The Environmental Futures Forum 2025 was the result of a big vision our team crafted long ago: to bring top minds together to discuss solutions for some of the most pressing environmental challenges we face today. The two-day Forum was dynamic, and I am once again impressed and inspired by the passion of researchers who seek to find people-centered solutions.

With the support of our community (both here in Charlottesville and across the country), we convened 160 people for day one and 240 people for day two on the Grounds of the University of Virginia. Over 50 researchers from UVA (including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and UVA faculty) presented their research projects in poster sessions. It was a remarkable turnout, showcasing how invested this cohort of researchers is in finding real solutions to problems that are affecting people across the globe in the face of environmental change.

It was a particular honor for me to sit with the esteemed Jane Lubchenco to discuss her experience and hear her thoughts on the current state of environmental research as it intersects with policy. Dr. Lubchenco is a leading scholar in ocean science, has served multiple times in the U.S. government, and has been nominated by a president and confirmed by the Senate three times. Most recently, she led the Climate and Environment team at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

During the conversation, Lubchenco stressed that research must be both problem-focused and place-based in order to have truly meaningful impact. Additionally, scientists must engage with the public to better inform what the problems are and what is needed. Science is enriched by public participation. Lubchenco stated unequivocally that universities (such as UVA) play a critical role in bringing research discoveries to the places and people that most need them.

The conversation with Dr. Lubchenco was especially relevant as it followed a panel of UVA researchers sharing thoughts on their work with communities. Moderated by Leon Szeptycki (Associate Director of the Environmental Institute and a professor at the School of Law), Daniel Driscoll (Sociology), Caitlin Wylie (Engineering), and Amanda Hall (UVA Wise) were forthcoming about the challenges but also the immense reward of engaging community members in the research from the beginning of the process.

The next day, in Newcomb Hall, distinguished guests joined UVA faculty for honest conversations on three pressing topics: Energy + Infrastructure, Environment + AI, and Coasts + People.

The first panel featured Dave Turk, Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Turk previously served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. Moderated by the Environmental Institute’s Associate Director, Andres Clarens, Turk was joined by Moira O’Neill (from the University of California - San Francisco) and Christine Mahoney (Public Policy and Politics). Thinking through the intersection of energy and infrastructure, the panelists emphasized that affordability is the game-changing agent when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonizing the grid. They also pointed out that the local and state levels are where durable policy changes are happening across the country.

The second panel on Environment and Artificial Intelligence (AI) took place in front of a standing-room-only crowd. Costa Samaras, Director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, started the discussion with a brief presentation based on his experiences in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) as Principal Assistant Director for Energy, OSTP Chief Advisor for Energy Policy, and then OSTP Chief Advisor for the Clean Energy Transition. In a panel discussion moderated by Scott Doney (Environmental Sciences), UVA faculty Antonios Mamalakis (Data Science and Environmental Sciences) and Joao Ferreira (Weldon Cooper Center) discussed the implications of the ballooning world of AI with Samaras. The conversation focused on several pressing issues, including the environmental footprint of the growing number of data centers (particularly in Northern Virginia) and the power of AI models to help researchers make faster and more accurate predictions of extreme weather events.

The final panel, which I moderated, focused on coastal regions and the people living there. As waters rise and flooding becomes more common, we addressed how researchers are thinking of these problems and what we are learning that can help communities be more resilient. I was pleased to welcome Rear Admiral Ann C. Phillips (U.S. Navy, Ret.) as the featured panelist. Phillips most recently served as the 20th Administrator for the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration, where she advised and assisted the Secretary of Transportation on commercial maritime matters, and formerly served as the first Special Assistant to the Governor of Virginia for Coastal Adaptation and Protection, where she oversaw the development of Virginia’s first Coastal Resilience Master Plan. My colleagues Jon Goodall (Engineering) and Elizabeth Andrews (Institute for Engagement and Negotiation) joined us. We all agreed that the solutions communities most need must address the impact of nuisance flooding on transportation and determine the best way to stabilize shorelines in their locality, whether with grey or nature-based infrastructure.

The power of the Forum, the reason it is mission-critical for the UVA Environmental Institute, is the conversation it catalyzes. Solutions to the environmental challenges we face are not housed in one discipline or entirely in academia.  As I walked around the Forum, I heard snippets of conversations between researchers and community members. I heard questions such as: “What would it take to make this project stronger?” “How do I solve the puzzle of this particular piece of the project?” and “Who can I partner with to help people use this knowledge?”

The University of Virginia is at the forefront of environmental research, and its impact continues to grow. The Environmental Institute plays a key role in both connecting researchers and growing the strength of their collaborative work, and the Institute helps share the knowledge discovered.

Thank you to all who participated, and especially to the dozens who traveled from other states and cities to join us. With your participation, the research becomes more meaningful and impactful. The UVA Environmental Futures Forum 2025 proved that people-centered, research-oriented solutions are not only needed -- they are here.