Bringing together climate researchers and mathematicians
Building on two successful Fields Mathematics for Climate Change (MfCC) workshops held last year, the partnered with the to organize a 4-day workshop, “Math for Complex Climate Challenges” at the University of ݮƵ, from May 1 - 4th, 2023. Submissions for short talks and/or interpretive/interactive art projects were welcomed until April 14th - please see the participation call for more details and submission instructions.
The workshop sought to bring together climate researchers and applied mathematicians (broadly defined) to identify major Canadian climate policy and research challenges for which additional state-of-the-art and emerging mathematical methods would add value - in short, to match mathematicians with skills and interest, and climate researchers with applied problems.
The workshop also aimed to:
- Serve as a “soft launch” for the developing Fields Mathematics for Climate Change (MfCC) Network;
- Facilitate interdisciplinary cross-communication and fertilization in select climate research and mathematical methods topics;
- Identify research questions where collaboration would add value; and
- Lay the groundwork for one or more large interdisciplinary grant proposals
The workshop program aimed to pair instructional sessions on key aspects of climate research and mathematical methods that support them for the mornings of the first three days. Afternoons included break out sessions with topical 15-minute talks followed by research question brainstorming; each session had complementary climate research and math methods talks. The morning of Day 4 focused on emergent topics from the research brainstorming sessions and research question development.
Full Agenda with Linked Recordings
May 1, 2023 (Day One):
Welcome remarks from Kumar Marty, Director of Fields Institute
- Dr. Sarah Burch, University of ݮƵ
- Francis Poulin, Professor, Applied Mathematics, University of ݮƵ
Breakout Room One: Urban Climate Challenges
- Bouchra Nasri, Assistant Professor, Social and Preventive Medicine, Université de Montréal
- Rodrigo Costa, Assistant Professor, Systems Design Engineering, University of ݮƵ
- Poornima Unnikrishnan, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of ݮƵ
Breakout Room Two: Aquatic Ecosystems
(Slides only) "Climate change impacts and mitigation in coastal ecosystems: from tipping points to blue carbon and reserve networks" - Frederic Guichard, Professor, Biology, McGill University (slides in PDF)
- Guillaume Durand, Science Lead for Laboratories Canada ASEC, National Research Council
- Ella Kari Muhl, PhD Candidate, University of ݮƵ
Breakout Room One: Climate Modelling
"" - Chris Fletcher, Associate Professor, Geography and Environmental Management, University of ݮƵ
"" - Andrea Scott, Associate Professor, Systems Design Engineering, University of ݮƵ
"" - Julio Valdes, Research Officer, National Research Council
"" - Daniel Dylewsky, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of ݮƵ
Breakout Room Two: "" - Invited talk with Keith W. Hipel, O.C., Professor of Systems Design Engineering, University of ݮƵ
May 2, 2023 (Day Two):
Welcome remarks with Vanessa Schweizer, Director of WICI and Mallika Das, Head of Strategy at Fields Institute
"" - Nandita Basu, Professor of Global Water Sustainability and Ecohydrology, University of ݮƵ
"" - Chris Bauch, Professor of Applied Mathematics, University of ݮƵ and Madhur Anand, Professor of Environmental Science, University of Guelph
Breakout Room One: Complex Coupled Human-Natural Systems Modelling
"" - Taylor Anderson, Assistant Professor, Geography and Geoinformation Science, George Mason University
"" - Rebecca Saari, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of ݮƵ
"" - Roberto Guglielmi, Assistant Professor, Applied Mathematics, University of ݮƵ
Breakout Room Two: Energy Networks; Supply Chains-Design and Resilience (recordings not available)
"Generative Models for Material Design in Climate Change: Overview and Applications" - Sajjad Ghaemi, Research Scientist, National Research Council
"Integrated Life Cycle Optimization in Chemical Process Design" - Jianjun Yang, Research Officer, National Research Council
"Co-benefits of Integrating Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the Canadian Energy Sector" - Ryan Hennessey, PhD Candidate, University of ݮƵ
Breakout Room One: Urban Blue-Green Infrastructure
"" - Luna Khirfan, Associate Professor of Planning, University of ݮƵ
"" - Liam O'Brien, Professor of Architectural Conservation and Sustainability Engineering at Carleton University
"" - Kumaraswamy Ponnambalam, Professor of Systems Design Engineering, University of ݮƵ & Kumary Chiquinquira Ponnambalam, Carbon Trad Economies & Regenerative Economies Researcher
"" - Amir Salehi, Graduate Student, University of ݮƵ
Breakout Room Two: Social Networks and Social Imitation/Contagion/Norm Adoption (recordings not available)
(Slides only) "A Coupled Social-Climate Model with Country-Level Structure" - Amrita Punnavajhala, PhD Candidate, University of ݮƵ (slides in PDF)
"Extreme Weather Events and Climate Perceptions" - Rui Wang, PhD Candidate, University of Massachusetts Amherst
"Spatial and Temporal Discounting in a Coupled Social-Climate" - Mackenzie Cameron, Graduate student, University of ݮƵ
"Examining the Influence of Rumour Propagation in Heterogenous Social Networks on Temperature Change in a Coupled Socio-Climate Model" - Athira Satheesh Kumar, Graduate student, University of ݮƵ
Art Reception
, Carbon Trade Economies & Regenerative Economies Researcher displays works including the painting titled "Cosmopolitan, Mixed Media". Our ancestors may be curious about the measures we plan to implement in addressing the challenges posed by urban environments, commonly known as concrete jungles, which are already impacted by heat island effects, floods, storm surges, and other related issues.
Adrienne Mason, Graduate Student, University of ݮƵ exhibits stacks of from the small water cycle, at the local watershed scale, with such as the Great Lakes ecoregion. The artist stands on the sculpture and manipulates the other sculptures as puppetry. All of this is to symbolize that human action drives water system function at this stage in the Anthropocene and we can choose to maintain the dynamic equilibrium that supports this current Earth System State Water Balance or we can prepare to Tip into another state that is less favourable.
Ella Kari-Huhl, PhD Candidate, University of ݮƵ displays art illustrating a relational view of systems complexity in sea otter return.
May 3, 2023 (Day Three):
Welcoming remarks with Blake Phillips, Director of the School of Accounting and Finance, University of ݮƵ and Jenn Lines, Co-Director of the Sustainability and Financial Management Program, University of ݮƵ
"" - Olaf Weber, Professor of Environment, Enterprise and Development at University of ݮƵ
"" - David Saunders, Associate Professor of Statistics and Actuarial Science at University of ݮƵ
Breakout Room One: Climate Economics and Governance (part 1)
"" - Andrea Macrina, Professor of Mathematics, University College London
"" - Mikael Homanen, Head of Product Innovation and Research, Principles for Responsible Investment
"" - William White, Senior Fellow at C.D. Howe Institute
Breakout Room Two: Decarbonization, Carbon Currencies, and Climate Risk
"" - Peter Tankov, Professor of Quantitative Finance at ENSAE Paris
"" - Chrystopher Nehaniv, Professor of Systems Design Engineering, University of ݮƵ
"" - Gael Giraud, Founder and Director of Environmental Justice Program at Georgetown University
Breakout Room One: Climate Economics and Governance (part 2)
"" - Jiayue Zhang, Graduate student in Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of ݮƵ
"" - Joan David C. Gehring, Scholar, Winchester College UK and Co-Chair of the Global Youth Council on Science, Law and Sustainability and Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, Visiting Chair in Sustainable Development Law and Policy, University of Cambridge and Professor of Law, University of Victoria
"" - Truzaar Dordi, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Victoria
Breakout Room Two: Carbon Sequestration
"" - Cornelis Van Kooten, Professor of Economics, University of Victoria
" - Yuri Leonenko, Associate Professor of Geological Engineering at University of ݮƵ
"" - Gennaro Notomista, Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of ݮƵ