PHOENIX (Arizona) (2 November 2017; updated 9 November) – The 5^th IEEE Conference on Technologies for Sustainability (SusTech 2017) has announced its final program and keynote speakers.

SusTech 2017 is pleased to announce its corporate Patrons.

• Sphera Solutions and Renavitas Technologies, LLC are the Silver-level patrons.

Sphera is the largest global provider of Operational Excellence software and information services with a focus on Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S), Operational Risk and Product Stewardship. Sphera assists companies with their sustainability goals. See www.spherasolutions.com.

Renavitas Technologies mission is to develop cost-effective and high performance sustainable energy technology solutions to help with positive transformation of the world. with an vision to transform the world through sustainable energy. See www.renavitas.com.

• Southern States LLC is the Bronze-level patron. Southern States is a world leader in the design and manufacture of high-voltage switching devices:  group operated switches; transmission switches, circuit switchers; load and line switchers; reactor & capacitor switchers; intelligent circuit sensor, high voltage mobile switching solutions. See  www.southernstatesllc.com

The SusTech 2017 program features workshops, keynotes and presentations of research papers and invited speakers on technologies, methodologies, tools and case studies. SusTech strives to provide attendees the tools, connections and proactive solutions to take their sustainability programs to the next level.

Student Poster Contest – Sunday November 12

Undergraduate and graduate students will present posters based on ideas or designs for developing projects/products supporting the sustainability topics areas of the SusTech Conference.

SusTech’s keynote presentations on Monday November 13:

• Monday Opening Keynote: “Earth Observation Processing and Analytics Services”, with Lauryn Gutowski, Project Manager, EOS Data Analytics, Inc.

Gutowksi graduated from UC Santa Cruz studying Earth Science, with a focus on remote sensing and GIS. After college, she interned with NASA, at JPL and Ames, through the Applied Earth Science division doing NASA Earth Observation based projects. At EOS she is a Project Manager.

• Monday Lunch Speaker: “Energy Infrastructure of the Future”, by Joshua D. Rhodes, Webber Energy Group and the Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin.

Rhodes is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. His current research is in the area of smart grid and the bulk electricity system, including spatial system-level applications and impacts of energy efficiency, resource planning, distributed generation, and storage. He is also interested in policy and the impacts that good policy can have on the efficiency of the micro and macro economy, especially policy that utilizes market forces to increase efficiencies. Dr. Rhodes is lead author of the recent online article “Are Solar and Wind Really Killing Coal, Nuclear and Grid Reliability?”

• Monday Dinner Keynote: “The Central Arizona Project”, presented by
  Theodore C. Cooke, General Manager, Central Arizona Water Conservation District.

The Central Arizona Project (CAP) is Arizona’s largest renewable water supply, transporting and delivering approximately one-half of Arizona’s Colorado River apportionment to the interior of the state. CAP is designed to bring about 1.5 million acre-feet of water from the Colorado River to Central and Southern Arizona every year. Cooke is General Manager, reporting to the Board of Directors and responsible for carrying out the Board’s policy directives and overseeing all operational aspects of CAP.

For more details on the keynotes visit https://ieee-sustech.org/program/keynotes/

SusTech 2017 plenary panel sessions.

• “UN SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) challenges & IEEE’s response” which will address the role of technical professional societies like IEEE in responding to the UN SDG? Is it part of their mission? Or it is best left to their members? Should IEEE et al strive to play a key role as a technology innovator? The panel includes Paul Cunningham, 2017-2018 President, IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology; Rene Garello, chair of the IEEE Environmental Engineering Initiative; and Jim Jefferies, 2017 IEEE President-elect.

• Sustainability Policy Panel which will discuss the role of companies, government and academia in determining sustainability policies. The panel includes Katie Reilly from the Consumer Technology Association (producer of CES);  Mark Hartman, Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Phoenix (Arizona); and Patricia Reiter, Executive Director, Rob and Melani Walton  Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, Arizona State University.

• Sustainability Industry Forum, moderated by Mark Goldstein, President, International Research Center this forum features presentations on: “The iNEMI 2017 Sustainable Electronics Roadmap”, by Bill Bader, CEO of the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI); “The “Holy Grail”: Automating the business case for greener, healthier buildings & sites” with Eric Bill from Autocase; “Our Water Future: Challenges and Opportunities”, with Todd Brady from Intel; and “Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and the Future of Driving” with Charles Ross from NXP Semiconductors.

For more details on the panels visit https://ieee-sustech.org/program/panels-special-events/

Additional topics being covered at SusTech 2017 include: Ecological Sustainability and Conservation, Energy Efficiency, Internet of Things for Sustainability, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Renewable / Alternate Energy, Smart Grid, Societal Implications / Quality of Life, and Water Resources Management.

To find out more or to register visit the SusTech registration webpage at ieee.org/sustech

The SusTech conference is hosted by IEEE Phoenix section, and is co-sponsored by the IEEE Phoenix and Oregon Sections, IEEE Region 6 and IEEE-USA. With technical sponsorship by the IEEE SSIT (Society for Social Implications of Technology), IEEE CES (Consumer Electronics Society) and the IEEE Environmental Engineering Initiative. Past SusTech conferences were held in Portland (OR) and Ogden (UT).