Climate Change and Technology
Presenter: Eric Hittinger | Matthew Hoffman
Assistant professor, RIT's Department of Public Policy | Associate professor, RIT's School of Mathematical Sciences
Webinar Date: 07-17-2017
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Climate Change and Technology

The webinar covers what we currently know about climate change alongside a review of what technologies we have to respond to it. It reviews more than a hundred years of climate science, separates the facts from the fiction, and looks at the causes and effects of a changing climate. We discuss the technologies that we can use to reduce emissions-renewable energy, nuclear power, or energy efficiency-and then give an outlook for the leading technology options.

This webinar provides

- a brief summary of the history of climate science,
- an overview of the contemporary debate around climate change,
- and a review of available technologies for countering the negative impact of climate change.
Eric Hittinger
Eric Hittinger / Assistant professor, RIT's Department of Public Policy

Eric Hittinger, assistant professor in the department of Public Policy, holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, and a M.S. in Macromolecular Science and B.S. in Polymer Science and Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. Professor Hittinger has a background in electricity system policy, operation, and economics, with a focus on understanding the benefits and limitations of energy storage and renewable electricity sources.  His research often uses techno-economic modeling of electricity systems to understand the effects of system policies and interactions.

Matthew Hoffman
Matthew Hoffman / Associate professor, RIT's School of Mathematical Sciences
Matthew Hoffman is an associate professor in the School of Mathematical Sciences at RIT and the director of RIT's M.S. program in Applied and Computational Mathematics. He holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computing from the University of Maryland, College Park and a B.A. in Mathematics and Astrophysics from Williams College. Professor Hoffman's background is in forecasting chaotic dynamical systems, with a focus on numerical weather and oceanographic prediction. His research combines observations with numerical models of a system to improve predictive capability and understanding of that system. He works on projects ranging from predicting flow in the Great Lakes and the transport of plastic pollution, to tracking vehicles using hyperspectral imagery, to sports analytics.