A field of windmills against a cloudy blue sky.

Sustainability Seminar Series

The Hugo Neu Corporation Sustainability Seminar Series is a weekly lecture organized by the sustainability management master's program. The series will host eleven speakers in the Fall 2026 semester. It is sponsored by the Hugo Neu Corporation, jointly sponsored by WSP, HDR, and NOMADICS, and co-sponsored by Dewberry , and H2M Architects and Engineers.

Schedule of Upcoming Seminars

The seminar series takes place on Tuesdays between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. Attendance is free. The series will be offered as a live webcast via Zoom.

Explore this semester's lineup. Click on a seminar title to view details and register.

Fall 2026

Join via Zoom

September 8

Mariel Bacolod

Jessica DeCelie

SM 2026 Individual Capstone Projects

September 15

Paula Figueroa-Vega, Director, Jersey Water Works Collaborative and Organizational Development

Driving the Change: Shared Action for New Jersey’s Water Future

September 22

Dr. Kirk Barrett, President, Rahway River Watershed Association

Moving from Gray to Green for Stormwater Management

September 29

Al Iannuzzi, President and Founder of Iannuzzi Sustainability Solutions

Sustainability as a Business Driver

October 6

Sam Solomon, Staff Engineer, H2M Architects + Engineers, Inc.

PFAS Treatment Design for Drinking Water Systems

October 20

TBD

October 27

Kate Aglitsky, EMS and Sustainability Director, MTA Construction & Development

J.P. Liban, Staff Engineer, Dewberry Engineers Inc.

The Carbon You Don't See: Embodied Emissions in Infrastructure

November 3

Howard Nichols, PE, Principal Engineer, TRC Environmental

Understanding the Environmental Footprint: Planning and Tracking for Project Success

November 10

TBD

November 17

Margie Turrin, Director of Educational Field Programs at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University

Achieving sustainability requires the community: The public as a critical partner

December 1

TBD

Our Sponsors

low-angle shot of a glass building, trees and the sky

Watch Our Seminars on YouTube

View the recordings of our past seminars on the Schaefer School of Engineering and Science's YouTube channel.

Past Seminar Series Speakers

View speakers and seminar topics for the previous semesters.

Spring 2026 Seminar Series

Nicholas D'Ambrosio, Ph.D., GISP, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of NOMADICS
Sustainability Initiatives in the Defense Industry


Michelle Bouwman, LSRP Senior Consultant & NY/NJ Division Leader, Verdantas
Transforming Contaminated Landscapes: Science in Action for a Sustainable Future


Jennifer Dudgeon, Sustainability Director
Recalibrating Corporate Sustainability: Navigating Regulatory Changes and Unlocking Value in a Dynamic Landscape


Allison Wilson, AIA, LEED Fellow, WELL AP, LFA Associate Principal, Sustainability Director, Ayers Saint Gross
Inside the Sustainability Director’s Playbook: What It Really Takes to Deliver High-Performance Projects


Ryan Kmetz, Climate Resilience & Data Analytics Consultant
From Data to Decision: Leveraging AI to Accelerate Environmental Science and Climate Action


Korie Vee, B.S., Environmental and Earth Science
Tiffany Falcone, B.S., Biology and Chemistry
Katherine Dollman, B.S., Conservation and Wildlife Management
Illegal Dumping Program – Collaboration and Deterrence (IDP – CAD) New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection: Help Turn Dumping Grounds into Cleaner, Safer Neighborhoods


James D. Heeren, PE, ENV SP, Associate Vice President, Department Manager, Dewberry
Use of the Envision Sustainability Rating System on Transportation Projects


Joshua Gillespie, AICP, Environmental Sciences & Planning NY & NJ Lead, HDR
Opportunities to Reduce Emissions From Port Operations


Kevin J. George, Manager, Sustainability Reporting and Data Analytics
Sustainable Waste Management


Sameer Neve, Ph.D., EIT Environmental Engineer, WSP USA
From Clearance to Clean-Up: Turning Renewable-Energy Vegetation Waste into Remediation-Grade Biochar


Greg Cannito, Co-Founder of RainPlan and Chairman of the Board, Corvias Infrastructure Solutions (CIS)
Green Infrastructure, AI & Next-Generation Community Resilience

Fall 2025 Seminar Series

Joshua Gillespie, AICP, Environmental Sciences & Planning NY & NJ Lead, HDR
The Challenges and Benefits of New Yo rk State’s Offshore Wind Energy Program


Sharon Udasin, Author
Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America


Dave Nowak, LEED AP, ENV SP, Senior Project Scientist, Dewberry
From Data to Decarbonization: Tackling the Big Apple’s Carbon Footprint


Vincent Caliguire, NJDEP; Dr. Vaishali Kushwaha, PhD; Khalid Mustafa
From Overburdened Communities to Green Careers: Inside NJDEP’s Youth Inclusion Initiative (YII)


George Hollerbach, P.E., Leader of Pharmaceuticals at Brown and Caldwell
Global Pharmaceutical Companies and Their Sustainability Efforts


Breanna Horne, CHMM, ENV SP, WEDG, WELL AP, Fitwel Ambassador, Vice President / Principal / National Director of Resilience
Integrating Resilience and Sustainability in Transit Infrastructure: A Proactive Design Approach


Rachel Kim, P.E., Senior Project Engineer, H2M architects + engineers
Groundwater 101: Potable Water Infrastructure in New Jersey


Jennifer M. Coffey, Executive Director, ANJEC
New Jersey Protecting Against Climate Threats (NJPACT): Integrating Climate Science Into Land Use Planning


Stephen Crocco, TYLin; Caden Stott, Tetra Tech
SM 2025 Individual Capstone Project


Steven Eget, PE, Sr. Vice President, WSP USA; Peter Sutherland, Vice President, WSP USA; Rup Deka, Consultant- Automation & AI, WSP USA
Current and Future Applications of Artificial Intelligence in the Environmental and Sustainability Fields


Nathaniel Banks, Co-Founder and CEO of PolyGone Systems and a Forbes 30 Under 30 fellow
Developing Microplastic Capture System for Waterways

Spring 2025 Seminar Series

Brian Berzin, Co-Founder and CEO, Thea Energy
Fusion Reimagined: How Thea Energy's Stellarator Breakthrough Could Power Our Sustainable Future
Moderated by: Dominique Lueckenhoff | Hugo Neu Corporation


Andrea Copping, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Moving Forward with Marine Renewable Energy: …But What About the Environment and the People?


Thomas “Tom” Lewis, PE, JD, Executive, Board Director, Independent Advisor, Author
Is Focusing on Climate Adaptation Over Climate Mitigation a Sustainability Cop-Out?


Mrudula Spandana Reddy, Isabella Colacioppo
SM 2024 Individual Capstone Projects: Gold and Silver Prize Winners


Josh Wilson, WSP
Underwater Noise Impacts of Large-Scale Renewable Energy Offshore Infrastructure


Dave Barbier, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Pointers Powering Sustainable Change on Campus


Mark Drozdov, Lozier Inc.
Hazard Communication + PALMS*


Rachael Spelman, Apis Innovation
Bridging Data and Communications to Drive Methane Emission Reductions


Catherine Nabukalu, Energy Professional
Resources: Waste Utilization for Charcoal Production and the Question of Global Energy Security


Susan Cornish, Insight + Action
Sustainable Packaging: Are Consumers Buying It?


Amanda Nesheiwat, Hudson County Improvement Authority
Driving Change: Bridging Local Action and Global Impact for a Sustainable Future