This December, ASF and the Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) team joined more than 25,000 researchers at the American Geophysical Union Conference (AGU) in New Orleans, engaging with cutting-edge science and global experts on climate and energy systems. The conference offered valuable opportunities to learn from cutting-edge research, connect with colleagues across disciplines, and engage with the broader scientific community.
Professor Robert Orttung, director of SRI, highlighted key themes from the conference: the urgent need to integrate human factors like permitting into technical models, the challenge of advancing science amid resource constraints, and innovative approaches to science communication like social media storytelling and graphic novels.
“At a time when the climate is rapidly changing, science is under attack and has fewer resources to address the challenges,” said Orttung. “New techniques are needed to communicate science and researchers are responding with better use of social media to take students along for scientific expeditions and telling the story of science in a way that is relatable.”
SRI research assistant Lily Shanmugasundaram made her debut presentation on industrial transformation and green steel supply chains in northern Sweden. Lily's work is informed by a research trip to Luleå, Sweden, during the summer of 2025 and examines the difficulties in governing the supply chain for making green steel. She and the research team examined everything from the massive iron ore mine in Kiruna, Sweden, to the port facilities needed to export the steel once it is manufactured.
ASF’s Senior Advisor for Academic Programs and Outreach, Michael Svoboda, attended the conference and participated in the panel: "Lights, Camera, Traction: Can Film and Television Shape and Empower the Climate Narrative." Svaboda presented on the ways different kinds of media and genres can alter, or "refract," messages about climate change and responded to excerpts from short documentaries and radio stories produced by the panelists.
ASF and SRI were joined by GW partners from across the university at the conference. Professor Eli Kintisch, presented climate change communication on social media, J. Houston Miller, professor of chemistry presented on researching the threat of wildfires, and the group was joined by representatives from the Milken School of Public Health, among others.
ASF and SRI hope to continue the collaboration from the AGU Conference and look forward to connecting with a bigger cohort next year. Would you like to be involved in the interdisciplinary work at next year’s AGU Conference? Get in touch and share your ideas!