From the Eocene to the Anthropocene: An Engineer’s View of Climate Change

• Main Author: Clough, G. Wayne
• Other Authors: Georgia Institute of Technology. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Smithsonian Institution
• Format: Lecture
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: Climate change; National defense; Sea levels; Weather patterns; Clough; Hyatt; Orleans; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1853/53253

Presented on March 24, 2015 at 4:30 p.m. at the Inaugural Hyatt Distinguished Alumni Leadership Speaker Series in the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons, Room 152. Wayne Clough served as the 10th President of the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1994 to 2008 and as the 12th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from 2008 to 2014. He previously held faculty appointments at Duke University, Stanford University and Virginia Polytechnic and State University, where he also served as Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Dean of the College of Engineering. He was Provost and Vice President of the University of Washington just before coming to Georgia Tech. Runtime: 61:51 minutes Engineers are increasingly being called upon to design and construct large-scale coastal flood protection facilities that are expected to have long operational lives. Billions of dollars were spent in New Orleans and billions more are being spent in New York City and New Jersey for protection facilities expected to last for 50 to 100 years or more. A major consideration in such cases is sea level rise due to climate change. The federal government has recently required all agencies to develop long-term plans to address all aspects of climate change. The most recent of these is from the Department of Defense, indicating sea level rise, loss of sea ice, and changing weather patterns are issues of major concern for our national defense and its facilities around the world. Dr. Clough reflects on these growing national issues through the lens of his own experiences beginning with his four-year service as Chair of the National Research Council Committee on New Orleans Regional Hurricane Protection Projects and continuing through his observations of work done by more than 100 Smithsonian scientists related to climate change. As Secretary of the Smithsonian, he was integrally involved in planning to protect Smithsonian museums and facilities that are at risk from storm surges and sea level rise. He concludes ...