January 31, 2013
Dear Board Member,
This month we introduce José Lobo, a Sustainability Scientist who is working to make cities healthier, safer, and more hospitable. We also highlight four outstanding sustainability students who graduated in December.
Please feel free to email or call us with any questions or comments about this briefing.
Best regards,
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Discovering how cities can be smarter, safer, and more sustainable
 Note: José Lobo is a Senior Sustainability Scientist at the Global Institute of Sustainability, associate professor of research at the School of Sustainability, and faculty associate in economics at the W.P. Carey School of Business. His research applies statistics and data mining to understand metropolitan economic performance, particularly how urban size and social networks influence innovation. He has been a visiting researcher at the Santa Fe Institute and Italy's Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia.
When did sustainability become part of your research focus?
Since my days as a graduate student, my main research interest has been invention and innovation in cities. Now that urbanization has come to dominate our planet, it is impossible to think about the future of cities without considering their sustainability challenges. The trickiest part is clearly articulating who will bear the costs and reap the benefits from policy changes. There is no free lunch, even when it comes to sustainability.
What is your most important sustainability-related research question?
I am working with colleagues to identify and understand the complex behavior of cities. This is crucial because the 21st century will see more urbanization than in all of human history to date. By the end of this century, an additional 3 billion to 5 billion people will reside in cities, and nearly all of the increase will occur in the developing world. This new urbanization has the potential to reduce poverty and enhance human development, but the key issue is how best to accommodate urban expansion. Should we expand existing cities or build new ones? How can we make them more hospitable for all? Never before have our urban policy choices been more critical to human progress.
Read more »
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Our Graduates: Kim Pearson
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Sustainability and Spanish literature undergraduate Kim Pearson is set to intern with the Arizona State Senate, researching and presenting bills to legislatures. Read more »
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Our Graduates: Tim Exposito
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Sustainability and construction undergraduate Tim Exposito says he will continue his work at CORE Construction on LEED-certified buildings and at his own venture, Balanced Future Remodeling. Read more »
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Our Graduates: Braden Kay
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After graduating, sustainability doctoral student Braden Kay plans to use his urban planning background as a postdoc on Reinvent Phoenix. Read more »
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Our Graduates: Ryan Winkle
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Sustainability and urban planning graduate Ryan Winkle plans to travel to Nicaragua to connect people to their food and land in order to lead healthier lives. Read more »
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ASU partners with the Netherlands on new center to solve sustainability challenges
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The Global Sustainability Solutions Center in Haarlemmermeer is planned to become a 'Silicon Valley of innovation and sustainability' in Europe. Read more » |
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Sustainability scientist: Why don't we measure nature's capital?
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Ann Kinzig says our national accounting does not track other types of wealth nature provides, like health and product inspiration. Read more » |
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Origins Project Great Debate to focus on climate change
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Sustainability dean Sander van der Leeuw and visiting scientist Wallace Broecker to speak at event with representatives from NOAA, NASA, the Earth Institute, and E3G. Read more » |
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CAP LTER research compares urban ecology in America's cities
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New York Times features long-term research by ASU and other universities on the homogenization of America's urban landscapes. Read the article » |
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Fulbright Visiting Professor teaches sustainability, interconnectivity
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Professor Vijay Chariar from India brings a different context to engineering by partnering with Sustainability Scientist Mark Henderson to teach the connections between man made and natural systems. Read more » |
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Energy grant to help ASU advance carbon capture technology
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Dan Buttry, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is set to lead a DOE grant that will allow ASU to separate and sequester carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
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ASU students to help Mesa create a town square
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David Pijawka, senior sustainability scientist, is set to teach a new graduate course in which students will produce a viable concept for Mesa's public gathering place. Read more »
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Report: Climate changing watersheds
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The Arizona Republic interviewed Sustainability Scientist Nancy Grimm who says U.S. ecosystems are undergoing major shifts due to climate change. Read more »
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Climate change already having major effects on ecosystems, species
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Sustainability Scientist Nancy Grimm is a lead author of a new report which will be included in the 2013 U.S. National Climate Assessment. Read more »
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The Consumer Goods Forum and The Sustainability Consortium announce global partnership to harmonize sustainability measurement
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The new partnership is set to focus on product life cycle impacts, which will benefit from a single global framework to share information between companies, regulators, consumers, and CSOs. Read more »
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Center for Environmental Security to research water contamination sources
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Rolf Halden, director of ASU's new Center for Environmental Security, says researchers must first identify the way we pick and produce chemicals for our daily needs and then educate the consumers. Read more »
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