Climate Talks

CLIMATE TALKS

ITU Climate Talks are a series of short research videos (5-8 minutes each) by faculty members from all three ITU research departments.

The purpose of the talks is to inform and inspire staff, students, and the world beyond ITU by highlighting some of the exciting climate related research underway at the university.

It is our desire to begin a series of urgent conversations on the climate implications of IT at the research, teaching, and organizational levels.

These talks are part of a series of initiatives that we hope will facilitate such conversations and begin to lay the groundwork for a more climate-ambitious university.

The videos are produced by James Maguire (Associate Professor, Business IT) and Luis Landa (Climate Research Assistant, Business IT).

Video footage by Rina de Place Bjørn.

James Maguire on Eco-Tech Climate Imaginaries and DNA Storage

Drawing on empirical work, in this episode, Associate Professor James Maguire talks about the advent of DNA as a means of storing data and the various imaginaries (colonial, temporal, and environmental) that are at stake in the construction of such eco-tech futures. What questions are raised by the potential for storing data in the DNA of trees for example?

Tom Jenkins about Designing for Sustainable Transitions

In this Climate Talk, Associate Professor Tom Jenkins talks about his research on designing for sustainable transitions.

Michael Szell on Modelling Urban Bicycle Pathway

In this episode, Associate Professor Michael Szell talks about his research on modelling sustainable urban bicycle networks. Here Michael explains how he, and his team, are using large data sets such as OpenStreetMap to computationally model more effective routes for urban areas. The hope, says Michael, is to develop models for planning bicycle infrastructures that will lead to future cities that more concretely support different modes of transit.

Leon Derczynski on How to Get More (from AI) with Less (Carbon)

In this episode of Climate Talks, Associate Professor Leon Derczynski talks about AI energy deintensification strategies and explains how current coding methods emit unnecessary CO2.

Anna Vallgårda on Designing More Sustainable Digital Artefacts

In this episode, Associate Professor Anna Vallgårda talks about how we can make our digital artifacts more sustainable by recognizing not only their functional and aesthetic values, but by focusing on their biographical (sustainability) stories.

Irina Papazu on Green Transitions

In this episode, Associate Professor Irina Papazu brings together questions of climate with questions of democracy. By focusing on the disappointing outcome of the recent Danish Climate Citizens Assembly, Irina asks about the role of the political class and their techno-solutionist approach to climate change.

Jonas Fritsch on the Climate Emergency as an Existential Crisis

In this episode of Climate Talks, Associate Professor Jonas Fritsch focuses on the emotional and affective technological aspects of the climate emergency. Living in ‘catastrophic times’ Jonas explains, is also an opportunity to develop new relationships to the world round us, to develop new ecological sensibilities.

Pınar Tözün on the Sustainable Use of Hardware

In this episode, Associate Professor Pınar Tözün talks about her research on computer and hardware sustainability. Pınar sketches out the current landscape of hardware issues and how some of them can be addressed by more climate sensitive approaches to computing.