Extreme Storms

Chicago Council on Science and Technology and Chicago Public Library present

Extreme Storms

Huge downpours, massive flooding, heat waves, prolonged droughts—these extreme events are occurring more frequently, and with greater intensity. “100-year-floods” are occurring every year or two; should we consider these weather events the new ‘normal’? How are cities and regions responding and planning under such uncertainties?
In this program, we will discuss the science behind these storms, the challenges in coping with changing weather patterns, new technologies and approaches to adapting to these realities, and the impact on the public and citizens in these areas.

Marcelo Garcia, PhD, M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Chair in Civil Engineering and Director of the Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems Laboratory at the University of Illinois. He is a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Engineers (ASCE) and a Fellow of ASCE’s Environmental Water Resources Institute. García is also the Founding Director of the Centro Internacional de Grandes Rios (CIEGRi) at UNL, Santa Fe, Argentina.

Elisabeth Moyer, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences and an affiliate with the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. She co-directs the Center for Robust Decision-making on Climate and Energy Policy, an NSF-funded interdisciplinary center focused on open-source tools to support decisionmaking.

Donald J. Wuebbles, PhD, Harry E. Preble Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Illinois. He is also a Presidential Fellow at the University of Illinois, with the aim of helping the university system develop new initiatives in urban sustainability. From 2015 to early 2017, Dr. Wuebbles was Assistant Director with the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the Executive Office of the President in Washington DC, where he was the White House expert on climate science.

Moderator: Elizabeth A. Kócs, PhD, Director of Programming, Outreach, Research and Education for the Energy Initiative, Adjunct Assistant Professor for Urban Planning and Policy, and Faculty Fellow for the Honors College at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where the focus of her work is to develop and lead the strategic direction of the UIC Energy Initiative.

This program is supported by the Alvin H. Baum Family Fund.

DETAILS: Thursday, June 14, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Cindy Pritzker Auditorium (lower level), 400 South State Street, Chicago, IL 60605.
This program is FREE to attend, and seating will be first come, first served. Can’t make it live? This program will be recorded and livestreamed to C2ST’s Facebook page, and will be available at a later date in its entirety on our YouTube channel, C2ST TV.