Professor Yang Liu, Chair and Gangarosa Distinguished Professor in the
Gangarosa Department of Environment Health at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University
Dr. Yang Liu is the Chair and Gangarosa Distinguished Professor in the Gangarosa Department of Environment Health at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University. His research interests include satellite aerosol retrieval and product design, applications of satellite remote sensing in public health research, climate change and health, machine learning and spatial statistics. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Liu has led many federally funded projects to apply satellite data in air pollution exposure and health effects modeling and study the health impacts of climate change related to extreme weather, wildfires, pollen, and ambient air pollution. He was an ORISE faculty fellow at the National Center for Environmental Health at the US CDC, a science team member of the NASA EVI-3 MAIA and Terra MISR missions, a PI member of the NASA HAQAST Team, and director of the NIH-funded Climate & Health Actionable Research and Translation Center (CHART).
Lecture title: The Mental Health Impact of Climate Change in the US
Climate change can significantly impact mental health, causing increased anxiety, depression, and stress due to extreme weather events, displacement, and environmental degradation. For example, direct exposure to wildfires, including evacuation, damage or loss of properties, can potentially trigger anxiety and depression. Exposure to fire smoke and air pollution exacerbates stress, irritability, and physical health issues, which can heighten mental strain. Indirect impacts, such as economic losses, displacement, and community disruption, contribute to chronic stress and grief. Heat waves can increase irritability, aggression, and stress. Heat also disrupts sleep and cognitive function, intensifying psychological distress. In this presentation, we will showcase two quantitative assessments of the mental health impacts of climate related extreme weather events such as heat wave and wildfires in the US.
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Saskia Versteeg, Graphyte
Saskia Versteeg (she/her) is a climate and conservation advocate building impactful projects from the ground up across the USA. Early in her career, Saskia saw a gap between environmental science and the diverse stakeholder engagement needed to bring transformative projects to life. She currently leads Project Development at Graphyte, a young company recovering residual byproducts from the forestry and agricultural industries to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. She previously worked on groundbreaking projects in ecosystem restoration for Impossible Foods and Living Carbon. Raised in San Antonio, Texas, Saskia has a B.S. from the University of Texas at Dallas and M.E. in environmental engineering from UIUC. She was a two-time Udall conservation scholar and recently certified as an SAF Community Forester. She is passionate about environmental justice, civic engagement, bike lanes, community gardens, botany, and learning new languages.
Lecture title: Climate, Career, Choices: Finding a Path for Impact in Environmental Engineering
Saskia Versteeg graduated with her Master’s in Environmental Engineering in 2016. Since then, she has worked all over the world: as a park ranger in Peru, building companies in San Francisco, and founding nonprofits and developing projects in the US South and Appalachia. She will tell her story since graduating from UIUC, including her winding academic path, finding job opportunities, and keeping her focus on impact along the way. In a world filled with increasing uncertainty, use your own internal compass to navigate. Where do you want to go?