing these principles to balance urban growth with planetary well-being.

Moderator: Seydina Fall, MBA, Senior Lecturer, Faculty and Research, Carey Business School

Panelists:

• Beth Blauer, JD, VP for Public Impact Initiatives, Baltimore Strategy, JHU; University Administration
• Brendan McCluskey, MBA, Trident Builders

Enhancing K-12 environmental and sustainability education through student and community engagement: implication from research and practice

3:00 pm | Tuscany Room

During this discussion, panelists from Johns Hopkins University will share ongoing research and initiatives to increase the engagement of students, schools, and community members.

Panelists:

• Molly Robey, PhD Candidate, Earth and Planetary Sciences, KSAS; Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative
• Lili Li, PhD Candidate, School of Education; SPiEE lab
• Raghav Agrawal, Undergraduate Student, Economics, KSAS; HOP Outside
• Lisa Nehring, PhD Candidate, School of Education; SLC K-12 Education Working Group

Green Events Made Easy 

3:00 pm | Canterbury Room Room

In line with university-wide commitments to responsible consumption, event planners have a unique opportunity to consider sustainability and climate impacts as they bring people together for campus gatherings. In this session participants will learn about the key elements to making an event more sustainable, including selecting a caterer, educating event guests, reducing food waste, and more. In addition to getting a sneak peak at the Office of Climate and Sustainability’s draft Green Event Guidelines, participants will have the opportunity to put them into practice by applying the guidelines to one of their events.

Presenters:

• Sophie Diltz, Senior Special Events Coordinator, JHIPH
• Leana Houser, MS, Sustainability Manager, Zero Waste, Office of Climate and Sustainability

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Research Posters & Informational Tabling

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