January 31, 2018

McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall, 3-5pm

Featured speakers include:

Reginald DesRoches, Dean of Engineering, Rice University
Kevin Kirby, VP for Administration, Rice University

This event aims to bring together researchers across Rice University’s campus to explore opportunities for transformative work in the area of Smart Resilience. Resilience is often defined as the ability of individuals, communities, or businesses to prepare for, absorb, adapt and rapidly recover from a potentially disruptive event. As cities grow, become smart and more interconnected opportunities and challenges emerge regarding understanding and promoting resilience.  The theme of “Smart Resilience” explored in this Meetup implies a future looking perspective on the planning, assessment, design, and management of cities facing multiple stressors—one that may leverage a combination of smart technologies and innovations, urban design, and policy to achieve resilience when challenged by stressors. These stressors include population growth and urbanization, inequities, aging infrastructure, natural and manmade hazards, and a changing climate.  The transformation of our cities to achieve Smart Resilience will require innovation and synergy across diverse disciplines and perspectives.

Rice University researchers and various Centers and Institutes across campus are actively engaged in work addressing several key aspects of Smart Resilience: from storm risk modeling to new urban forms; from innovative sensing and infrastructure adaptation to resilience enhancing policy solutions. This Meetup provides an opportunity to connect faculty and researchers to identify future opportunities, synergies, and Rice’s distinctive position in this space.  The Ken Kennedy Institute is committed to helping to identify, support and strengthen this scholarly community on campus. Furthermore, in line with V2C2, enabling future smart and resilient cities has the potential to have profound impact on our home city of Houston, with broad implications worldwide.

We hope that you will join us for an afternoon of networking, brainstorming, and rich discussion and leave with a new perspective on potential opportunities for collaboration, scholarship, or integration of your expertise to achieve Smart Resilience.