Past Summits
Eco-Design
2024
Hosted in the Fascitelli Center for Advanced Engineering, this event showcased just that- advanced engineering. Every year, hundreds of engineers graduate from URI, prepared with four years of mathematical, technical, and professional skills. What about sustainability skills? This year's summit aimed to emphasize the importance of the role of engineers in innovating an eco-friendly future. In short, that environmentally-conscious engineering is a core component of ethical engineering. The invited speakers included Wayne Cobleigh (VP of Client Services, GeoEnviromental), Dr. Jennifer Bissonnette (Nature Laboratory Director, RISD), Dr. Alison Roberts (Biological Sciences Professor, URI), and Dr. Jesse Duroha (Sustainable Innovative Solutions, URI).
Finding the Solution to Plastic Pollution
2023
Our first in-person Summit since COVID-19!
This event featured a hackathon-style format, with the goal of encouraging participants to think critically about how to utilize the new knowledge they gain from our speakers. In the spirit of the waste-less, recycle-more, participants were given portable utensil kits made out of recycled plastic to enjoy a catered lunch with and take home after! The guest speakers included Dr. Vinka Oyanedel-Craver (Associate Dean of Research), Johnathan Berard (Public policy analyst), Dr. Karl Aspelund (Department Chair of Fashion Merchandising), and Dr. Coleen Suckling (Advisor for the Plastics: Land to Sea Program), each of whom brought their unique perspectives to some of the complex issues the plastic crisis poses.
Sustainable Sustenance: Cultivating Resilience in Food Production
2022
The great comeback of the Sustainability Summits post the temporary dissolution of the club in 2020! Hosted virtually to accommodate participants from all over, this event tackled food system sustainability, and the toll agricultural work can have on our planet, from local ecosystem disruption to the benefits of compost.
