Webinar:
Understanding Micro Climates & Urban Heat Islands
Wednesday, Sept 25, 2024
12:00 pm- 1 pm
About the Topic:
The heat is on! Major urban areas are hot and getting hotter!
Urban heat, caused by human activities, forms a "heat bubble" surrounding the city known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI), resulting in higher temperatures, impacting human health, power consumption air and water quality, and more.
Dr. Daniel Boice will present original research on San Antonio's UHI over the past 7 decades. Dr. Farzad Hashemi, Assistant Professor of Architecture at University of Texas at San Antonio will discuss his novel methodology to create climate data specifically designed for urban environments to accurately reflect the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects.
Michelle E. Garza, Planning Specialist, will share positive initiatives the San Antonio River Authority has implemented to mitigate heat and improve water quality and Leslie Antunez, Senior Municipal Sustainability Manager, Office of Sustainability will present the City of San Antonio's heat reduction strategies.
Speakers:
(Read full bios here.)
Daniel C. Boice, Ph.D.
Founder & Principal
Astronomer Scientific Studies & Consulting
Daniel Boice is the founder and principal astronomer at Scientific Studies & Consulting in San Antonio, TX. Prior to his present position, he spent 26 years in the Space Science & Engineering Division at Southwest Research Institute, where he specialized in cometary research sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation. Concurrently, he held a joint appointment to the Department of Physics and Astronomy faculty at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses for 20 years. During his career, he developed computer models that are used to interpret spacecraft data and ground-based observations of comets.
He has also developed an interest and expertise in the urban climate, especially the Urban Heat Island, when in the early 1990s he co-discovered San Antonio's UHI. Daniel has an extensive research record that includes over 80 peer-reviewed research papers, several hundred conference reports, and the books.
Farzad Hashemi
Assistant Professor of Architecture
University of Texas at San Antonio
Farzad Hashemi is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and the founding director of the Climate Sensitive Design Lab (CSDL) within the UTSA's School of Architecture and Planning. He received a Ph.D. in Architecture from the Pennsylvania State University, with a focus on Sustainability.
In his doctoral research, Hashemi developed a novel methodology that couples Local Climate Zones (LCZs) with the Urban Weather Generator (UWG) to create climate data specifically designed for urban environments to accurately reflect the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects. This methodology aims to surpass the limitations of Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data, which is generally gathered from open spaces such as airports and often fails to capture the specific climatic conditions of urban neighborhoods. Hashemi's work is dedicated to providing architects and urban planners with a more accurate workflow for evaluating and reducing urban buildings' energy demands, steering towards more sustainable urban development.
Michelle E. Garza
Planning Specialist
San Antonio River Authority
Michelle Garza has 12 years of experience in the environmental science and sustainable energy fields and 13 years in business management. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) where she focused on geology and worked for the Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute. She has been part of the Sustainable Infrastructure/Planning Unit at the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) for more than eight years, where she works to educate the community on nature-based stormwater solutions to improve water quality and the urban environment.
Additionally she is the development coordinator for SARA, working with developers in mandatory coordination areas, such as the River Improvement Overlay District and Westside Creeks Water Quality Overlay, on their LID/green infrastructure to protect our community's investment in the health and recreation of our creeks and rivers.
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Leslie Antunez
Senior Municipal Sustainability Manager
City of San Antonio
Office of Sustainability
Leslie Antunez is a dedicated and committed public servant with 17 year of service specializing in climate initiatives, public information, crisis and media communication strategies, and community engagement and education.
As the Senior Municipal Sustainability Manager, she responsible for overseeing the City's municipal climate planning and implementation efforts including projects such as the Urban Heat Island/Cool Pavement pilots and assisting with the municipal on-site solar project.
