November 06, 2008 — USC’s Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering will host “Megacities Workshop,” a unique conference of academic, industry and public officials gathering to address many urban issues impacting Los Angeles’ health, vitality, security and preparedness for a natural disaster.

Sonny Astani Department Chair Professor Jean-Pierre Bardet.

The conference, which will be held November 10-11 in downtown Los Angeles, will be the first of its kind, designed to promote collaboration between civil and environmental engineering and other disciplines, as well as serve as the launchpad for a new USC Research Center on Megacities.

The conference will feature presentations on a variety of topics, ranging from energy and water resources for megacities; environment and public health; transportation, freight mobility and port security; and disasters, risks and security issues in very large cities. 
   
Sonny Astani Department Chair Jean-Pierre Bardet will open the conference, followed by remarks from USC Viterbi School Dean Yannis C. Yortsos and Sonny Astani, Los Angeles developer and benefactor of the USC Viterbi School Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Other speakers will include: James Baker, director of USC’s Integrated Multimedia Systems Center (IMS); Mark Bernstein, managing director of the USC Energy Institute; Dongxiao Zhang, an energy expert specializing in CO2 sequestration; Nancy Sutley, deputy mayor for energy and environment, City of Los Angeles; and Constantinos Sioutas, a Viterbi School expert on air pollution.

For the full conference agenda, click here.