GreenTalk Speaker Series

Wednesdays Noon to 1:15 pm ENG 189


Practicing engineers, scientists, and technical experts deliver up-to-date briefings on how engineers deal with environmental issues. These Wednesday speakers give a rare peek at how different industries and researchers are actually dealing with day-to-day environmental issues.

For questions please contact Dr. Jeanne Linsdell, Director, Technical Communication, College of Engineering: jeannelinsdell[at]aol[dot]com
 

Spring 2013

  • Feb. 6

    Dr. Jeanne Linsdell

    College of Engineering Director of Technical Communication

    Topic: Antarctica

    What better place to begin our ENGR100W GreenTalks than Antarctica. The global weather system starts in Antarctica; it is the largest wilderness area on earth; beneath its frozen seas is one the Earth's most stable and vibrant ecosystems....and it is because of engineering, technology, computers, materials, and more, that humankind can explore this amazing continent.

    Dr. Linsdell is the Director of Technical Communication, College of Engineering, and she was on an environmental expedition aboard a Russian icebreaker several years ago. She will discuss and share pictures of Antarctica, the coldest, driest, windiest, most southern continent, which contains 90% of the world’s ice.

  • Feb. 13

    Bernice Alaniz

    BART Communications Director

    Hassan Basma

    BART Stations Manager

    Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART)

    Topic: BART Silicon Valley Project

    Daren Gee, Transportation Engineering Manager, Valley Transportation Authority, an SJSU alum and friend to our GreenTalk series for many years, has arranged for two VTA team members to speak about the BART Silicon Valley Project. Ms. Alaniz will provide an overview of the project and Mr. Basma will present a technical discussion covering future BART stations. Both are SJSU alumni, Mr. Basma earning his MSCE.

    http://www.vta.org/bart/project_overview.html
    http://www.bart.gov/about/projects/index.aspx
    http://www.vta.org/inside/about/index.html

  • Feb. 20

    Dr. Samuel Obi

    Technology Professor​

    Topic: Green Manufacturing and Sustainability

    Dr. Samuel Obi is a popular Professor in our Technology Department, SJSU. Dr. Obi earned his degrees at the University of Northern Iowa, and his specialties are manufacturing and sustainability. He teaches: TECH 31 Quality Assurance and Control; TECH 45 Sustainable Facilities Planning; TECH 149 Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) Systems; TECH 180B Individual Studies in Manufacturing Technology, and TECH 195 Cooperative Internships. The Department of Commerce defines sustainable manufacturing as “the creation of manufactured products that use processes that are non-polluting, conserve energy and natural resources, and are economically sound and safe for employees, communities, and consumers.”

    The National Council for Advanced Manufacturing - http://www.nacfam.org/
    http://www.nacfam.org/PolicyInitiatives/SustainableManufacturing/tabid/64/Default.aspx

  • Feb. 27

    Kif Scheuer

    Sustainable Communities Program Director

    Topic: Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI) and its work on Climate Change Solutions

    Kif Scheuer is the Sustainable Communities Program Director at Strategic Energy Innovations in San Rafael, California.

    “Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI), a non-profit organization established in 1997, helps empower schools and universities, small businesses, local governments, affordable housing agencies, and rural communities to reduce pollution and save money through energy and resource efficiency, green building and green workforce education and training. SEI is a Marin County-certified green business, and a minority, women-owned business.”


    http://www.seiinc.org/

  • Mar. 6

    Tim Stanley

    Author

    Topic: Farming in Silicon Valley, from Past to Present

    Tim Stanley is the author of The Last of the Prune Pickers: A Pre-Silicon Valley Story and Letters to My Feathered Friends. He is a regular on the Master Gardener show on KKUP, where he pulls together so many of the topics that we are covering in class: human adaptation to soil and weather conditions, the effects of technology (wind mills and the depleting aquifers) and the ability of farmers to change crops with adversities. Mr. Stanley has some real insights into the valley that many of us only know of as "Silicon Valley."

    http://www.2timothypublishing.com/

  • Mar. 13

    Robert Handa

    Channel 2 News

    Topic: Environmental Stories and the Need for Solid Communication

    Robert Handa is not only in our living rooms on a regular basis covering news stories on storms, floods, politics, and breaking news... but he is also an SJSU alum. Mr. Handa is an award-winning reporter in his 11th year at KTVU's San José Bureau.

    “Prior to KTVU Fox 2, Handa worked as a reporter and fill-in anchor at KPIX-TV in San Francisco, a reporter/documentary producer for San Francisco PBS station KQED-TV, and The MacNeil Lehrer News Hour. He started at KNTV in San José where he was Senior Reporter. During his career, Handa has won numerous awards including: an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Investigative Reporting; two Emmy Awards for Special Live Event Coverage/SF Chinese New Parade; a UPI Western Regional Award for Best News Reporting; an Associated Press Award for Best Documentary; two awards from RTNDA (Radio Television News Directors Association) for Best Live/Breaking News and Best Multi-Part Series; and California School Boards Association for Best Education Reporting. Handa has won several national journalism awards including two top prizes from the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) as well as a first place award from the National Association of Black Journalists....In addition, Handa was given the 'Community Star' award from Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) and the first-ever 'Media Excellence' award from the South Bay Islamic Association.”


    http://www.ktvu.com/staff/robert-handa/

  • No GreenTalk speaker scheduled on March 20 or March 27
  •  

  • Apr. 3

    Keith Perry

    Entrepreneur, Environmentalist, Instructor, Author

    Topic: Project Kaisei and its work to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also called the Pacific Trash Vortex

    Prof. Perry teaches ENGR 100W, BUS 189, CMPE 195A, CMPE 195B, and CMPE 131.

    Perry will discuss Project Kaisei's role in cleaning up the Pacific Trash Vortex based on an article he recently coauthored in the Journal of Critical Incidents, Volume 5, p. 135, published by The Society for Case Research in Fall 2012 entitled "Project Kaisei: Entrepreneurship to Potentially Save the Pacific Ocean from Environmental Disaster." What fascinates Professor Perry is that real world decisions made by Mary Crowley in leading Project Kaisei have been picked up by the global media (one national example is an article on her in People Magazine) and correlate with theories and models such as social service, social activism, and his favorite, social entrepreneurship.

    http://www.projectkaisei.org/index.aspx
    http://www.oceanvoyagesinstitute.org/project-kaisei/

  • Apr. 10

    Ryan Heacock

    Santa Clara Valley Water

    Topic: Mercury Remediation Project

    Ryan Heacock works at Santa Clara Valley Water and has been involved in the water cleanup in New Almaden Park. Many years ago, this was the center of the mining industry and, as a result, has a lot of mercury contamination. (The mercury mining is how the San Jose Mercury News got its name.) During and after the gold rush, California mined mercury. One such mine was the New Almaden Mercury mine, which, for a time, was the largest producer of mercury in North America. Although mercury is no longer actively mined in the Bay Area, the waste produced from these old mining operations remains and can potentially affect downstream water quality. How is this being handled by Santa Clara Valley Water?

  • Apr. 17

    Dr. Eugene Cordero

    Professor of Meteorology and Climate Science, SJSU
    Jointly Sponsored by the Meteorology and Climate Science Department and the College of Engineering

    Topic: Climate change and some of the interesting solutions related to food, energy, and water

    Dr. Cordero was named by Google as a Google Science Communication Fellow because of his public-education and outreach experience with climate change. He has given over 100 public talks on a book he co-authored, “Cool Cuisine: Taking the Bite out of Global Warming,” which focuses on food choices and the connection they have with the environment. His smorgasbord of environmental activities includes segments of “24 Hours of Reality: The Dirty Weather Report," an international climate change symposium of international experts. Cordero has also created a climate-action superhero, the Green Ninja, whom we will meet during his GreenTalk. One of the Green Ninja videos received the People’s Choice Award at an international film festival.

  • Apr. 24

    Selected ENGR 100W Student Presentations

Previous GreenTalk Speaker Series