Conferences & Workshops Recap 

December 13, 2025

Jackson School faculty members and researchers helped lead important scientific gatherings in 2025.

Atmospheric and Urban Digital Twins Workshop
On August 7 – 8, The TExUS Lab, which is led by Professor Dev Niyogi and in partnership with the UT-City CoLab, hosted a meeting to explore, synthesize and define Atmospheric Urban Digital Twins. These are simplified models that use artificial intelligence and machine learning to visualize complex atmospheric processes in the urban environment. The workshops have explored topics such as Building Energy Models; City Scale Applications; and Urban Applications, Operations, and Scalability.

The North American Workshop on Critical Mineral Research, Development, and Education
Hosted by Associate Professor Marek Locmelis on August 13 – 14, this conference brought together geologists, engineers, metallurgists, environmental scientists, and political scientists to discuss a common goal: securing a U.S. supply of critical minerals. Watch videos of the speakers.

Advancing Land Modeling for Gulf Coast Resilience  
Professor Zong-Liang Yang led a gathering of more than 250 scientists to discuss advances in land modeling, with a special focus on building resilience along the gulf coast. These models can help communities understand the forces that drive floods, droughts and other extreme weather events, so they can prepare. The conference was held on August 14 – 15.

Sustainable Data Centers in Texas Workshop 
Power-hungry data centers are booming across Texas. Ning Lin, the chief economist at the Bureau of Economic Geology, hosted a workshop on how their growth can be managed in a sustainable manner that maximizes the economic benefit to Texas communities. Held on September 18, the workshop convened industry leaders and policy makers and included discussions on energy, natural resources, permitting and workforce development. The formation of COMPASS, a new data center-focused research consortium, was also announced at the workshop.

Distant Worlds, Neighboring Opportunities: The 9th Interstellar Symposium
The Interstellar Research Group, an advocacy group for interstellar/deep-space exploration, convened in Austin, Texas, on October 12 – 15 for their annual symposium. Ken Wisian, who recently retired as the associate director of the Bureau of Economic Geology’s Environmental Division, was a co-partner of the event and spoke about space conflicts and war. Professor Don Blankenship and Research Associate Professor Duncan Young presented on the Europa Clipper mission to search for signs of life on Jupiter’s icy moon.