Speaker bio text goes here. Tell everyone about how special your speaker is. Let your guests know a little about their background. It'd be great to hear about where they work, what their current position is, and what makes them unique. Let us know what they've accomplished, and what they plan to share with everyone on the big day.
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
William C. Powers Student Activity Center |Â Ballroom (WCP 2.410 & 2.412)
8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
This year's Mitchell Sustainability Symposium will continue its focus on the intersection of sustainability and student education on UT Austin’s campus and beyond. We’ll look into the state of sustainability at UT Austin through a series of panel discussions, lectures, and student presentations. Dr. David Vanden Bout, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, will provide the lunchtime keynote address.
The event is open to all UT students, staff and faculty.
Allysa Dallmann, Graduate Student, Earth and Planetary Sciences
"Data to Decisions: Understanding the Usability and Translation of Scientific Research for Urban Rainfall"
David Zarazua, Graduate Student, Community and Regional Planning
"Regulating risk unevenly: building codes and coastal protection in Texas"
Polina Pinchevsky, Graduate Student, Integrated Media
"To B or Not to B - Beyond Profit Mindset"
Karen Sarkis, Graduate Student, Community & Regional Planning and Sustainable Design
"Bouncing Forward: Relational Epistemologies and the Reframing of Resilience in River Planning"
Melannie Martinez, Graduate Student, STEM Education
"Sustainability Practices Across Cultural and Geographical Spaces"
Staying Focused on the Process:Â Building Trust and Creating Knowledge through Community Engaged Research
Join a panel of faculty practicing community-engaged research as they share stories, challenges, and insights from working alongside communities to co-create knowledge to address resilience and sustainability issues. From building trust and navigating challenges to mentoring students and sharing research findings back with community members, panelists will discuss what it means to conduct research in partnership. The conversation will highlight the transformative potential of community-engaged research for researchers, students, and communities alike, while offering practical guidance for those interested in pursuing engaged scholarship.
PANEL:
Shirene Garcia, Office of the VP for ResearchÂ
Sergio Castellanos, Cockrell School of EngineeringÂ
Megan Poole, College of Liberal ArtsÂ
Patrick Bixler, LBJ School of Public AffairsÂ
UT is updating our Campus Master Plan for the first time since 2013 in partnership with Sasaki Associates. The new Campus Master Plan will guide UT through our 150th anniversary (2033) and define a clear, actionable path as UT builds new spaces, reinvests in existing ones, and plans for a future that supports a vibrant Longhorn culture, strengthens learning and research, reimagines student life, prioritizes safe, accessible, and modern campus environments, and fosters collaboration and innovation that will shape the UT campus for generations of students, staff and faculty. The session will focus on the process to date, including recent Open Houses in early October.
PANEL:
AVP, Brent Stringfellow (Moderator), Campus Operations & Planning
Dean Heather Woofter, School of Architecture
Dean David Vanden Bout, College of Natural Sciences
Tyler Patrick, Sasaki AssociatesÂ
Gulce Erincik Balkan, Graduate Student, ArchitectureÂ
"A Parametric Workflow to Mitigate Carbon Shifting in Residential Balcony Design"
Amrit Ghosh, Undergraduate, BiologyÂ
"Detecting and tracking heavy metal concentrations in Waller Creek"
Kaleb Cordry, Undergraduate, Sustainability Studies and Electrical & Computer EngineeringÂ
"West Campus Collective: How We Can All Help"
Tanu Kaushik, Undergraduate, EconomicsÂ
"From Campus to Community: Advancing Sustainability Through Student-Led Initiatives"
UT’s campus reflects all the challenges and opportunities of a small city – we are a broad community dependent on complex infrastructure that features both cutting-edge innovations and century old buildings. UT’s pilot Campus as a Living Lab program fosters connections between education, research, and campus infrastructure for applied, real-world connections taking place on the Forty Acres. In this session we will introduce the program’s CLL Framework, and then hear from student, staff, and faculty participants in active and completed CLL initiatives across campus.
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PANEL:
Sarah Schoonhoven (Moderator), Living Labs Coordinator, Office of SustainabilityÂ
Chris Rausch, Civil, Architectural, and Environmental EngineeringÂ
Jules Elkins, Director, Sustainability StudiesÂ
Markus Hogue, Campus Geospatial Assets, Campus Operations and PlanningÂ
London Hurt, Alum, Sustainability StudiesÂ
Gulce Erincik Balkan is a Ph.D. student in Architecture (Sustainability Track) at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on multi-objective optimization of passive design strategies to enhance the carbon performance of mid-rise residential buildings in ASHRAE Climate Zone 3A. Her methodological approach integrates embodied carbon estimation, building energy modeling (BEM), parametric design, multi-objective optimization using genetic algorithms, and surrogate modeling.
Prior to her Ph.D. studies, she earned her B.Arch. from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and her M.Sc. in Architectural Technologies from Bilkent University. She has presented her research at the CISBAT International Conference and will present her research at the ASES National Solar Conference. She works with computational design and simulation tools to bridge early-stage architectural decision-making with high-performance building simulation and develop data-driven workflows for reducing operational and embodied carbon emissions in warm-humid climates.
R. Patrick Bixler is an associate professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs researching and teaching at the intersection of social and environmental science, addressing resilience challenges from Austin to Africa. He leads the Sustainability Science, Policy, and Governance research group, which uses mixed-method approaches to investigate complex human-environment dynamics, revealing the values, social structures, networks and institutional logics related to adaptation. Professor Bixler co-chairs Planet Texas 2050, co-leads one of its Flagship Projects, co-founded the UT–City Climate CoLab in partnership with the City of Austin, and has a courtesy appointment with Community and Regional Planning, Earth and Energy Resources in Geosciences, and the RGK Center. His research spans network governance, urban climate and multi-hazard modeling, social vulnerability, and international water security, with more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and over $3 million in support from NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Texas Water Development Board, and philanthropic foundations. He teaches courses on climate adaptation, sustainability science, program evaluation, and collaborative governance.
Sergio Castellanos is an assistant professor in the Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, where he leads the RESET (Rapid, Equitable & Sustainable Energy Transitions) Lab, analyzing just decarbonization pathways for emerging economies, data-driven sustainable transportation approaches and equitable local energy transitions. With collaborators, his interdisciplinary projects have been awarded international prizes, won national competitions, and gathered media attention. He has also received recognition from environmental justice organizations in recognition of his leadership and transformative work to help better communities in Austin.
Megan Poole is an assistant professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing whose community-engaged research and teaching examines how persuasion and knowledge-making occurs through more-than-discursive, sensory modes. Her work amplifies the importance of valuing ways of knowing that derive from bodily, lived experience and considers how coalitional spaces provide diverse approaches to solving problems in local communities. Her first book, Listening to Beauty: Stories of Sea, Sound, and Rhetorics of Science, with the University of Chicago Press, studies biologists' methods of listening in the field and brings into relief the aesthetics of scientific inquiry. She also co-created an ongoing environmental health literacy project—Air Justice—with community members, students, and health equity law scholars in Louisville, Kentucky, to make engaging with the science, health effects, and law of air pollution easier for public audiences. Her research has also appeared or is forthcoming in Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, Journal for the History of Rhetoric, Visual Communication Quarterly, Western Journal of Communication, and Quarterly Journal of Speech. Her current work recovers environmental history and unheard voices in Southwest Louisiana, where she was born and raised.
Shirene Garcia is a dedicated community engagement professional with over 20 years of experience in nonprofit work and community-driven research. As the Community Engagement Manager for Whole Communities–Whole Health at UT Austin, she serves as a liaison between researchers and communities in Del Valle, TX and surrounding areas. In this role, she also coordinates the WCWH Community Strategy Team and leads the effort to return research results to study participants. Shirene holds a Bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Texas at Austin and a continuing education certificate in Restorative Justice from Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia. A trained facilitator of Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Circles and restorative practices, she believes in the power of storytelling and connection. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time family, hiking, and drawing.
Karen Sarkis is a graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin, pursuing a dual master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning and Sustainable Design. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the American University of Beirut. Her research interests include climate resilience, environmental justice, and the integration of Indigenous and place-based knowledge into planning and design. Her work explores how alternative ways of understanding human–environment relationships can inform more relational approaches to resilience. Her thesis looks at river systems where rights-of-nature frameworks have been formally recognized, exploring how these relational perspectives intersect with existing approaches to resilience planning.
Kaleb Cordry is an undergraduate student with a double major in Sustainability Studies and Electrical Engineering with a Bridging Disciplines certificate in Ethics and Leadership in Business and Liberal Arts Honors Scholar. His expected graduation is in May 2029. Co-Outreach Director for West Campus Collective.
Assistant Professor
Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Christopher Rausch is an Assistant Professor in the Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He directs both the Enabling Technologies in Housing Innovation Center (a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Center of Excellence) and the Digital Harvest Lab, where his research explores the intersection of automation, digital design, and sustainability in industrialized and modular construction. His current work emphasizes the integration of computational methods and digital twins with construction strategies for decarbonization, disassembly, and materials reuse—advancing circular economy goals within the built environment.
Jules Elkins is Director of Sustainability Studies in the Department of Geography and the Environment at The University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches courses on urban health and the built environment, including The Healthy, Livable City and Children's Environmental Health. She also teaches the pre-professional internship seminar for Sustainability majors and co-chairs the Career Champion Subcommittee of the College of Liberal Arts' Student Affairs Undergraduate Faculty Advisory Committee.
Elkins is building experiential learning that uses UT Austin as a living lab. Her new capstone, SUS 374: Zero-Waste Consulting for a Sustainable World, is in partnership with UT Housing and Dining. Student consulting teams work to move two campus dining venues toward zero waste, and each cohort hands its work to the next so projects build over multiple semesters. The course gives students real-world professional experience and a model that can scale across campus.
Manager of Innovation
Technology and Drones for Campus Geospatial Assets, Campus Operations and Planning
Markus Hogue serves as Manager of Innovation, Technology, and Drones for Campus Geospatial Assets at The University of Texas at Austin. His work centers on applying emerging technologies such as drones, LiDAR, GIS, and digital twins to improve campus operations and sustainability. Markus is particularly passionate about using the university campus as a living laboratory, creating opportunities for students to work alongside campus professionals on real-world challenges. His collaborations with students have included pioneering drone research to optimize irrigation practices and reduce water consumption, demonstrating how innovation can simultaneously support education, sustainability, and operational excellence.
London Hurt is the Sustainability Manager at Moody Center. Before going to the Moody Center, she majored in Sustainability Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. During her time at UT, she interned for an environmental consulting firm, She then went abroad to Botswana where she studied climate patterns, their effects, and environmental politics. During her senior year, she joined Austin FC as their Sustainability Assistant where she discovered the world of Sustainability and Entertainment. While working for Austin FC, she helped increase their diversion as well as obtain TRUE Platinum Certification. After a year of working there, she joined the Moody Center where she now manages their Waste Diversion Efforts and Sorting team, plans community outreach events, and continues to improve their sustainability efforts, hoping that other venues will follow!
Sarah Schoonhoven (she/they) is coordinator of the Campus as a Living Lab program in the Office of Sustainability. They completed their Masters of Music in Music Theory at the University of Texas at Austin and her dual Bachelors in Music and Theatre at North Central College. Her previous research endeavors included musical works by noted electronic music composer Wendy Carlos, and her current research interests include faculty fellowship programs and strategic event design. Sarah formerly served as Assistant Director in the UT Center for Teaching and Learning, where she led the center's operations team, co-directed new and early career faculty programs, designed and offered professional development on artful gathering in teaching and learning environments, and coordinated the Provost's Teaching Fellows Program.
Amrit Ghosh is a senior majoring in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology and completing a certificate in Social Inequality, Health, and Policy. He serves as Head Mentor and a student researcher for the Heavy Metals research group in Dr. Ruth Shear’s FRI Urban Ecosystems Lab. There, he uses analytical chemistry techniques to monitor toxic heavy metals in Waller Creek and leads an independent project investigating urban sources of lead contamination. Amrit also conducts research in the Keiler Lab, where he applies biochemical and molecular biology techniques towards engineering a scalable, cost-effective platform for producing chemotherapy delivery agents. As an aspiring physician-scientist and oncologist, he seeks to understand how ecological and human health are interconnected, and is particularly interested in how environmental exposures shape cancer risk and development.
Ph.D. student in STEM Education at the College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin. Holds a Masters degree in Science Education from the Graduate School of Education at Lehman College and a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Geographic Information Systems from Lehman College.
Experienced secondary science educator and doctoral student with over nine years of teaching experience across chemistry, biology, and earth science. Demonstrated expertise in inquiry-based instruction, curriculum design, and differentiated learning for diverse student populations. Strong academic foundation and research-oriented focus aligned with STEM education leadership and doctoral-level scholarship.
Jim (he/him) collaborates on sustainability initiatives across campus and with surrounding neighborhoods and the City of Austin. This includes facilitation of the President's Sustainability Steering Committee, campus planning initiatives, supporting resource conservation efforts and various Green Fund projects. He received his Master’s in Community and Regional Planning from UT Austin last century, has worked on sustainability issues in Austin for over 20 years and will always share a cup of coffee to brainstorm the next cool idea.
Brent is the Associate Vice President for Campus Operations and Planning and serves as the University Architect for The University of Texas at Austin. Before joining UT, he was the Associate Vice President of Facilities & University Architect at Lehigh University. Prior to joining higher education, Brent spent 20 years in private practice with award-winning firms in New York and Boston with a focus on institutional and academic projects. Brent received his undergraduate degree in design of the environment from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master in Architecture from Harvard University‚ Graduate School of Design. Brent is a registered architect in Texas and Pennsylvania, and a member of National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, the American Institute of Architects, and the Association of University Architects. In addition to his professional experience, he has taught at Smith College, Pratt Institute, City College of New York, Fudan University, and Lehigh University.
Heather Woofter earned her Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech in 1991. She also studied biochemistry at the University of Maryland and engineering at Virginia Tech before transferring into architecture, where she received the school’s thesis prize. Following several years in practice and obtaining her architectural license, Heather earned her Master of Architecture from the GSD in 1998. Prior to acting as design co-principal at Axi:Ome, she practiced at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (Pennsylvania), Robert Luchetti Associates (Cambridge), and Marks Barfield (London). During her time in London, she passed the RIBA license parts I and II through reciprocity examination.
While a student at the GSD and practicing in Boston, Heather taught at the GSD Career Discovery Program, Boston Architectural College, and Roger Williams University. She transitioned to education full-time as Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech, later moving to Washington University in St. Louis, where she taught for 20 years. In addition, Heather served as coordinator in the graduate and undergraduate programs, as graduate architecture program chair, and, as director of the college of architecture, overseeing undergraduate and graduate architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture. She received the inaugural Sam and Marilyn Fox endowed professorship during this time. As graduate chair and director, Woofter spearheaded community and multi-disciplinary studios providing opportunities for faculty design commissions in St. Louis and collaborating on the international housing core-studio curriculum. In addition, she prioritized faculty research, tenure-track faculty development, and international travel programs. She held visiting appointments at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and Konkuk University in Seoul, Korea.Â
She has been co-director of Axi:Ome St. Louis with Sung Ho Kim since 2003. The practice pursues an expanded investigation of architecture, working across disciplinary borders and engaging various scales and diverse modes of practice, from built design projects to theoretical research. Axi:Ome recently completed a 58,000-square-foot expansion of COCA in St. Louis as the design architect. Additional built projects in St. Louis include a university public radio station, interiors for the local public television station, and an urban corridor project supported by a National Endowment for the Arts grant. Recent work includes a 180,000-square-foot Silverlake International High School in Hangzhou, China.Â
As a visiting curator at the Kemper Art Museum, Woofter led an international loan exhibition on metabolic systems and the conceptual representations of Archigram, Constance, and the Japanese Metabolists in 2008, curating the exhibition and international loans from Pompidou, MOMA, the former Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, and personal archives of the Metabolists. In another research project, she collaborated with historians in a Divided City Mellon Foundation grant entitled Citizen Space. Heather also co-authored an interdisciplinary InCEES grant (International Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability) entitled Resilient Cities, which supported multi-disciplinary faculty research in Peace Park, St. Louis. Lastly, she served in architectural advisory roles for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Brickline, an expansive green infrastructure project connecting St. Louis regional communities.
Tyler is a planner and principal who works primarily in the campus planning practice and serves as the Chair of Sasaki’s planning and urban design practice. He has managed a wide range of campus planning efforts throughout the nation and also collaborates extensively with the Sasaki Strategies group, working to fuse the great traditions of planning with new modes of analysis and visualization.
He collaborates with all disciplines at Sasaki, with a wide range of institutional clients, and at the intersections between universities and their community contexts. Tyler has led the town-gown component of several major planning engagements—convening large scale community meetings, interfacing with city and regional governments, and solving complex urban challenges. He is dedicated to creating achievable planning solutions and seeks to advance the academic mission of the colleges and universities with which
he works.
Tyler holds a master of city and regional planning with a certificate in urban design from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor of arts in international studies and a bachelor of science in Spanish from Miami University.
