33rd International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology – ISSST 2026
June 16 - 18, 2026 | Rochester, NY
Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
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Agenda Overview |
| 9:00am - 5:00pm |
Pre-Conference Workshop 1: LCA of Emerging Technology LCA of Emerging Technologies - Working Group meeting |
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| 10:00am - 1:30pm |
Pre-Conference Workshop 2: Quantifying Robust Energy Demand Futures Eric Williams, Eric Hittinger, Subhrajit Guhathakurta The workshop is a collaborative effort among researchers to better understand the state of practices in forecasting energy demand and to identify directions for improvement. |
Pre-Conference Workshop 3: Building Sustainable Careers: Hands-On Mentoring and Practice in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Consulting Ghasideh Pourhashem, Aryandokht Azari This half-day, interactive workshop empowers early-career professionals and recent graduates to confidently apply their academic knowledge in real-world consulting contexts. |
| 2:00pm - 5:00pm |
Pre-Conference Workshop 4: Using Climate Data to Inform Sustainability and Resilience Karen Smith This workshop invites participants to explore the integration of future climate information into the decision-making process. |
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| 5:30pm - 7:30pm |
Pre-Conference Social Event |
Early Registration |
| 8:15am - 9:45am |
Special Session I: TBA |
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| 8:30am - 10:00am |
Registration |
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| 9:45am - 10:00am |
Transition II-1 |
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| 10:00am - 10:20am |
Welcoming Remarks 1: Program Chairs |
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| 10:20am - 10:40am |
Welcoming Remarks 2: Dr. Nabil Nasr Dr. Nabil Nasr is Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and Director of Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). |
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| 10:40am - 11:30am |
Keynote 1: Dr. Mario Herrero Mario Herrero is a professor of sustainable food systems and global change in the Department of Global Development and a Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences. |
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| 11:30am - 12:30pm |
Lunch 1 |
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| 12:30pm - 12:40pm |
Transition II-2 |
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| 12:40pm - 1:25pm |
Lightning Talk 1 Enhancing MENA-GREET Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) Model Using Updated Country Specific Data and Methodologies 12:45pm - 12:50pm Circularity Metrics in Practice: Data Limitations and Design Implications for Façade Systems 12:50pm - 12:55pm Integrating Participatory Backcasting and Material Flow Analysis to Facilitate Industry-Scale Circular Economy Transitions – Case Study of Flexible PU foam industry value chain 12:55pm - 1:00pm Closing the Loop on Baby Gear: Life Cycle Assessment of a Product-as-a-Service Model in the U.S. 1:00pm - 1:05pm Proactive deforestation risk mapping under temporal and spatial shift using geospatial foundation embeddings 1:05pm - 1:10pm Using process simulation to improve life cycle assessment: a demonstration for special high grade zinc production 1:10pm - 1:15pm An Integrated Thermodynamic–LCA Framework for Co-Recovering Lithium and Boron from Geothermal Fluids: Global-scale Insights |
Lightning Talk 2 Exploratory Scenario Planning (XSP) for Climate Adaptation and Resilience in NYS 12:45pm - 12:50pm Flexible Infrastructure Design for Urban Shrinkage 12:50pm - 12:55pm When do AI use help improve sustainability? – An evaluation of marginal benefits and additional costs in transportation models 12:55pm - 1:00pm Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Generative AI-assisted Literature Review in Academic Research 1:00pm - 1:05pm Census-Division Assessment of the Technical Potential of Hybrid Heating Systems to Reduce Building Emissions 1:05pm - 1:10pm A System-Level Framework for Valorizing Specialty Crop Residues: The Impact of Viticulture Feedstock Heterogeneity on Bioenergy Performance 1:10pm - 1:15pm Visualization matrix for environmental and health impacts of foods |
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| 1:25pm - 1:45pm |
Transition II-3 |
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| 1:45pm - 3:05pm |
ITM1: Circular Economy & MFA Modeling Microplastics: A Review of Material Flow and Environmental Impact Analyses 1:59pm - 2:13pm Closing the Data Gap: Enhancing Life Cycle Assessments for Packaging 2:13pm - 2:27pm Sustainability Analysis of Solvent Choice in PET Chemical Recycling Considering Cost, Chemical Hazard and Environmental Impact Metrics 2:27pm - 2:41pm Scalable Building-Level Façade Material Composition and WWR Mapping Using Google Street View and Dual-Paradigm Computer Vision 2:41pm - 2:55pm Use it or lose it: Global materials flow analysis of helium |
SRE1: Modeling New Grid Demand Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment of Networked Geothermal in Cold Climates Under Grid Decarbonization 1:59pm - 2:13pm Energy system implications of decarbonized truck electricity demand profiles in Ontario, Canada 2:13pm - 2:27pm Quantifying energy storage requirements to decarbonise the electricity grid in the United Kingdom — influence of the share of dispatchable generation, storage efficiency, and curtailment 2:27pm - 2:41pm Extreme Heat on Residential Electricity Demand: A Case Study in a Hot-Humid Climate |
Workshop I: Sustainability and Ethics in STEM Education Sustainability & Ethics in STEM Education |
| 3:05pm - 3:25pm |
Transition II-4 |
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| 3:25pm - 4:45pm |
SEC1: Innovative Education From Exposure to Mastery: A Curricular Roadmap for Integrating Sustainability and Climate Resilience in Engineering Education at Drexel University From Classroom to Community: A University Handprint Framework for Long-Term Sustainability Impacts of Student Engineering Design and Manufacturing Integrating Labor-Market Intelligence and Sustainability Competencies in Undergraduate Program Design: The Sustainable Systems Science Major at Virginia Tech A System-Level Digital Learning Ecosystem for Institutional Sustainability Education Eco-Industry: A Board Game–Based Approach to Making Climate Risk and Sustainability Decision-Making Tangible |
SRE2: Energy for Transportation Critical material constraints in an energy system optimization model: a case study on Canadian road transportation and electricity sectors 3:39pm - 3:53pm Life cycle greenhouse gas impacts of battery electric vehicle lightweighting under forward-looking grid and material scenarios 3:53pm - 4:07pm Global Supply and Demand Projection of Critical Materials for Lithium-ion Batteries in Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage System 4:07pm - 4:21pm Accelerated vehicle retirement combined with clean vehicle mandates maximizes health and climate benefits 4:21pm - 4:35pm Modelling Electricity Demand and Emissions from Statewide Vehicle Electrification: Regional, Behavioral, and Grid Decarbonization Effects in California |
SRI1: Environmental Systems Evaluating PFAS removal and destruction technologies for drinking water treatment via technoeconomic and life cycle analyses 3:39pm - 3:53pm Life cycle assessment and technoeconomic analysis of an integrated anaerobic membrane bioreactor and resource recovery system 3:53pm - 4:07pm Improving Process, Energy, and Emissions relationship-understanding for High-Flow Wastewater Resource Recovery Facilities in the United States 4:07pm - 4:21pm A circular economy for lighting products in the United States can recover up to 200% of the annual gallium imports 4:21pm - 4:35pm A Dynamic Stock-Level LCA Framework Integrating Energy, Materials, Climate Scenarios, and Grid Decarbonization in Urban Buildings 4:35pm - 4:49pm An Ecological-Economic Approach to Air Pollution Regulation in New Delhi, India |
| 4:45pm - 5:00pm |
Transition II-5 |
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| 5:00pm - 7:00pm |
Poster Session A Scenario-Based Forecasting and Optimization Framework for Food Donation Informed by Network Operations and Social Drivers Assessing the Influence of Equity Criteria on Electric Vehicle Charging Suitability Models Attitudinal Tipping Points at the End-of-Current-Use of Consumer Electronics: Interpretive Simulation Using Random Forests Attribution of Agricultural Changes: Causal Discovery of Change Impacts in Sub-Saharan Africa Bicycle route choice modelling in Toronto Cataloging and Assessing Tools for Infrastructure Interdependencies Energy Modelling Survey on Low-Carbon Technology Deployment Constraints Escaping the Low-Consumption Trap: A Hybrid Agent-Based Model of Electricity Reliability and Finance in Rwanda Impact of Species Mixing Ratios and Tree Size on Forest Resilience to Climate Stressors for Sustainable Management Incorporation of Experimental Data into the Life Cycle Assessment of Developed Tool and Method used for Microfiber Collection in Laundry Wastewater INHIBITORY EFFECTS OF EUCALYPTUS CAMALDULENSIS ON NATIVE PLANT SPECIES AND SOIL QUALITY IN SUB-TROPICAL FOREST OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA,PAKISTAN Investigating Socio-economic Influences on Zero-emission Vehicle Uptake in California Investigating the determinants of household burden during power outages: the case of Winter Storm Uri Life Cycle Assessment of Bio- and Fossil-Based Polyesters: A Comparative Analysis of Production and End-of-Life Management Life Cycle Environmental Impacts of Winter Cover Crops and Their Driving Factors Mapping the spatial distribution of embodied material stock within thin-film CdTe utility-scale solar arrays in the United States Nutrient recovery from human urine in Phoenix public schools reduces climate and water footprint of fertilizer production by 127% and 198% Project: Life cycle assessment of high-strength steel pipelines for hydrogen transportation Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Production Cost Decomposition and Learning Mechanisms Two Forms of Taxation, Majority Voting, and Water Pollution Cleanup in the Ganges Weathering Extremes: Household Narratives and the Human Dimensions of Climate Adaptation Using process simulation to improve life cycle assessment: a demonstration for special high grade zinc production |
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| 8:00am - 8:30am |
Breakfast I |
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| 8:30am - 9:20am |
Keynote 2: Dr. Destenie Nock Dr. Destenie Nock is a leader in energy justice, energy justice, and sustainable energy transition trade-off analysis. |
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| 9:20am - 9:35am |
Transition III-1 |
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| 9:35am - 10:55am |
AIB1: Food & Ag Opportunities and Barriers to Implementing Circular Economy Solutions for Agricultural Plastics 9:49am - 10:03am Life cycle environmental impacts of urban food production in hydroponic container farms 10:03am - 10:17am Life Cycle Assessment of Duckweed-Based Manure Treatment Systems for Nutrient Recovery in Dairy Production 10:17am - 10:31am Co-optimizing climate and dietary health outcomes in the global food system 10:31am - 10:45am Commodity-Specific Nitrogen Accounting and Food-Energy-Water Nexus Implications of Best Management Practices in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed |
SRE3: Macro-Energy Systems Modelling the impact of demand-side changes in residential energy transitions 9:49am - 10:03am Implications of Moderate to Extreme Climate Change on Renewable Energy Generation in the United States 10:03am - 10:17am Model choice uncertainty in energy systems: Case study of adoption model in optimal solar subsidy |
SRI2: Urban Sustainability A Safe Operating Space for Cities: Navigating Tensions Between Emissions Mitigation, Climate Adaptation, and Well-Being in Urban Transformation 9:49am - 10:03am Incorporating Urban Heat Island Mitigation Potential of Urban Green Infrastructure in Life Cycle Impact Assessment 10:03am - 10:17am Maximal Housing, Minimal Impacts 10:17am - 10:31am Navigating Transportation Planning Trade-offs in Warming Cities: a Robust Decision Making Approach |
| 10:55am - 11:15am |
Transition III-2 |
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| 11:15am - 12:35pm |
HDS1: Social Factors How stakeholders’ behavioral preferences shape decisions in drinking water emergency response 11:29am - 11:43am Carbon Prices and Cooking Fires: How Mitigation Pathway Architecture Shapes Household Energy Burdens 11:43am - 11:57am Narratives of Stewardship and Resistance: A Comparative System Dynamics Analysis of Human Dimensions in UK and Inner Mongolian Livestock Systems 11:57am - 12:11pm Evolving racial health disparities caused by local air pollution from power plants 12:11pm - 12:25pm Understanding Energy Sovereignty from Native American Perspectives |
ITM2: LCA & Emergent Tech I Framework and Drivers for Sustainable Life Cycle Management of Electric Vehicle Batteries 11:29am - 11:43am Evaluating Environmental and Economic Trade-offs in Centralized and Decentralized Electrolytic Hydrogen Production – A Case Study on Canadian Steel 11:43am - 11:57am Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Assessment of Zero Liquid Discharge for Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis Concentrate 11:57am - 12:11pm Efficiency Without Blind Spots: Cost-Efficient Grid-Weighted PFAS Groundwater Contamination Mapping |
SRE4: Critical Materials & Minerals A first non-destructive XRF-based method to predict hazardous waste classification and reduce regulatory compliance costs for photovoltaic waste 11:29am - 11:43am The first United States (US)-specific Cadmium Telluride photovoltaic recycling life cycle assessment (LCA) shows that module design is the key driver of the net environmental impacts 11:43am - 11:57am Combining hyperspectral imaging and machine learning for rapid and non-contact PV reliability testing 11:57am - 12:11pm Preventing Freshwater Impacts of Mining for the Battery Energy Transition 12:11pm - 12:25pm A whole-of-life approach for life cycle assessment of stationary lithium-ion battery energy storage |
| 12:35pm - 12:45pm |
Transition III-3 |
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| 12:45pm - 1:30pm |
Lunch 2 |
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| 1:30pm - 2:15pm |
Panel Plenary: Pursuing Circularity in Food Systems Harry Cohen, Kristine Ellsworth, Jason Wadsworth In this panel we will learn about the evolution of organic waste management in New York State and beyond through the experiences of food waste generators, food waste management services, and policy makers. |
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| 2:15pm - 2:30pm |
Transition III-4 |
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| 2:30pm - 3:50pm |
ITM3: Sustainable Systems & Resource Management Informing design regulations to support remanufacturing of laptops for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation 2:44pm - 2:58pm Decision-Oriented, Parsimonious Modeling for Household Heating and Cooling Retrofit Decisions in Cold Climates 2:58pm - 3:12pm AWARE2.0‑US: Advancing Water Scarcity Characterization for U.S. Based Life Cycle Assessments 3:12pm - 3:26pm Life Cycle Assessment of Poly(3-hydroxybuyrate) Production from Forest Residue and Shrub Willow Mix 3:26pm - 3:40pm Sustainable Primary Copper Production across Ore Grades: A Techno-Economic and Environmental Comparison of Heap Bioleaching and Pyrometallurgy Routes 3:40pm - 3:54pm From Chip to System: Why Semiconductor Carbon Transparency Changes Sustainability Decisions |
SRE5: Sustainable Aviation Fuels State of the U.S. Biofuels Industry: Policy‑Driven Growth, Environmental Performance, and Expansion Pathways for Energy Security 2:44pm - 2:58pm Tailored Incentives for Sustainable Aviation Fuel Pathways: A Cross-Regional Techno-Economic Assessment 2:58pm - 3:12pm Quantifying the Financial Viability of Renewable Diesel and Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production in Canada 3:12pm - 3:26pm A Comparative Assessment of Lignocellulosic SAF Pathways: A review of Techno-Economic and Environmental Perspectives |
SRI3: Macro-Energy Systems A Data-driven Approach to Quantify of Household Burdens Due to Wildfire-Induced Infrastructure Outage and Capability Disruption Assessing the Spatiotemporal Generalizability of Power Outage Prediction Models using GeoAI Foundation Models Building Community Resilience through Block Club Networks: A Case Study in Buffalo, NY Integrating Circular Water Strategies with Urban Flood Modeling and Life Cycle Assessment to Support Climate-Resilient Combined Sewer Systems Moving Beyond Static Risk Assessment: Integrating System Dynamics Modeling and Fault Tree Analysis to Quantify Public Health Risk in Drinking Water Infrastructure |
| 3:50pm - 4:10pm |
Transition III-5 |
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| 4:10pm - 5:30pm |
AIB2: Sustainable Bioproducts Cradle-to-Grave Life Cycle Assessment of Bio-based 1,3-Propanediol across Multiple R&D Scales 4:24pm - 4:38pm But how much? A fast and flexible modelling approach to estimate the cost of extraction from food processing byproducts. 4:38pm - 4:52pm Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Assessment of Reusable Foodware in U.S. Public Schools: How Implementation Shapes Outcomes 4:52pm - 5:06pm Advancing a Sustainable Bioeconomy Using the eBUI: a Cotton Mote Case Study |
HDS2: People & Systems When Progress Doesn't Predict Wellbeing: A Systematic Test of SDG Framework Validity for Sustainability Transitions 4:24pm - 4:38pm Toward a critical theory of social-ecological resilience: Maize and cattle in Southern Province, Zambia 4:38pm - 4:52pm Between Public Space and Private Living: Reframing Social Infrastructure as a Demand-Side Strategy 4:52pm - 5:06pm The Evolution of Environmental, Health and Safety Professions in the Age of Sustainability 5:06pm - 5:20pm Integration of sustainability measures in the curatorial practice. A case study for the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh |
SRE6: Data Centers Power System Costs and Emissions from Data Center and Cryptocurrency Mining Expansion in the United States Sustainable Pathways to Supply Power for Artificial Intelligence Modeling Data Center Energy Demand and Grid Resource Optimization in Select U.S. Regions Climate change implications of the power demand of planned data centers in the US Sustainability and Environmental Justice Assessment of AI Data Centers in Pennsylvania |
| 5:30pm - 6:00pm |
Transition III-6 |
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| 6:00pm - 9:00pm |
Social Events I |
Student Event & Social Exploring Career Advising and Mentoring for the ISSST Community |
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| 7:00am - 8:00am |
ISSST Planning Meeting I |
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| 8:00am - 8:30am |
Breakfast II |
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| 8:30am - 9:30am |
CST1: Fairness in Sustainability Uncovering the Hidden Burden of U.S. Construction: A High-Resolution Assessment of Environmental and Health Impacts 8:44am - 8:58am Recommendations for Establishing Fair Environmental Attribute Certificate Markets for Direct and Indirect Commodities 8:58am - 9:12am Embed fairness throughout sustainability applications: How to address machine learning unfairness and bias 9:12am - 9:26am A geographically scalable, artificial intelligence and physics-based framework to minimize water, electricity and greenhouse gas impact of cooling data centers |
Local Showcase: RIT Golisano Institute for Sustainability Tour |
Special Session II: Future Directions in LCA of Emerging Technologies Future directions in LCA of Emerging Technologies - A working group update and discussion |
| 9:30am - 9:45am |
Transition IIII-1 |
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| 9:45am - 11:05am |
ITM4: LCA & Emergent Tech II Life Cycle Assessment of Lignin-Derived Polyurethane Foams for High-Performance Insulation Parametric LCA of coupled hydrothermal and anaerobic digestion systems for organic waste valorization Tensor-Based Integration of Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Assessment for Synthetic Graphite Production Linking Battery Recycling and Steel Decarbonization: Life Cycle Environmental and Techno-economic Analysis of Cathode-Derived Stainless Steel |
Local Showcase (Con't): RIT Golisano Institute for Sustainability Tour |
SRE7: Industrial Energy Use Assessing the viability of the hub business model to enhance the viability of direct air capture Technological Change in Steel Production: An Integrated Assessment of Climate Change, Air Quality, and Distributional Impacts Demand-Side Challenges and Pathways for Scaling Green Hydrogen Modeling production costs and grid interactions of hydrogen-based electrified steel production in the U.S. |
| 11:05am - 11:15am |
Transition IIII-2 |
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| 11:15am - 12:30pm |
Keynote 3: Dr. John Robinson John Robinson is a Professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and the School of the Environment at the University of Toronto, where he is Co-Chair of the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability. |
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| 12:30pm - 1:30pm |
Lunch & Student Awards |
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| 1:45pm - 2:45pm |
ISSST Planning Meeting II |
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| 2:00pm - 5:00pm |
Technical Workshop 1: A Region-specific LCA Tool for Assessing Carbon Storing Materials (TACSMA): Bridging Sustainable Forest Management and Climate-Forward Design Poulami Karan, Obste Therasme This workshop aims to introduce participants to the structure, logic, and application of TACSMA. |
Technical Workshop 2: Code-based life cycle assessment at NREL: introduction to LiAISON, CE ABM, and other tools. Code-based life cycle assessment at NREL: introduction to LiAISON, CE ABM, and other tools. |
Technical Workshop 3: Quantum Optimization for Recycling Networks: Advancing Circular Economy Through Quantum Computing Rythwik Salhotra Participants will gain hands-on experience formulating recycling network optimization problems as Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) models suitable for quantum annealers. |
| 5:00pm - 7:00pm |
Social Events II |
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