Please join AECOM New York Metro, the Municipal Art Society and the New York Climate Exchange for a half-day symposium featuring a keynote by Brad Lander, who, during his tenure as New York City Comptroller, has strengthened efforts to combat the climate crisis and increased public infrastructure investment.
Also featuring intelligent weather presentations by Meteomatics and NVIDIA, as well as panels on Built for the Weather and Conquering Cloudbursts.
Speakers include:
Karen Appell, Vice President & Climate Change Lead, New York Metro, AECOM
Keri Butler, President, Municipal Art Society of New York
Nick Cardillicchio, Vice President, Partnerships & Government Relations, Meteomatics
Martin Fengler, PhD, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Meteomatics
Victoria Cerullo, Director of Urban Engagement, New York Climate Exchange
Mark Chambers, Former White House Senior Director for Buildings and Community Resilience
Susanne DesRoches, Senior Vice President, Clean and Resilient Buildings, NYSERDA
Rob Freudenberg, Vice President, Energy & Environment, RPA
Dion Harris, Senior Director of Accelerated Data Center Solutions, NVIDIA
Angela Licata, Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Sustainability, NYC DEP
Samantha Maldonado, Senior Reporter, THE CITY
John Mandyck, CEO, Urban Green Council
Tarek Rakha, Co-Founder & CEO, Lamarr.AI
Paul Storella, Senior Vice President & Water Lead, New York Metro, AECOM
Iris Tien, Williams Family Associate Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Built for the Weather
As extreme weather events increase in frequency and severity—from record-breaking heatwaves to debilitating flooding—the built environment faces unprecedented challenges. Since buildings both contribute to climate change and are vulnerable to its impacts, decarbonization strategies must integrate resilience while also accommodating increasing energy demands from building electrification and smart technologies, including AI. How do we balance the competing demands of efficiency and innovation while meeting our goal of reducing operational carbon emissions?
Conquering Cloudbursts
Intense rain events, specifically cloudbursts or enormous amounts of precipitation in short periods of time, have become increasingly common and pose significant challenges for cities. Complex urban infrastructure is particularly vulnerable to excessive rainfall, which can overwhelm existing drainage systems, causing flooding, more frequent sewage overflow, and utility damage. Understanding these impacts and implementing effective solutions—from green and grey infrastructure and permeable surfaces to innovative technologies, like physics-based computational numerical analysis (CNA) and AI-driven prediction models, and smart drainage sensors—is critical to fostering resilient urban environments.