We know an increasing amount about what is not sustainable. But what is? What does sustainability mean for cities and those of us that inhabit them? How do we design cities that are healthy for people as well as healing for the planet?
This alumni panel event will showcase how the Imperial community is defining and shaping our cities of the future.
From trees and public spaces, to infrastructure and our modes of travel, to the materials our homes and offices are made of – each of these and more will affect the liveability and efficiency of our future cities.
We look forward to gathering with fellow alumni and experts from across the climate, energy, design and sustainability sectors, for a cross-cutting and topical discussion led by Professor Frank Kelly, with opening remarks from President Hugh Brady.
Our interdisciplinary speaker panel will share insights into their industry backgrounds, their views on what sustainability means for the future of cities and their reflections on the chapters ahead.
Attendees can expect a memorable evening of in-person networking plus exclusive insights into the varied careers in demand within the sustainability sector. There will also be alumni founders in attendance, showcasing some of the innovative Imperial start ups in the field of sustainable cities.
Tickets are £10 for alumni and their guests, £5 for students. Book here. Imperial staff who wish to attend – simply email alumnievents@imperial.ac.uk to secure your place.
Refreshments will be served in the reception after the panel event.
About the Chair – Professor Frank Kelly
Professor Frank Kelly, PhD, FKC, FRSB, FRSC, FMedSci, FRCP (Hon) holds the inaugural Humphrey Battcock Chair in Community Health and Policy, within the School of Public Health in a new global centre of air pollution research.
He is a world-leading expert in air pollution research, spanning everything from toxicology to policy. In recent years amongst other initiatives, Professor Kelly has led studies that have facilitated the introduction of the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). One of his newest areas of investigation is ambient microplastics and their potential impact on biodiversity and health.
He previously served as Chair of Environmental Health at King’s College London, where he was Director of the Environmental Research Group, Director of the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Health Impact of Environmental Hazards and Deputy Director of the MRC Centre for Environment & Health.
Professor Kelly has published over 450 peer-reviewed papers as well as many conference papers and books (as author or editor) on the toxicology and health effects of ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulate pollution. He provides policy support to the World Health Organisation on air pollution issues and is a member of the Health Effects Institute (HEI) Review Committee. He is past Chairman of COMEAP, the UK’s Department of Health’s Expert Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, past President of the European Society for Free Radical Research and past Chairman of the British Association for Lung Research.
External speaker
Maria Adebowale-Schwarte – Founder and Director of Living Space Project. Maria’s work focuses on inclusive placemaking and delivering social value. She has over 25 years of cross-sector experience in heritage, human rights and improving urban places and green spaces.
She is Co-Founder of the UK Place making Collective, a Distinguished Friend the Migration Museum, a Chief Ambassador of the Design Council, a Co-Chair of the Mayor of London’s Sustainable Development Commission’s Social Value Committee, an Ambassador of the Women’s Environmental Network and a Director of the Centre for Knowledge Equity.
See Maria’s Design Council page here.
The alumni panel
Balázs Csuvár (MEng Civil Engineering 2014) – Director of Innovation and Net Zero at DG Cities. His work includes the development of smart city strategies, planning for connected and autonomous mobility, and enhancing the capacity of local governments. Balázs is passionate about leveraging technology to create sustainable, efficient, and liveable urban environments. His recent focus is on exploring the potential of AI to act as a core enabler in delivering more accurate, personalised, and targeted public services.
Dr Pepe Puchol-Salort (PhD Sustainable Civil Engineering 2023) – Hoffmann Research Fellow in Water Innovation at the World Economic Forum and Imperial College London. Pepe brings over 10 years of industry experience and a background in architecture and environmental engineering. His research focuses on urban sustainability, integrated water management and climate adaptation across global cities. Before completing his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial, Pepe completed an MSc in Architecture and Environmental Design from the University of Westminster.
Dr Sarah Holliday (PhD Chemistry 2016) – Senior Research Manager in Climate & Health at the Wellcome Trust. Sarah’s role is focused on enabling the field of solutions-oriented research to mobilise evidence on the impact of climate change on health, and drive transformational climate action at scale. Her PhD was on the chemistry of organic photovoltaics. Sarah has worked in several roles across academia and social innovation, including citizen science projects on urban air pollution. She previously co-founded a social enterprise connecting policy and practice in the UK, and has supported both local and national government teams to design more evidence-based, collaborative policies to tackle our shared challenges.
Dr Caroline Howe (MSc Environmental Technology 2005, PhD Conservation Science 2009) – Senior Lecturer in Environmental Social Science at Imperial, Deputy Programme Director for Imperial’s MSc in Environmental Technology and Co-Lead of Imperial College’s Network of Excellence in Women’s Health. Her research is highly interdisciplinary, with a focus on sustainable development, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human wellbeing. She takes a systems-based approach to exploring the people-nature nexus through the lens of inequity and justice.
Alumni startup showcases
We are excited to have the following Imperial founders showcasing in the networking reception after the panel discussion:
Untap Health – containing the illnesses of today and preventing the pandemics of tomorrow. Untap Health has developed multi-patent-pending wastewater technology that detects early-stage illness by deploying hardware in outgoing sewage. Co-founded by Dr Claire Trant (PhD Materials 2020).
Treeva – providing reliable renewable energy for critical transport infrastructure. To address energy supply risks and reduce emissions, Treeva turbines harness the energy from the airflow of passing transport on the side of roads and railways. Co-founded by Anjali Devadasan and Yu Gu (MEng Materials Science and Engineering 2024).
Guerrilla – Founded by Summer Chen, Henry Parkin, Hunaid Nagaria and Adhesh Shenoy (MSc Innovation Design Engineering 2023). The team is currently developing a patent-pending device, Guerrilla, to capture pollution from road runoff, an environmental concern that is reported to mobilise 30% of ocean pollution.