Description
Though long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns may be natural, human activity has significantly sped up climate change since the 1800s, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil and gas) that produce heat-trapping gasses in our atmosphere.
Within this seminar, you will learn about the negative effects of climate change and how experts are trying to combat these issues through their research. At this point in history, it is not a matter of stopping climate change — it is a matter of dealing with its effects and learning how to form solutions. As the problems caused by climate change are often complex and interconnected, this discussion calls for experts to work together across disciplines to effectively slow down global warming.
Featuring Gaurab Basu, a primary-care physician and instructor at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, and Mahta Moghaddam, professor at USC Viterbi School of Engineering and director of research for the USC Center for Sustainable Solutions, the panel is moderated by Roberta Cruger, senior outreach specialist for Hollywood, Health & Society at the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center.
Who Will Benefit
– Those who are interested in learning about the negative, complicated effects climate change
– Researchers seeking to form effective solutions for our climate emergency
– Those hoping to understand how experts from multiple disciplines can collaborate to combat global warming
About Our Featured Faculty
Mahta Moghaddam is the Ming Hsieh Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering-Electrophysics and Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at USC Viterbi School of Engineering. She is also the director of research for the USC Center for Sustainable Solutions and director of the USC Viterbi Center for Arid climate WAter REsearch (AWARE). Moghaddam received her BS degree (with highest distinction) from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, in 1986 and her MS and PhD degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in 1989 and 1991, respectively, all in electrical and computer engineering. From 1991 to 2003, she was with the Radar Science and Engineering Section, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, before joining the Radiation Laboratory in the EECS Department at Michigan. Moghaddam joined the USC Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering in January 2012.
Roberta Cruger, senior outreach specialist at the Hollywood, Health & Society at the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, has worked in the entertainment business as director of special programming at MTV Networks and at Time Warner’s Manhattan Cable, Columbia Pictures, MCA/Universal Music International and served as co-executive director of the Grammy Host Committee. She joined HH&S for the Climate Change Initiative and wrote on environmental issues for Discovery Network’s Treehugger.com and Planet Green channel. Roberta also has contributed to Smithsonian, Salon, The Believer, National Geographic, Los Angeles Times, Creem and MSNBC.com. Roberta holds a BFA in Film and Television from New York University. She’s taught at the School of Visual Arts and at Universidad de las Americas when pursuing her master’s in visual anthropology.
