AAAS AMA: We’re a research team working to prevent population-related
disasters like the ‘Cape Town: Day Zero’ water crisis. AMA!
Abstract
By the year 2050, populations in some urban centers in the United States
could easily double, meaning that already-stressed and limited natural
resources will need to be available for tens of millions more people.
We’re part of an interdisciplinary team of more than 100 researchers
from across The University of Texas at Austin that’s embarking on the
university’s first-ever grand challenge initiative. Our mission is to
find ways to make our region more resilient and better prepared in the
face of rapid population growth and to share what we learn with
researchers from around the world. We hope that our work will be
instrumental in preventing the next ‘Cape Town: Day Zero’ crisis, where
entire communities face critical shortages of resources like water and
energy following steep population increases. Our team includes
engineers, architects, geoscientists, archeologists, health experts,
humanities and legal scholars, and more. Specific areas of research also
include air quality/air pollution in megacities, which can have an
impact on human health. Ask Us Anything about a race against the clock
to shore up dwindling resources in the face of rapid population growth.
Richard Corsi, Professor and Joe J. King Chair of Engineering, Cockrell
School of Engineering, Co-Director, Center for Sustainable Development
Katherine Lieberknecht, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture Adam
Rabinowitz, Associate Professor, Department of Classics, Assistant
Director, Institute of Classical Archaeology Lourdes Rodriguez,
Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Place-Based
Initiatives, Dell Medical School Michael Young, Associate Director and
Senior Research Scientist, Bureau of Economic Geology