UCLA Sustainability

Clean Air Conversations - “Driving the Future: Zero-Emission Bus Fleets"
2025-04-30 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Join a vital conversation exploring the critical importance and far-reaching impacts of transitioning to zero-emission public transportation. Featuring insights from Doran Barnes, CEO of Foothill Transit, a pioneering agency at the forefront of this movement, This webinar will delve into why zero emissions vehicle are one part of a wider conversation about sustainable transportation. We’ll discuss the environmental benefits, including reduced air pollution and carbon emissions, as well as the economic and social advantages of cleaner, quieter public transit. Mr. Barnes will share practical experiences and discuss the strategic considerations involved in deploying zero-emission fleets, including the current role of technologies like hydrogen fuel cells as we work towards a fully electric future.
REGISTER HERE
Doran Barnes serves as the chief executive officer of Foothill Transit. He oversees Foothill Transit’s 38-route system and manages the private contractors who operate and maintain the agency’s 360 buses. Doran became Foothill Transit’s chief executive officer in August 2003. Doran also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Access Services, the regional paratransit operator for all of Los Angeles County. Previously, he served two years as chief executive officer and general manager of Tulsa Transit in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Doran earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of California-Davis. Doran is very active in the transit industry and has previously served as Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary-Treasurer of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. Doran serves as Immediate Past Chair of the Transit Cooperative Research Program’s Oversight and Project Selection (TOPS) Commission.

"Hope Dies Last" - Visionary People Across the World
2025-04-29 19:00 - 21:00 | Burbank Buena Vista Branch Library, 300 N Buena Vista St, Burbank, CA, 91505, United States
Having reached a point of no return in our climate confrontation, how do we feel, behave, act, plan, and dream as we approach a future different from what we had expected? Where do we find hope?
Environmental journalist Alan Weisman is known for the bestseller The World Without Us, a thought experiment that brought into sharp relief the impact that we are having on the natural world. He returns with Hope Dies Last: Visionary People Across the World, Fighting to Find Us a Future, a book ten years in the making: a study of what it means to be a human on the front lines of our planet’s existential crisis.
Profoundly human and moving, this rejoinder to climate anxiety asks: Having reached a point of no return in our climate confrontation, how do we feel, behave, act, plan, and dream as we approach a future decidedly different from what we had expected? It shows how people with bold concepts can envision and create a new relationship with the Earth. A literary evocation of our current predicament, Hope Dies Last is an uplifting portrait of the core resolve of our species, profiling those courageously responding to the most precarious odds we have ever faced. He is joined in conversation by author Amy Wilentz.
REGISTER HERE

Resilience & Rebuilding: The Los Angeles of Tomorrow
2025-04-29 11:00 - 12:00 | Online
Resilience & Rebuilding is an open ended series of virtual programs exploring the impacts of the recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, offering a container for conversation and pathways for rebuilding that foreground ecology, community, and collective wellbeing.
The third program in the series will look to a future LA, reimagining a more resilient and environmentally responsible city of tomorrow. Speakers will consider visionary frameworks including architecture that emphasizes the commons, improved insurance systems, traditional ecological knowledge, and artist-led activism.
REGISTER HERE
For questions, email kshell@moca.org.

Lessons in Leading Mission-Based Innovation in Transportation - The 2025 Wachs Distinguished Lecture, presented as part of the Luskin Lecture Series
2025-04-28 17:00 - 19:30 | James West Alumni Center Founder’s Room, 325 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
5–6 p.m. Check-in & Reception | 6–7:30 p.m. Program
Admission is free, but RSVP is required.
Featured Speaker:
Robert Hampshire, Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, will draw from his experience as the former Chief Science Officer and Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation. He’ll share firsthand insights from national case studies on roadway and aviation safety, supply chain disruptions, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
Moderator:
Ann E. Carlson, Faculty Director, Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment
This is a rare opportunity to hear from a national transportation leader who has shaped federal innovation strategy across mobility, climate, and equity. Hampshire will explore how a mission-driven, cross-sector approach can help eliminate transportation fatalities, reduce carbon emissions, and ensure access for all travelers.
REGISTER HERE

Climate Notes
2025-04-27 16:00 - 17:00 | Schoenberg Hall
This unique event invites audiences to an immersive journey into climate change through the powerful interplay of music, science, and dialogue. Featuring original compositions by talented students from the School of Music’s composition area and an interactive Q&A panel with scientists, Climate Notes brings climate science to life in a way that is accessible, emotionally resonant, and deeply thought-provoking.
Like most of UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s programs, this event is FREE! Early arrival is recommended. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. No RSVP required.
While Inside the Venue:
No Food or Drink allowed in the theater.

Sand Acknowledgment in Action: Lazaro Arvizu Jr.
2025-04-27 13:00 - 14:30 | Fowler Museum
The second iteration of Sand Acknowledgment in Action with artist Lazaro Arvizu Jr. will focus on an artist-facilitated meditation and workshop centering on the creation of your own sand painting, in response to the exhibition Fire Kinship: Southern California Native Ecology and Art.
Lazaro Arvizu Jr. is an artist, educator, musician, and researcher dedicated to the culture of the first people of Los Angeles. Born in the Los Angeles Basin, he is knowledgeable about the landscape and cosmology of the Gabrieleno culture. For over 20 years, he has facilitated creative and meaningful cultural experiences for people of all ages and walks of life, in many venues.
REGISTER HERE
Image Courtesy of the Artist

Grow LA Victory Garden Workshop #2: Getting Started
2025-04-26 10:00 - 11:00 | jane b semel Healthy Campus Initiative Community Garden, Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, 111 Easton Dr, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, United States
with Master Gardener Dr. James Bassett
Build a healthy foundation for your garden with soil preparation, composting, and organic fertilizers. Learn the essentials of starting seeds, transplanting seedlings, and managing water wisely. Discover simple, sustainable techniques to boost plant growth and resilience. Set your garden up for success with smart early-season care.
Join the second workshop of a 4-part workshop program in the Grow LA Victory Garden series: Getting Started! Learn more about starting seeds, watering, and soil preparation, and get hands-on experience from our seed-starting demonstration and activity.
REGISTER HERE

Energy Transitions in Long Modernity (Day 1)
2025-04-25 09:00 - 12:00 | Online
Conference organized by Robert N. Watson (University of California, Los Angeles), Tiffany Jo Werth (University of California, Davis), and Todd Borlik (Purdue University)
Co-sponsored by the UCLA CMRS Center for Early Global Studies and the UC Davis Medieval and Early Modern Studies Program
Online event via Zoom
To register, please visit: https://ucla.zoom.us/meeting/register/16-Z8Yv_S0y3k18NdEb-Ew
The recent turn to the ‘energy humanities’ is only beginning to galvanize scholarship on the material and symbolic impact of energy regimes in the long history of modernity. While the 2017 anthology edited by Imre Szeman and Dominic Boyer provides a handy compendium of resources and heralds the field’s arrival, its table of contents consists almost entirely of post-2000 texts and does not include any material written prior to the mid-twentieth century. As this indicates, research in the energy humanities remains focused somewhat myopically on the past seventy-five years, and often appeals to reductive notions of an Industrial Revolution in the late eighteenth century as the terminus a quo for any investigation into the topic. But the fact remains that humans have excelled at extracting energy from the earth long before the formation of Standard Oil or Watt’s invention of the steam engine. Harnessing the power of ocean currents and winds, to take one example, allowed for the initial voyages that brought Europeans such as Sir Francis Drake to the shores of California, or what he called Nova Albion.
California boasts itself as a hub for transitioning energy from fossil fuels to renewable sources such as wind, water, and solar power. Taking this local, contemporary perspective as its departure point, this conference looks to the past and a deep history of energy transitions (and additions) in order to better understand how to negotiate this switch. We will convene scholars around the topics of “energy,” “extraction,” and “exploitation,” in the period we are calling “long modernity” (16th–21stcentury). Our guiding questions are: What are the cultural narratives that surround moments of energy transitions? Should we speak of energy “transitions” or energy “additions”? How is energy represented in the visual and textual archives of major energy consumers such as North America and England, particularly at moments of colonial ambition and expansion? This conference brings together diverse disciplines to unpack the complex dynamics that accompany energy regime change as expressed by technological development and represented in creative media that span the centuries of long modernity and that connect the local to the global, the past to the present.
The local and global impact of harnessing such energy pathways cannot be overstated. In particular, this conference will highlight the penumbra of energy grids for its effect on indigenous, minority, and vulnerable populations and species. This conference exploration over the long durée of history seeks to understand how an energy transition might conserve, rather than ravage, the environment and species by understanding how energy infrastructures affect earth and its ecosystems.
Speakers
Victoria Googasian, Georgetown University in Qatar
Ursula K. Heise, University of California, Los Angeles
Graeme Macdonald, University of Warwick
Elizabeth Carolyn Miller, University of California, Davis
Kirsten Schuhmacher, University of California, Davis
Sid Shah, University of California, Los Angeles
Program Schedule
9:00 a.m.
Director’s Welcome
Carla Gardina Pestana, University of California, Los Angeles
Opening Remarks
Robert N. Watson, University of California, Los Angeles, and Tiffany Jo Werth, University of California, Davis
9:15 a.m.
Opening Provocation and Q&A
Ursula K. Heise, University of California, Los Angeles
“From Solarity to Solarpunk and Beyond”
9:45 a.m.
Victoria Googasian, Georgetown University in Qatar
“Energy Labor and Disability in Twentieth-Century U.S. Space Opera”
10:15 a.m.
Graeme Macdonald, University of Warwick
“The Perpetual Problem, or, Long Renewability”
10:45 a.m.
Elizabeth Carolyn Miller, University of California, Davis
“Energy Transitions at Sea: The Industrial Ocean in Literature and Culture”
11:15 a.m.
Q&A
Graduate Student Lightning Talks
11:30 a.m.
Kirsten Schuhmacher, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English, University of California, Davis
11:40 a.m.
Sid Shah, Ph.D. Candidate, California Center for Sustainable Communities, University of California, Los Angeles
11:50 a.m.
Q&A
12:00 p.m.
Conclusion

Botany Brown Bag with Dr. Kate Eisen
2025-04-24 12:00 - 13:00 | UCLA Mildred E Mathias Botanical Garden, La Kretz Garden Pavilion, 707 Tiverton Dr, Los Angeles, CA, 90095
Join a new Botany Brown Bag Public Lecture Series!
The Botany Brown Bag series is continued by Dr. Kate Eisen, who will give a talk entitled “Clarkia Research Past, Present, and Future: An Evolutionary and Ecological Tour of One of California’s Most Charismatic Genera.”
Make sure to bring your lunch!

Changing Tides: Fires, Blooms & a Warming Coast: A Virtual Conversation with Heal The Bay
2025-04-23 17:00 - 18:00 | Online
Join Heal the Bay and Marine Mammal Care Center for a special virtual panel moderated by actress and advocate Bonnie Wright (Harry Potter Series), who will meet with Heal the Bay’s CEO Tracy Quinn and Marine Mammal Care Center’s Chief Operations & Education Officer, Dave Bader, for a conversation about climate change and the recent environmental events, from wildfire to toxic algae, that are testing the resiliency of our coastal ecosystems.
Our coastal waters and animals need our advocacy now more than ever. Join this virtual discussion featuring two of the region’s most influential environmental organizations active on the frontlines of unprecedented environmental challenges.
REGISTER HERE

Spring On-Campus Farmers Market
2025-04-23 14:00 - 18:00 | Bruin Plaza, 308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
First market of the quarter is happening! Come grab some fresh produce and bread in Bruin Plaza.

Live Webinar: From Procurement to Disclosure: How Healthcare is Advancing Sustainable Supply Chains
2025-04-23 09:00 - 10:00 | Online
Upcoming mandated climate disclosure regulations in the U.S. and globally are accelerating the need for transparent, data-driven greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting. These evolving requirements will impact a broad range of organizations—including healthcare institutions and their suppliers—making early engagement and readiness in sustainable purchasing and supplier disclosures not only a leadership opportunity but a compliance imperative.
This webinar will explore how healthcare institutions can prepare for disclosure mandates by implementing effective, data-driven supplier engagement programs that drive measurable sustainability outcomes across their value chains.
REGISTER HERE

Climate Cafe
2025-04-22 18:00 - 20:00 | Kerckhoff Grand Salon, 308 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Engage students in a meaningful dialogue about climate change, addressing its emotional, scientific, and practical dimensions. Ultimately, the aim is to explore the existential anxiety surrounding climate change. To achieve this, there will be a panel of social and scientific experts in this field who will discuss their research and perspectives on the current state of the world. Additionally, a Gen Z short film will be shown that highlights the emotional impacts of this crisis.
There will be food served, sustainable products, and a great panel of climate change and sustainability experts aft the short film.

April Affinity Talk: Lifestyle Psychiatry with Dr. Gia Merlo and Dr. Melissa Sundermann
2025-04-22 16:00 - 17:00 | HYBRID: Semel B8-225 and Online, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Lifestyle Psychiatry – Harnessing the Therapeutic Benefits of the Great Outdoors explores how nature serves as a powerful tool for mental health and well-being. Lifestyle psychiatry is an emerging field that integrates evidence-based lifestyle interventions—such as physical activity, nutrition, sleep, stress management, and social connection—into psychiatric care to prevent and treat mental illness while optimizing overall health. A growing body of research highlights the profound impact of nature exposure in reducing stress, alleviating anxiety and depression, and enhancing cognitive function. This session examines the mental health benefits of green and blue spaces, innovative strategies to increase nature access in urban environments, and the growing practice of Nature Prescriptions—personalized recommendations for engaging with nature as a therapeutic tool. Attendees will gain practical insights into integrating nature-based interventions into clinical care, empowering both patients and providers to harness the healing power of the outdoors.
Dr. Merlo is a clinical professor of psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, associate editor of the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM), past chair of the Mental and Behavioral Health Member Interest Group, and contributing author to ACLM’s board review course. She recently published a general-audience book, Restack: A New Approach to Dismantle the Blocks Holding You Back. In Restack, Merlo urges us to embrace our humanness with our imperfections and provides tools and practical suggestions to restack yourself in a way that is psychologically freeing.
Dr. Melissa Sundermann is a double board-certified physician in Internal Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine and has practiced medicine for over 25 years. She also has training in Integrative Medicine through the University of Michigan and has completed a Professional Training Program in Mind Body Medicine.
REGISTER HERE

Lunch & Learn: Earth Day with Gerald Clarke
2025-04-22 12:30 - 13:30 | Fowler Museum
This Earth Day, Cahuilla artist Gerald Clarke, featured in the Fire Kinship exhibition, will discuss traditional ecological knowledge as the foundation for an Indigenous understanding of the world, our relationship to fire, and his artistic practice.
Gerald Clarke is a visual artist, educator, tribal leader, and cultural practitioner whose family has lived in the Anza Valley for time immemorial. An enrolled citizen of the Cahuilla Band of Indians, Clarke lives in the home built by his grandfather (c. 1940) on the Cahuilla Indian Reservation and oversees the Clarke family cattle ranch. He also is a professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Riverside, where he teaches classes in Native American art, history, and culture. As a visual artist, he has exhibited extensively and can be seen in numerous shows and major museum collections.
REGISTER HERE

One Bus, One Cause - Earth Fest '25: Volunteer for a Day of Fun, Learning, and Making a Difference
2025-04-19 09:00 - 14:00 | El Rincon Elementary School, 11177 Overland Ave, Culver City, CA, 90230, United States
Through One Bus, One Cause, the Volunteer Center aims to introduce the UCLA community to a wide variety of needs that Los Angeles faces and to the ongoing service organizations that address those needs. This program involves sending one bus of about 50 volunteers out to do community service work with a non-profit organization in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The purpose of this initiative is to introduce the UCLA Community to the local organizations that are leading these efforts, learn of the causes they support, and provide a way for volunteers to engage in similar projects that support these causes on an ongoing basis.
Get ready for an exciting and impactful day at Earth Fest ’25, the 4th Annual Earth Day Festival at El Rincon Elementary School in Culver City! Hosted by the Culver City Education Foundation, this FREE community event is the perfect opportunity to give back, meet amazing people, and make lasting memories while helping spread environmental awareness.
As a volunteer, you’ll:

Interact with rescue animals and educate kids about wildlife and animal care
Lead hands-on activities like pedal-powered smoothie making, teaching kids about sustainable energy
Support engaging eco-friendly crafts that promote sustainability in everyday life
Be a part of the change by helping families learn about ways they can protect the planet

Whether you’re passionate about the environment, love working with kids, or just want to contribute to a great cause, Earth Fest ’25 is the perfect place to volunteer!
Sign up today and help make this Earth Day celebration unforgettable!
Please note that volunteers are asked to show up by 9am to account for travel time.
REGISTER HERE

Free Food from UCLA Dining Halls!
2025-04-17 22:00, 2025-04-16 22:00, 2025-04-10 22:00, 2025-04-09 22:00 | Conference Room 1 in the Student Activities Center Basement, 220 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Join Bruin Dine for our food recovery events every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 10PM in the SAC Basement! Bring your utensils, containers, and appetite!
Hit the follow button (https://www.instagram.com/uclabruindine/) to see what we’re serving up each week!

AI LA Earth Summit 2025
2025-04-17 10:00 - 18:00 | BLANKSPACES Venice, 606 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90291, United States
​Join AI LA for its landmark 6th annual Earth Summit, dedicated this year to building resilient communities in the wake of Los Angeles’ devastating fires.
​We envision a Los Angeles that rebuilds faster, stronger, and more sustainably in the face of disaster—where foundations, NGOs, tech innovators, investors, and government agencies collaborate to implement innovative solutions.
​The Earth Summit is a vibrant gathering point for LA’s leading sustainability champions, technologists, startups, policy makers, and investors, all committed to forging pathways toward resilient urban futures. Participants will experience a day rich with education, inspiration, and opportunities for meaningful connection.
REGISTER HERE

Luskin Summit 2025: Guiding an Equitable Recovery in L.A.
2025-04-16 07:30 - 14:30 | UCLA Luskin Conference Center, 425 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
The seventh annual UCLA Luskin Summit will focus on the rebuilding and recovery of the Los Angeles region following the devastation caused by the wildfires in January 2025. UCLA Luskin experts, in collaboration with community groups and government agencies, will share their research intended to guide the effort to expedite equitable recovery.
The Summit is not just about recovery; it will share the expertise and experience of leaders in Los Angeles and researchers at UCLA so we can restore communities and make them more resilient than before. Eight sessions over four tracks intended to inform equitable recovery and resilience, and opening and closing plenary sessions, will cover updates on the rebuilding efforts and how philanthropy can support collective recovery.
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Kelp Kulture Talk: Salty Gold: Kelp Forest Stewardship via Sea Urchin Butter
2025-04-14 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
featuring Max Diamond – Sea urchin (uni) butter is a blueprint forward to innovate how seafood can be consumed and produced more sustainably with the American end consumer in mind. Salty Gold sources purple sea urchins that threaten kelp forests – a key combatant of climate change. A healthy purple urchin full of roe, known as uni, just so happens to be a gourmet delicacy beloved by chefs and foodies. Eating purple urchins is an act of restorative consumption. The more we eat, the healthier our ocean and planet will be.
REGISTER HERE

Family Flicks screening - Earth
2025-04-13 11:00 - 12:30 | Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, United States
All Family Flicks screenings are free admission. Seating is first come, first served. The Billy Wilder Theater opens 15 minutes before each Family Flicks program. Earth revels in the beauty of the natural world while examining how climate change impacts species as far-flung as the Arctic polar bear, the African bush elephant and the humpback whale.

FOR ADMITTED UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS - UCLA Campus Sustainability Tour #2
2025-04-12 13:00 - 14:00 | Wilson Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
https://bruinday.ucla.edu/first-years/home
Find out everything you need to know about life at UCLA, take campus tours, connect with current and future Bruins, and get your questions answered. Bruin Day has no set agenda so you can choose which events you’d like to attend! Events take place throughout the day across campus.
REGISTER HERE

FOR ADMITTED UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS - UCLA Campus Sustainability Tour #1
2025-04-12 11:00 - 12:00 | Wilson Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States

AltaSea Open House: Urban Renewable Energy Summit and Conference
2025-04-12 10:30 - 14:30 | AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, 2451 Signal St, Los Angeles, CA, 90731, United States
Join AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles for a day filled with insightful discussions, innovative ideas, and networking opportunities. Held in honor of Earth Day 2025, the Urban Renewable Energy Summit is a unique event dedicated to advancing climate resilience, energy equity, and sustainable innovation within Los Angeles County’s urban marketplace.
The Summit’s theme is “Reclaiming Our Sun and Water,” which will celebrate the historic and current contributions of leaders of color in environmental advocacy and renewable energy, while also emphasizing the importance of advocating for an equitable and “just transition” to sustainable practices for all Angelenos.
Through engaging discussions and a community expo, the Summit will bring together industry leaders, government representatives, educators, small businesses, and passionate community-based organizations that are all dedicated to making real-world impact in LA County’s emerging Green and Blue economic sectors.
This free in-person community event will feature engaging panel discussions, and an interactive clean energy expo of resource organizations, businesses, and educational programs centered around three key themes:

Sustainable Development & Advocacy: Strategies for building and financing resilient communities, as well as the importance of policy, public awareness, and equitable access to clean energy solutions.
Innovations & Entrepreneurship: Emerging technologies, business opportunities, and renewable energy trends within the green and blue economies.
Workforce Development & Career Pathways: Expanding minority job training opportunities in renewable energy, offshore wind, EV infrastructure, and more.

Don’t miss this chance to be a part of the conversation and contribute to shaping a sustainable future.
REGISTER HERE

Grow LA Victory Garden Workshop 1: Planning Your Garden
2025-04-12 10:00 - 11:00 | jane b semel Healthy Campus Initiative Community Garden, Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, 111 Easton Dr, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, United States
Led by Master Gardener James Bassett, learn all about how to plan your garden, perfect for beginners and experienced gardeners alike.
Explore the best plant choices for your space and growing conditions. Discover how to maximize productivity and sustainability in an urban setting. Get started on creating a garden that fits your lifestyle and goals.
Part of a 4-part workshop program on the basics of urban gardening, this session offers the chance to learn from Master Gardner Dr. James Bassett. Attend individual workshops that interest you, or attend all 4 and receive UC Victory Gardener Certification!
REGISTER HERE

Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Eudaimonia 2025 Award presentation
2025-04-10 16:30 - 18:30 | UCLA’s Semel Institute, B-floor Deck, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, United States
The Semel Healthy Campus Initiative (HCI) Center at UCLA & the MindWell team invite you to its annual Eudaimonia Awards 2025 Ceremony! The HCI Eudaimonia Award is an annual recognition award given to a member of the UCLA community past or present who exemplifies a life full of purpose and meaning.
This year, the theme is: “Gift of Giving” which is to acknowledge UCLA community members who exemplify this theme, have committed to bringing good to society, and who build up community members through care, service and advocacy.
Youlonda Copeland-Morgan is a nationally recognized leader in higher education and President and CEO of The CopelandMorgan Group, LLC. Copeland-Morgan’s 44-year career is a testament to her lifelong commitment to access, equity, diversity, and inclusion in K-12 and higher education. She has been honored by the United States Congress, the California State Legislature, and the City of Los Angeles.
The event reception starts at 4:30pm, and the program starts at 5pm. Food and refreshments will be served!
REGISTER HERE

IoES seminar series 2024-25 Focus on the Environment and Sustainability - "Managing the Mid-Transition from Fossil to Clean Energy," Prof. Emily Grubert, University of Notre Dame
2025-04-10 14:00 - 16:00 | James West Alumni Center Founder’s Room, 325 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Emily Grubert
Associate Professor of Sustainable Energy Policy in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame.
Emily Grubert is a civil engineer and environmental sociologist who studies how we can make better decisions about large infrastructure systems, particularly related to justice-centering decarbonization of the US energy system.
Prof. Emily Grubert from the University of Notre Dame will discuss just energy transitions, and decarbonization, especially as related to energy, water, and infrastructure systems.
Key Discussion Topics

The industrial transformation needed to phase out fossil fuels
How to restructure energy systems to deliver services without greenhouse gas emissions
The “mid-transition” period — where neither old nor new systems fully sustain energy needs
Challenges in safety, reliability, flexibility and planning
The role of justice-centered decarbonization in reshaping the U.S. energy system

2:00 — 2:30 pm | Refreshments
2:30 — 3:30 pm | Seminar
3:30 — 4:00 pm | Q&A
For inquiries, contact Claire Griffiths at cgriffiths@ioes.ucla.edu.
REGISTER HERE
Abstract
Responding to climate change requires rapid and deep industrial transformation, particularly related to phasing out fossil fuels and restructuring energy systems to deliver services without greenhouse gas emissions. This transformation presents a critical opportunity not only to decarbonize, but to remake the way we provide energy services with emphasis on justice.
The period of remaking is a multi-decade effort that requires both phasing out the majority of the existing energy system and phasing in a new system — all while continuing to provide energy services effectively, despite the growing challenges of climate change and deep inequality.
The “mid-transition” period during which existing and new systems are each too small to provide all services on their own, but too large to avoid constraining the other, poses special challenges of safety, reliability, flexibility, measurement, and other considerations. A successful transition will require extensive coordination and planning, especially due to the dynamism imposed by both technology and climate changes.
