(Written by Jim Hanchett, Assistant Dean of Communications in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, June 24, 2022, Cornell Chronicle)

The Cornell Program in Infrastructure Policy (CPIP) at the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction at Cambridge University (CSIC) will bring together top private and public sector leaders, academics, experts, and practitioners for a workshop focusing on new methods of infrastructure delivery.

The workshop – Funding, Financing & Emerging Technologies in Infrastructure to Improve Resilience, Sustainability and Universal Access – will be held July 11-14, 2022, at Cornell Tech in New York City. Some workshop sessions will also be livestreamed allowing participants worldwide to engage in discussions. The conference is funded by the National Science Foundation and the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

“This will be an unprecedented opportunity for the smartest minds in infrastructure to share the latest thinking and develop new strategies,” said CPIP academic director Rick Geddes, a professor in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. “Time is money because of Congress’ passage of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and the global demand for improved transit and public services to respond to climate change.”

Signifying the international nature of the gathering, attendees will be welcomed by Professor Lord Robert Mair, a world-leading geotechnical engineer and tunnelling expert. He serves at the University of Cambridge as the Emeritus Sir Kirby Laing Professor of Civil Engineering and director of research. He is also Founding Head of CSIC.

Experts from infrastructure’s technological, engineering, social, environmental, economic, and financial dimensions will discuss how a multi-disciplinary approach can address numerous pressing policy challenges. Those include infrastructure resilience in the face of climate change impacts, net zero carbon emissions and social equity, with a view to identifying potential policy implications and research needs. David Giordano, Global Head of Climate Infrastructure for BlackRock Real Assets, will deliver the keynote address.

“This is an important and timely event bringing together international experts across academia, policy and practice to explore how to improve infrastructure delivery in a post-Covid world through innovative funding and financing as well as emerging technologies,” Schooling said. “The thinking from both in-person and online events will help shape the outputs from this international workshop, which will be crafted into a series of white papers to be shared with a wider audience, including policymakers, and they will inform future research agendas.”

The workshop organizers would like to acknowledge the generous sponsorship of EY plus the underwriting support of the National Science Foundation and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.