Moderator
Ernest J. Moniz
Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems Emeritus, MIT; 13th US Secretary of Energy
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MIT FOREFRONT
How can we accelerate the development of affordable and practical science- and technology-based solutions? What is needed to increase investment in new technologies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions? How can we reduce the human and financial costs of fighting climate change and adapting to its harsh realities? This virtual event brought together scientists and influential business leaders, and reached over 12,000 people from around the globe, for an in-depth discussion to address these urgent questions.
Read the impact paper and the MIT News recap of the event.
To open the event, Shreya Dave ’09, SM ’12, PhD ’16, cofounder and chief executive officer of Via Separations, explained how this startup works to intensify manufacturing and eliminate the energy used in industry. Learn more in the first few minutes of the event video (above) and read about their work in the Washington Post and Chemical & Engineering News.
Moderator
Ernest J. Moniz
Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems Emeritus, MIT; 13th US Secretary of Energy
view bio
Panelist
Maria T. Zuber
Vice President for Research and E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics, MIT
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TODAY'S INNOVATORS PRESENTATION
Shreya Dave ’09, SM ’12, PhD ’16
Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer, Via Separations
view bioMIT is pursuing an array of new unified education, research, and innovation commitments and initiatives that build on and extend the Institute’s already significant work in addressing the climate crisis. Learn more by exploring the MIT Climate Portal, perusing Fast Forward: MIT’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade, and visiting the Climate and Sustainability Consortium, the Climate Grand Challenges, and the King Climate Action Initiative.
-Ernest J. Moniz“We need practical visionaries, in every economic sector, to develop new business models that allow them to remain profitable while achieving zero-carbon emissions.”
-Jim Fitterling“Our plan to reach carbon neutrality is really two areas of focus, and one of them … is ensuring the products that we sell to consumers are more sustainable than any alternative that’s out there today.”
-Arvind Krishna“We’re all in the innovation business. … I think that that’s a false dichotomy we drive between solving for climate and investors. I think we can actually solve both at the same time.”
-Jeff Wilke“There’s a bunch of work to do … to reduce the waste that we produce, so that we don’t have to put the energy into the production of those wasteful products in the first place.”
-Maria T. Zuber“Innovation is a team sport. Even if MIT researchers make a huge discovery, deploying it requires cooperation on a policy level and often industry support.”