NSF Convergence Accelerator
International Digital Workshop: Research, Translation, and Education

SOCIORESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE

Friday, September 25 & Saturday, September 26, 2020 (10am - 2:30pm EST)

This exciting international cross-sector and cross-disciplinary workshop will be focused on “Socioresilient Infrastructure: Materials, Assemblages, and Systems.” Infrastructure is foundational to supporting a healthy, inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous nation and society. There is an urgent need for modernization, innovation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of infrastructure, and, in addition, the development of infrastructure which supports the ability of human communities to equitably cope with and adapt to stresses and shocks such as social, political, environmental, or economic change. Currently, there is an acute amplification and inequitable distribution of risks and vulnerabilities, and an opportunity to shift from an extractive (resources and labor) to regenerative (sustainable and equitable) modality.

This workshop aims to advance an intellectual framework for the acceleration of use-inspired convergence research in this area of national importance by integrating exciting advances across length scales from materials (i.e. materials science and engineering, chemistry, and mechanical engineering) to assemblages (i.e. civil, structural, and environmental engineering, architecture, art and design) to systems (i.e. engineering systems, computer science and engineering, urban studies and planning including civic design and engagement). Broad technical topic areas will include emerging approaches to socioresilient and circular materials design, structural engineering, and intelligent infrastructure systems. It will incorporate and center cross-cutting humanistic and socially-focused research in material culture, social justice, equity-based, community and participatory co-design, environmental and social life cycle assessment, sociotechnical and sociological analysis (i.e. social sciences, STS, history).

This workshop will involve cross-sector engagement and will bring together leaders from academia, industry (i.e. established and startup companies in the materials, infrastructure, and construction industry, materials and infrastructure-focused venture capital firms), non-profit community-based organizations, philanthropy, and government entities (e.g. municipalities, smart cities initiatives, etc.). The merging of ideas, new computational and manufacturing technologies, and research methods across disparate disciplines is expected to lead to advances in the development of equitable, inclusive, and sustainable research, translation and commercialization and education in the field of socioresilient infrastructure.

This workshop is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Station1 (Lawrence, Massachusetts), and will be held digitally.

The capacity for this workshop is approximately 100 participants. If interested in attending, please fill out the following application. For more information please email Jonas Brunschwig at: jonasb (at) mit (dot) edu.

AGENDA

Friday, September 25th, 2020 (10am - 2:30pm EST)

10 am - 12 noon EST

Welcome from the Workshop Organizers

Christine Ortiz, Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Founder, Station1

Ellan Spero, Historian of Science and Technology and Instructor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Co-founder, Station1

Jonas Brunschwig, City Planning and International Development, Head of Academic Relations, Swissnex

Linda Molnar, Program Director, Office of the Director, Office of Integrative Activities, Convergence Accelerator Program, National Science Foundation (NSF)

Topic: Accelerating Use-inspired, Convergent, and Cross-Sector Research to Address Societal Grand Challenges

Opening

Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

Session: Systems

José Torero, Professor and Head of the Department of Civil, Environmental, Geomatic and Environmental Engineering, University College London

Topic: The Social Dimensions of Infrastructure Systems at the Intersection of Material Science, Forensic Studies, and Regulation

Catherine Benoit Norris, Research Scientist in Social Responsibility, Amazon and Vice President of Social Sustainability at New Earth and The Social Hotspots Database Project

Topic: Data For Socially-Responsible, Integrated, and Resilient Infrastructure Decisions in the Global Marketplace

Marccus Hendricks, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Stormwater Infrastructure and Resilience Lab, University of Maryland

Topic: Infrastructure Resilience and Justice: Stormwater Systems and Socio-spatial Dynamics

12 noon - 2 pm EST

Session: Assemblages

Katy Knight, Executive Director, The Siegel Family Endowment

Laura Maher, Program Director, The Siegel Family Endowment

Topic: Reorienting the popular understanding and promoting healthy infrastructure at the interface of the digital, physical, and social

Destenie Nock, Assistant Professor, Engineering and Public Policy (EPP) and Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE), Energy, Equity, and Sustainability Group, Carnegie Mellon University

Topic: Equity and Sustainability: A Framework for Equitable Energy Transition Analyses

Tiziana Smith, Water Resources Specialist at The World Bank

Topic: Dam safety in India: Infrastructure design, regulation, and community impact

Ben Glass , CEO & CTO, Altaeros

Sheri Palazzo, Vice President of Engineering, Altaeros

Topic: Assemblages for Community and Connectivity: Lighter-than-air Telcommunications

Corentin Fivet, Assistant Professor, Structural Exploration Lab, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

Topic: Form-Finding Sustainable Construction for a Circular Economy

Saturday 26th, 2020 (10am - 2:30pm EST)

10 am - 12 noon EST

Session: Materials

Frank Gayle, Deputy Director of the Office of Advanced Manufacturing, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Topic: The U.S. Advanced Manufacturing National Program: Materials, Innovation, and Workforce Development

Francisco Martin-Martinez, Lecturer in Computational Chemistry, Laboratory for Bioinspired Biobased Nanomaterials, Swansea University

Topic: Inspired by Nature: Computational Material Design for Circular Infrastructures

Kaustubh Pandya, Principal at Brick & Mortar Ventures

Topic: Entrepreneurship and commercialization of technologies for the design, construction, and maintenance of the built world

Gregory Dreicer, Historian of Technology, Lead Writer, Exploratorium, A Museum of Science, Art, and Human Perception.

Topic Area: Material Tales: Narrative as Structure and Tool

Admir Masic, Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Career Development Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Laboratory for Multiscale Characterization and Materials Design, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Topic: Ancient Roman Concrete, Sustainability, and Antiquity-Inspired Materials

12 noon - 2 pm EST

Session: Education

Mariko Silver, President and CEO, Henry Luce Foundation

Topic: Systems Approaches to Advancing Education at the Intersection of Infrastructure, Equity, and Resiliency

Susan Singer, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Rollins College

Topic: Infrastructure for the Future of Community-Engaged and Equitable Undergraduate Education

Harrison Keller, Commissioner of Higher Education, State of Texas

Topic: Designing Equitable Infrastructure for Fostering Pedagogical Social Capital, Student Success, and Social Mobility in Higher Education

Sanjay Sarma, Vice President for Open Learning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Topic: Infrastructure to Advance The Science of Equitable Learning

SOCIORESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE

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