Quick Links:
- RSVP or Submit a Proposal: Online registration and poster submissions are open through October 26. Attendees may also RSVP in person at the event.
- About the Presenters: explore the abstracts and biographies of our lightning talk and poster presenters.
The fourth annual UW–Madison Sustainability Symposium will take place on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, at Union South (Varsity Hall). The event will feature lightning talks, poster sessions, and a keynote address by Dr. Adele Houghton on architectural epidemiology.
Hosted in partnership with Facilities Planning & Management, the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University Lectures, the Center for Health, Energy, and Environmental Research, and the UW Environmental Awareness Fund, the Sustainability Symposium offers a space to share research, spark ideas, and foster collaboration across campus. Questions? Please email Will Erikson.
Program Highlights
Adele Houghton, FAIA, DrPH, LEED AP, is President of Biositu, LLC, where she works at the intersection of buildings, public health, and climate change. She is a member of the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows and received a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she also teaches. Her book Architectural Epidemiology (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025), co-authored with Professor Carlos Castillo-Salgado of Johns Hopkins University, proposes a novel method for architectural design: combining neighborhood-scale environmental health data with participatory community engagement to maximize a building’s positive ripple effect on community and planetary health.
In her keynote, Houghton will explore ideas from Architectural Epidemiology: Architecture as a Mechanism for Designing a Healthier, More Sustainable, and Resilient World (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025), co-authored with Carlos Castillo-Salgado. The book bridges architecture and public health, showing how evidence-based, place-centered design can improve well-being, strengthen climate resilience, and advance environmental justice. Symposium attendees can receive 30% off the book at press.jhu.edu with code HTWN
Dr. Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao is an Associate Professor at Cornell University. She directs the Hybrid Body Lab, which focuses on integrating cultural and social perspectives into the design of on-body interfaces. Through her research, she aims to foster inclusive designs for soft wearable technologies, like smart tattoos and textiles and develops novel digital fabrication methods. Kao, honored with a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, has received accolades in major ACM Human-Computer Interaction venues and media attention from Forbes, CNN, TIME Magazine, WIRED, and VOGUE. Her work has been showcased internationally, including at the Pompidou Centre in Paris and New York Fashion Week, earning multiple design awards. Kao holds a Ph.D. from MIT Media Lab.
Workshop Overview: Kao’s research merges soft textile materials with hardware prototyping to explore biodegradable threads for sustainable smart textiles. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn wet-spinning and e-textile fabrication techniques while integrating sustainable design practices and personal artistic expression. Together, we’ll experiment with materials and discuss how individual makers can reduce waste and reimagine the future of e-textiles. Click here to learn more.
1:00 – 1:15 PM — Opening Remarks
Dean Paul Robbins and Dr. Andrea Hicks
1:15 – 2:05 PM — Keynote Address
Dr. Adele Houghton, Harvard — Architectural Epidemiology
2:05 – 2:25 PM — Sustainable Textile Design Workshop Introduction
Dr. Cindy Kao, Cornell
2:25 – 3:55 PM — Flash Talks
Rapid-fire presentations spanning health & sustainability.
4:00 PM — Closing Remarks
4:15 – 5:30 PM — Poster Presentations & Reception
Connect with presenters, researchers, and campus partners over light refreshments, and join an interactive textile workshop.
The 2024 Sustainability Symposium brought together more than 300 people from across campus and the community to explore the latest in sustainability research, projects, and partnerships. With over 35 posters and 14 lightning talks, the event offered a snapshot of the ideas moving sustainability forward at UW–Madison.
You can read the full recap or explore abstracts from last year’s posters and lightning talks to get a sense of what to expect. Details for this year’s event—including registration and proposal information—will be shared soon. To stay informed, please subscribe to UW–Madison’s monthly sustainability newsletter.
"In the face of [climate change] you are not being resigned, or quiescent. You are finding ways to move forward and make a difference and to pull people together collaboratively to engage around these issues of sustainability. We need that, we need you, and we all need to figure out what we can do to help create a world that can sustain itself.”
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, Closing Remarks at the 2022 Sustainability Symposium