The University of Chicago will host the Arthur H. Compton Lecture Series this fall, focusing on climate systems engineering. The series will explore scientific and policy aspects of large-scale interventions aimed at reducing risks from greenhouse gases already present in the atmosphere.
According to the university, even if fossil fuel use were stopped immediately, existing carbon in the atmosphere would continue to warm the planet for centuries. This has prompted researchers to consider a broader range of solutions beyond emission reductions.
The upcoming lecture series will cover topics such as sunlight reflection methods, open-systems carbon removal, and glacial preservation. Talks will be delivered by faculty from the UChicago Climate Systems Engineering initiative, including professors David Keith, Tiffany Shaw, B.B. Cael, and possibly others.
“These talks will serve as a primer on what's possible in this emerging field and what kinds of policy and research are needed to pursue these tools,” organizers stated.
The lectures are sponsored by the Enrico Fermi Institute and commemorate Arthur H. Compton, a Nobel laureate who led the first controlled nuclear reaction at UChicago in 1942. The series has been held since 1976 to share developments in physical science with the public.
Events are scheduled every Saturday morning at 11 a.m., from October 4 through November 22, at the Kersten Physics Teaching Center located at 5720 S. Ellis Ave., Room 106. Videos from previous lectures can be accessed on the Enrico Fermi Institute’s website.
This announcement was originally published on the Physical Sciences Division website.