Friday, January 21, 2011

Relevant lecture: Sustainable Infrastructure

Please mark your calendars for this semester's first Weston Roundtable Lecture! The Weston Roundtable series, co-sponsored by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and SAGE (the Nelson Institute Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment), focuses on issues in sustainability science, technology, and policy. Each seminar includes significant time for Q&A and discussion, and is preceded by tea/cookies for networking with colleagues across campus. We've have some fantastic talks scheduled for this coming semester, with research, business, and communication leaders from on- and off-campus. 

Graduate students interested in earning 1-credit for weekly attendance are invited to enroll in ES900 Seminar in Sustainability Science, Technology, and Policy. But, enrolled or not, we hope all students, faculty, and researchers will mark this exciting series as a regular part of your weekly schedule

Our first talk of 2011 addresses recycled materials, by UW-Madison's own, Prof. Craig Benson.

Hope to see you there this week and in future weeks! 


Prof. Craig Benson
"The Role of Recycled Materials in Sustainable Infrastructure"
Geological Engineering and Civil & Environmental Engineering, UW-Madison
Place: 1106 Mechanical Engineering

Prof. Craig Benson

Thursday, January 27 4:15 - 5:15
tea/cookies from 4:00 - 4:15

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Welcome back!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday season and a relaxing and recharging break from classes and research. Hopefully the break has recharged your creativity and motivation, and you're ready to move on your Climate Leadership Challenge ideas!

Did you know that the Climate Leadership Challenge is the biggest environmental innovation competition on a college campus? Your innovative solutions to the causes or impacts of climate change could make a real impact on the world and could win you $50,000!

A reminder: we're looking for all kinds of innovation -- technical and social alike. You can propose a product or a program, as long as you are presenting a new idea, or a novel improvement on something that's already out there. Your idea needs to be action-ready -- something you could implement if given the necessary time and resources. And your idea needs to be scalable -- something that may start small or local, but that has the capacity to grow and expand, impacting a greater area or a larger population.

There's no time to waste. Proposals are due in just over two months. While we do not require you to have your product manufactured or your program in place, you do need to outline exactly how you will get from point A to point B, and how if given time and money, you would move your idea forward. The further you develop your idea, the better. Be sure to make the connection to climate change as clear as you can.

Still looking for a team? Follow these steps to help find some teammates.

Have an idea with which you're already moving forward? Make an appointment to come chat with me about it. I keep all conversations and ideas confidential, and it is to your benefit to share at least the generals with me. I am here to make sure you're on track with what we're looking for, and to steer you to helpful resources. So email me at sageCLC at gmail to set up a time to chat.

Good luck, and get moving!!