URBAN 2026 Symposium
Please join us for the BU URBAN Annual Symposium on Friday, May 1, 2026, from 9:30am-12:30pm, at 665 Commonwealth Ave, Room 1101.
The URBAN Symposium is an opportunity to showcase and highlight the work of our amazing graduate students – whether research related to economic dynamics of disaster resilience or how to integrate health equity into land use planning, or internship projects done in collaboration with our community partners, like Speak for the Trees or the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice.
The symposium will bring together students, faculty, staff, and partners from across departments and throughout the community working at the intersection of biogeoscience and environmental health to make our cities more environmentally sustainable. All are welcome.
BU URBAN Annual Symposium
Friday, May 1, 2026
9:30am-12:30pm
665 Commonwealth Ave (CDS), Room 1101
See below for a tentative agenda with speakers, topics, and panelists:
9:30-9:45 – Welcome & Overview of URBAN
9:45-10:45 – Research Talks
- Grace Betts – Why and How Environmental Health and Equity Should Be Integrated into Land Use Planning Tools: Practitioner Insights
- Yu-Qing Chua, Emerson Conrad-Rooney, Emma Daily – Youth Climate Leaders: Lessons from COP30
- Jiahang He – Economy Dynamics and Disaster Resilience for Households in North Carolina
- Sarah Kanee – Integrating Remotely-Sensed Agricultural Management into Scalable GHG Modeling Workflows
- Victoria Loehle – Zeroing Waste Through Reuse
- MJ Taylor – Climate Resilience Goals vs. Policy Actions in Shanghai, China
10:50-11:35 – Internship Lightning Talks & Panel
- Rachel Mooers (Summer 2025, NASA Langley)
- Emma Daily (Fall 2025, Speak for the Trees)
- Ethan Ashe (Spring 2026, Charles River Watershed Association)
11:35 – Lunch from Saloniki Greek
11:45-12:30 – Alumni Panel
- Sarah Garvey – Program Manager, Global Nitrogen Innovation Center for Clean Energy & the Environment
- Beth Haley – Senior Climate and Health Equity Strategist, Oregon Health Authority
- Tara Miller – Forest and Wildlife Program Director, Vermont Natural Resources Council
- Ian Smith – Senior Analyst, City of Boston Analytics Team
