Fourth annual Innovation Symposium brings intersection of AI and climate technology to LMU community | Campus News

LMU’s Innovation Symposium, an annual occasion discussing the intersection of know-how with totally different industries and institutions, occurred on Friday, March 21 at LMU’s Playa Vista Campus. This 12 months’s occasion centered across the affect of know-how and synthetic intelligence (AI) improvements on local weather change and sustainability initiatives, and introduced in a various mixture of panelists to supply views on the following steps towards a cleaner and extra sustainable future.

Specializing in the Los Angeles group, this symposium highlighted cutting-edge improvements and the influence of local weather uncertainty on surrounding communities. Whereas acknowledging the difficulties and challenges that might come up on this area, the panelists remained optimistic by means of their discussions by specializing in options moderately than issues.

“This symposium is one among many initiatives that replicate LMU’s dedication to constructing bridges throughout organizations and industries. This dedication to collaboration is now wanted greater than ever. The tides are altering concerning the varieties of tutorial analysis that will likely be funded within the foreseeable future,” stated LMU Govt Vice President and Provost Thomas Poon, Ph.D., in a short handle on the occasion.

Sunil Murthy, Ph.D., medical affiliate professor of administration, moderated one of many panels titled: “The Business of ClimateTech: Opportunities and Challenges.” Panelists included members from the funding, enterprise and clear vitality group sectors. They highlighted the problem of unpredictability and centered on how the USA could start to battle with sure policies and tariffs which are at the moment being applied by the Trump administration.

“Individuals are involved and fearful and the concept right here is to sort of have a rationale, wise dialogue round that and see the place the challenges are. How can we overcome them after which put us on a path when it comes to navigating?” stated Murthy in an interview with the Loyolan.

“Attendees will embody alumni [and] they may embody leaders from the enterprise world and they’re coming in with varied concepts,” stated Ana Mangal, Ph.D., medical affiliate professor of knowledge techniques and enterprise analytics, in an interview with the Loyolan. “So we additionally consider these as dialog starters or collaboration starters, the place we’re bringing collectively the group to have these vital discussions.”

Mangal moderated one other panel titled, “AI and ClimateTech: Innovations and Impact.” The panelists engaged in a dialogue surrounding the significance of AI improvements and the impacts that these improvements can have on local weather change and know-how.

The potential constructive and unfavorable ramifications of implementing AI within the local weather change area had been mentioned. Panelists identified that the extra AI is used to resolve issues, the extra issues it might create.

One other panel, titled “Innovations in ClimateTech: Bridging Technology and Sustainability” moderated by Eric Strauss, Ph.D., president’s professor of biology at LMU and govt director of the Center for Urban Resilience (CURes), engaged in a dialogue surrounding the options to local weather stress, specializing in technique of transportation and clear vitality.

Subjects such because the challenges LA faces with air air pollution and the need to search out renewable pure gasoline options had been essential to the panel’s mission. After the occasion, Strauss shared his hopefulness with the Loyolan, impressed by his conversations with the panelists and his involvement in an occasion with the potential to make an actual influence.

“In actuality, these are main points we’ve got to face: local weather degradation, sea stage rise, the influence on cities, and we’ve got to make these items livable,” stated Strauss in an interview with the Loyolan. “Not only for developed nations, however all of these communities growing within the World South and in areas the place know-how is simply reaching. We have to get there.”

To conclude this 12 months’s symposium, Dayle M. Smith, Ph.D., dean of the Faculty of Enterprise Administration (CBA) left the attendees with an enduring message, quoting the Native American proverb, “’We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it for our kids.’ The vital function of innovation to create sustainable futures has by no means been extra vital.”