Description:

Title: Urban Science to Solutions  

Abstract: Inquiries into the dynamics of urban systems have improved our understanding of urban metabolism over the last century. However, cities continue to struggle to achieve sustainability goals. Most decisions made in urban management are based on the system scale. However, high gradients in urban areas and their interconnectedness to exogenous and endogenous drivers are significant factors that impact urban systems, and therefore urban sustainability decisions should be carefully considered. Several questions arise regarding how such scales should be selected, their dimensions, and their modeling. As part of this presentation, I will discuss research conducted at appropriate scales for urban climates and system-level modeling for issues related to heat, pollution, energy, and environmental justice in urban areas. Furthermore, I will provide an overview of how interdisciplinary urban science can be utilized to develop and evaluate solutions aimed at helping urban communities and ecosystems thrive.  

Biography:

Dr. Ashish Sharma is a Research Scientist and the Climate and Urban Sustainability Lead at the Discovery Partners Institute, University of Illinois System. In addition to his graduate faculty appointment at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, he also holds a joint appointment as a Climate Scientist at the Environmental Science Division of the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. The focus of his research is on atmospheric sciences and land-atmosphere interactions at a variety of spatial scales (regional to local). He performs targeted climate dynamical downscaling experiments with the overall goal of creating “bridges” between spatial scales. Another aspect of his research involves collaborating across science, engineering, social sciences, and policy to perform collaborative, applied, and translational research focused on reducing vulnerabilities and increasing preparedness in urban environments. He collaborates with cities and institutions to conduct research on environmental issues related to heat, fog, air quality, high-impact weather, and environmental justice topics. He has projects funded by NSF, NASA, DOE, IBM, and foundations.  

  Dr. Sharma holds a Ph.D. degree in Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University (2012). He is a fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society and has published more than 30 articles. He has co-authored an assessment on the impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes region (2019) and a special assessment of the impacts of climate change on the State of Illinois (2021). He also co-authored the 2019 NOAA report on climate research to enhance resilience to extreme Heat to align research priorities with stakeholder needs. He is one of the authors of the first climate action plan for the Chicago metro region (2021), which has been recognized nationally. He is the Associate Editor of the Frontiers in Environmental Science: Atmosphere and Climate journal.