Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Events for November
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Joint Seminar of USC Center on Public Diplomacy & Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Tue, Nov 15, 2011 @ 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Prof. Massoud Pirbazari, USC Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Talk Title: Safe Water for All Nations & Engineering Public Diplomacy CPD Conversations in Public Diplomacy
Abstract: The USC Center on Public Diplomacy is pleased to host Professor Massoud (Mike) Pirbazari and the student research team from his project, âSafe Water for All Nations (S.W.A.N.)â to discuss how environmental engineering and public diplomacy intersect at the most basic human needâwater. This talk will be led by Naomi Leight, CPDâs Assistant Director for Research and Publications.
Water, essential to humankindâs existence, is increasingly unavailable because of pollution, failure to develop conservation programs, and mismanagement of water resources. During the near future, water shortages could lead to conflict in many parts of the world. Water-related problems are global in scope, and although international bodies actively support initiatives to conserve and fairly allocate water, not enough is being done to address this critical topic.
With this conversation, the USC Center on Public Diplomacy launches its Water Diplomacy Initiative which will result in a number of academic publications on Water Diplomacy, a major conference on the topic in spring of 2012, a briefing in Washington, D.C., and continuing research activities addressing this critical issue.
During the conversation, Dr. Pirbazari and his team will present their research projects and how the S.W.A.N. project has addressed some of the most pressing water issues. S.W.A.N is an initiative that focuses on the improvement of drinking water quality for citizens of developing countries. S.W.A.N.'s goal is to provide comprehensive and visually based information so that people, at the household level, can treat their water, and in turn, improve their health and well-being.
For more information on the initiative, please click here.
Refreshments will be served.
This event is free and open to the public, however you must R.S.V.P. below.
Parking is available on the USC campus for $8. Please enter through USC Gate 3 at Figueroa St. and McCarthy Way and purchase parking for Parking Structure X.
Tags: water diplomacy ⢠public diplomacy
RSVP
Please note that you must RSVP separately for each day of a multi-day event.
Host: USC Center on Public Diplomacy
Location: Social Sciences Building (SOS) - 250
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Astani CEE Department Seminar
Wed, Nov 16, 2011 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Salar Niku, Ph.D., P.E., Vice-President, Tetra Tech, Pasadena Division, Pasadena, CA
Talk Title: Innovative and economical measures in remediation of contaminated sites (example: A site in Downtown Los Angeles)
Abstract: The methods used to investigate and remediate several former manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites will be discussed, focusing on one site located in Downtown Los Angeles. There are about 2,500 of MGP sites in United States. Several innovative measures that were applied during the investigation, in determination of cleanup goals, for risk assessment, during design and feasibility studies, and during remedial actions will be discussed, with some documentary photos. These measures were applied for technical as well as economic reasons. The major chemicals of concern for such contaminated sites are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Biography: Dr. Niku completed his graduate studies in the field of civil-environmental engineering at Stanford University and University of California, Davis. He has been an instructor of environmental as well as project management courses at the University of Southern California (USC), University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and University of California at San Diego (UCSD).
Host: Prof. Ronald Henry
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209 Conference Room
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Astani CEE Seminar
Mon, Nov 21, 2011 @ 03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Ruchi Choudhary , Professor, Cambridge University, UK
Talk Title: Uncertainty Quantification of future energy consumption of buildings
Abstract:
We quantify uncertainties in energy consumption of the built environment using Bayesian approaches and demonstrate examples of recent applications on individual buildings and for an entire population of buildings. We use the Kennedy Oâ Hagan framework to calibrate energy models of representative buildings in a city, and argue that this approach is better suited than other existing protocols for evaluating retrofits of existing buildings. We consider alternative techniques, namely, Bayesian regression analysis and inverse methods to evaluate an entire set of buildings in a city. This work is driven by the need to quantify future energy demand of buildings in their urban context as a function of projected growth of buildings and populations, refurbishments, policies incentivizing energy efficiency measures, and changes in building operation.
Biography:
Dr Ruchi Choudhary specializes in building simulation with a particular interest in multicriteria modelling of energy demand and environmental characteristics of the built environment. Choudharyâs research is embedded within a wider multi-disciplinary project called the `Energy Efficient Cities Initiative', in which she leads the work on the built environment. Her recent research focuses on developing tools and methods for analysing energy consumption of large sets of buildings. These have resulted in two parallel investigations: one on how to represent and evaluate relevant and large-scale research and policy questions through physics-based models, and second, how to quantify uncertainties in model outcomes.
Host: Prof. Roger Ghanem
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209 Conference Room
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Astani CEE Department Seminar
Mon, Nov 21, 2011 @ 03:00 PM - 04:30 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Professor Ruchi Choudhary, Civil Engineering, Cambridge University, UK
Talk Title: Energy Efficient Cities Initiative
Abstract:
TBA
Host: Prof. Roger Ghanem
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209 Conference Room
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes
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Astani CEE Department Seminar
Wed, Nov 30, 2011 @ 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Jose C. Borrero, Ph.D., ASR Marine Consulting and Research, Raglan, New Zealand; Adjunct Assistant Professor, USC -Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Talk Title: Modelling âPollution Pathwaysâ From Seashore Litter to Oceanic Garbage Gyres:
Abstract:
Transforming Scientific Investigations into Tools for Education and Raising Awareness
This presentation will discuss a recent project designed to convert technical output from scientific investigations into education and outreach materials aimed at raising public awareness of the environmental hazards associated with oceanic plastic pollution and floating debris.
The project began with our participation on a research cruise across the South Atlantic Ocean, one of several recent and ongoing research voyages aimed at documenting and quantifying the distribution and concentration of plastic pollution within the five subtropical convergence zones (also known as gyres or âgarbage patchesâ) of the World Ocean. Samples of floating debris were collected along the route from Rio de Janeiro to Ascension Island using both standard and high-speed tow trawls along the shipâs path.
Following the voyage, we began an investigation into existing literature describing marine debris, plastic pollution and the formation of the oceanic garbage gyres. Noting a gap in existing models, we focused on developing a model linking realistic representations of debris released in to the oceanic environment and the formation of the accumulation zones. To accomplish this, a global oceanic circulation model was coupled to a Lagrangian particle-tracking model to simulate the input, transport and accumulation of floating debris. The volume of material introduced into the model is based on factors such as coastal population density and watershed area and is assumed to increase with time.
Using hindcast data sets of global oceanic currents to drive the circulation, the modeling results clearly show the formation of five accumulation zones in the subtropical latitudes of the major ocean basins. The relative size and concentration of each clearly illustrate the dominance of the accumulation zones in the northern hemisphere, while smaller seas surrounded by densely populated areas are also shown to have a high concentration of floating debris. We also determine the relative contribution of different source regions to the total amount of material in a particular accumulation zone.
This study provides a framework for describing the transport, distribution and accumulation of floating marine debris which can be scaled to focus on regional effects and can be continuously updated and adapted to assess scenarios reflecting changes in the production and disposal of debris worldwide. The output from our study is currently being used to develop unique interactive tools and web-based âexperiencesâ designed to raise public awareness of this issue.
Biography: Dr. Borrero has earned his Ph.D. in civil (coastal)engineering from the University of Southern California in 2002. Since 2006 he has worked with ASR Ltd., a consulting firm based in Raglan New Zealand, specializing in hydrodynamic modelling of aquatic systems, the design and implementation of innovative shore protection schemes and the design and construction of artificial surfing reefs.
Host: Dr. Patrick Lynett
Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209 Conference Room
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Evangeline Reyes