UHD will celebrate Earth Day with a provocative exploration of our planet’s future. On Wednesday, April 22, at 11:30 a.m., the President’s Lecture Series will host a panel of renowned experts for “Sustainability Transitions in the Anthropocene” in the Fondren Commons of the College of Sciences and Technology Building, 315 North Main St. Lunch is provided for those who RSVP.
Moderated by UHD Professor Poggio, the panel discussion brings together innovative leaders in anthropology and design to discuss cultural and systemic pathways toward more just and resilient futures. Rice University anthropology professors Dominic Boyer and Cymene Howe (co-hosts of the podcast, Cultures of Energy) and designer, professor, and entrepreneur Nathan Shedroff will share their interdisciplinary perspectives to address sustainability during the "Anthropocene,” our current geological epoch defined by human impact, including industrialization and urbanization.
They will explore how society understands and responds to environmental challenges at the intersection of anthropology, sustainability, and design, in that:
- Anthropology examines the human dimensions of issues like climate change by exploring how people experience, interpret, and culturally respond to environmental loss and ecological change.
- Sustainability provides the broader framework for envisioning resilient and equitable futures.
- Design helps translate these complex ideas into accessible forms of communication, storytelling, and innovation.
Together, these disciplines underscore that addressing climate change requires not only scientific and technical solutions, but also cultural understanding, human-centered communication, and creative strategies for public engagement.
About Our Panelists
A 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, Dominic Boyer, Professor of Anthropology at Rice University, is a cultural anthropologist, media maker, and co-founder of the field of Energy Humanities. He serves on the Board of Governors of the Rice Sustainability Institute and co-directs Rice’s Center for Coastal Futures and Adaptive Resilience (CFAR) and the Social Design Lab. His work bridges energy systems, media, and climate futures through research, storytelling, and public engagement.
Cymene Howe, Professor of Anthropology at Rice University, is a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on the anthropology of climate change, environmental inequalities, and the social dimensions of sustainability. Her work offers critical insight into how climate futures are shaped by power, culture, and lived experience across global contexts.
Nathan Shedroff, Chair of the groundbreaking Design MBA programs in design strategy at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, is a pioneer in Experience Design, Interaction Design, and Information Design. He is a serial entrepreneur, who researches, speaks, and teaches internationally about strategic innovation, systems thinking, sustainability, and generative leadership. He has authored more than ten books, including “A Whole New Strategy,” as well as “Blindspot,” “Design is the Solution,” “Design Strategy in Action,” “Make It So,” and “Experience Design 1.1.”