AI Use in a Climate Change Era – 2026 Climate Week at Penn
October 8 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Details
Venue
When thinking about climate and sustainability, scholars and research institutions must hold two truths about artificial intelligence side-by-side: AI is undoubtedly catalyzing powerful new ways of understanding phenomena that affect the health of our planet and ourselves. And, the data centers that support AI technology present an unprecedented drain on our energy and water resources.
How can researchers and research institutions grapple with this inherent tension? What is the responsibility of Penn and other institutions to help its scholarly community maximize the potential of AI to solve climate and sustainability problems while minimizing the environmental toll of AI use?
At this Climate Week at Penn event, hear from faculty and staff working at various corners of these issues: Those who are using AI to tackle climate-related research, those who are working to improve the sustainability of AI and data centers, and those who are thinking through how Penn as an institution can contribute toward the responsible use of AI.
Speakers
Benjamin Lee
Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering and Computer and Information Science, Penn Engineering
Benjamin Lee is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering and the Department of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a visiting researcher at Google in the Global Infrastructure Group.
Dr. Lee’s research focuses on computer architecture (e.g., microprocessors, memories, datacenters), energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability. He builds interdisciplinary links to machine learning and algorithmic economics to better design and manage computer systems.
Jaime Combariza
Executive Director, Penn Advanced Research Computing Center (PARCC)
Jaime Combariza is PARCC’s inaugural Executive Director, building on a distinguished career spanning multiple leading institutions. He has led research computing initiatives at Miami University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, and most recently Johns Hopkins University, where he directed the Maryland Advanced Research Computing Center (MARCC). His leadership drove significant advancements in HPC infrastructure, data-intensive computing, and machine learning.
Leigh Stearns
Professor, Graduate Chair, Penn Arts & Sciences, Dept of Earth & Environmental Science
Leigh Stearns, a professor and graduate chair in the School of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Earth and Environmental Science, is interested in how a changing climate impacts the cryosphere, and the risks associated with those changes. Her current research focuses on ice sheet dynamics and sea level rise, shifts in iceberg and sea ice distributions in Arctic shipping lanes, and glacier loss and water availability at low latitudes. She relies on a combination of satellite remote sensing, machine learning, and geophysical instrumentation to better understand these systems and parameterize their changes into numerical models.
Tiffany Hanulec
Executive Director of Technology Services & Chief Technology Officer, Penn Information Systems & Computing
Tiffany Hanulec is ISC’s Executive Director of Technology Services and Chief Technology Officer, responsible for systems engineering, operations, networking, telecommunications, and collaboration services for use by the global University.
She joined ISC in 2011 and has acted as a leader for numerous key technical initiatives, including the infrastructure lead for Penn’s Cloud First initiative. Her strong customer service orientation, responsiveness, advocacy for her clients, and stewardship of the University and its resources strikes a balance that helps ISC operate efficiently while innovating sensibly.