SusTech Talk 2026:

January Talk: “Water and Energy Interdependencies in the United States”

With Kelsey Semrod, Senior Water Resources Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Hassan Niazi, Integrated Human-Earth Systems Researcher, Join Global Change Research Institute

Date/Time: Tuesday, January 27, 1 PM – 2 PM

Abstract:

Energy and water systems are deeply interconnected, leading to complex interdependencies that change in magnitude with changing natural, socioeconomic, and policy landscapes. Energy systems rely on water directly for activities like cooling power plants or as a “feedstock” for hydropower and electrolysis, and indirectly, for mining primarily fuels or cultivating biomass. Similarly, water systems require energy for a range of applications, such as groundwater extraction, and water flows are crucial for understanding the complexities of both systems and ensuring resilience.

This presentation will discuss historical, aggregated water and energy data for various economic sectors at the county level throughout the United States, as well as modeled futures using the GCAM-USA version of the Global Change Analysis Model. These diagrams are an effective tool to illustrate the flow of key resources, fuels, and commodities from source to end use, capturing the impacts of scenario constraints on technological transformations and resource allocation decisions. This work is funded by the U.S. DOE Water Power Technologies Office under the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Integrated Water Power Resilience Program.

February Talk: “Engineering a Greener Future – Sustainable Technologies and Opportunities”

With San Murugesan, Director of BRITE Professional Services, Adjunct Professor at Western Sydney University, Australia, Senior Consultant with Cutter Consortium (USA).

Date/Time: Tuesday, Feb 17, 6 PM to 1 PM

Abstract:

Our well-being and socioeconomic progress are inseparable from the health of our environment. A sustainable environment underpins human survival, economic stability, and the future of life on Earth. Livelihoods, industries, ecosystems, and biodiversity all depend on a stable planet. Yet decades of environmental degradation have brought us to an unprecedented crisis. Extreme weather events – droughts, floods, heat-waves, snowstorms, and wildfires – are increasing in frequency and intensity, disrupting lives, damaging economies, and escalating recovery costs. Environmental degradation also poses serious health risks, contributing to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, the spread of infectious illnesses, and food insecurity.

Engineering has long driven human progress, and today it must lead sustainability efforts. Green (sustainable) engineering balances environmental responsibility with economic viability, performance, and profitability.

This talk outlines the severity of the environmental crisis and draws lessons in sustainability from nature and ancient Indian practices that remain relevant today. Recent advances in sustainable green technologies – green IT, green AI, green cloud computing, renewable energy systems, green manufacturing, sustainable transport, and climate-resilient agriculture – are examined. Emerging innovations, market trends, and practical recommendations for adopting green technologies are discussed, along with key IEEE initiatives supporting a sustainable future.

Engineers are problem-solvers. As Albert Einstein once wisely suggested, our significant problems cannot be solved at the same level of thinking that created them. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, ethical patience, and informed policy engagement, we can drive meaningful change. Let us act now to create a cleaner, greener, and more resilient planet – because if not now, when?

March Talk: “Storing Sunlight in Waste-Derived Syngas”

With Keith Henson, Electrical Engineer and Writer

Date/Time: Tuesday, March 24, 6 PM – 7 PM PST

Abstract:

This talk explores making synthetic fuel from municipal waste using renewable energy (solar). The key reaction, dating back to the 1860’s, involves heating carbon in steam to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This endothermic reaction requires heating, traditionally done by alternately burning coke and injecting steam. Using intermittent renewable electricity for heating is now feasible.

A metric ton of carbon requires 4 MWh of heat to produce 13.1 MWh of syngas; a 3 to 1 energy gain. The gas can be stored, burned to make power, or converted into methanol, methane, jet fuel, or diesel. The water-gas shift reaction can be used to increase the hydrogen at the expense of CO. The resultant CO2 (about half) can be sorted out of the gas stream and sequestered.

Following the water-gas shift, the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) process converts syngas into hydrocarbons, with water as a byproduct.

As an example, Dignity uses 9,000 tons of trash daily from the Sylmar, CA landfill supplemented with coal, brush, or tires to produce syngas. The project would need significant power and infrastructure, including large gasifiers and GW-scale PV.

The project addresses landfill overuse and methane leakage, and provides a renewable energy solution for synthetic fuel production, though it requires substantial investment and the development of large gasifiers.

May Talk: “Nature as Mentor: Shaping a Greener Start for Energy Technologies”

with Shudipto Konika Dishari, Ross McCollum Associate Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Date/Time: Tuesday. May 19, 6 pm – 7 pm Pacific Time

Advancing the design of electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices is critical to generating electricity in a clean, sustainable manner for industry, transportation sectors, and beyond. Achieving these goals requires not only a deep understanding of state-of-the-art materials but also the development of more efficient next-generation alternatives that are both effiecientand sustainable.

Membrane separators and electrodes are two key components of these energy conversion and storage devices, yet many of the polymers in use today are neither environmentally friendly nor durable. On another note, many systems in nature exhibit remarkably efficient ion transport. We just need to take inspiration and learn from these systems to revolutionize the way energy materials are designed.

This talk will highlight our efforts to harness nature’s arts for a greener start in energy conversion and storage devices. Specifically, it will present their efforts to leverage plant-based feedstocks and nature-inspired design principles to create unique, durable, fluorine-free solid polymer electrolytes to boost ion transport and electrode interfaces and membranes.

June Talk: “Sand-like Particles for High-Temperature Thermal Energy Storage: Enabling a Resilient Renewable Energy Future”

With Shin Young Jeong, faculty member of the Center for Advanced Turbomachinery and Energy Research, University of Central Florida.

Date/Time: Tuesday, June 16, 6 PM – 7 PM PST

The transition to renewable energy has increased the need for reliable, large-scale storage to balance intermittent generation with continuous demand. Thermal energy storage (TES) offers a cost-effective solution by capturing excess energy as heat and releasing it when needed, supporting long-duration storage and grid stability. Unlike batteries, TES can scale to industrial levels, provide process heat, and deliver electricity through power cycles. Recent advances use abundant, low-cost materials, such as sand-like particles, that serve as both heat transfer media and storage. This talk will highlight emerging TES technologies and their role in a resilient, decarbonized energy future.

*Article excerpted from SusTech 2026 website