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Institute for Computational Sustainability Institute for Computational Sustainability

Computational Sustainability is an emerging field that aims to apply techniques from computer science and related disciplines (e.g., information science, operations research, applied mathematics, and statistics) to help manage the balance of environmental, economic, and societal needs for sustainable development. The focus of Computational Sustainability is on developing computational and mathematical models, methods, and tools for a broad range of sustainability related applications: from decision making and policy analysis concerning the management and allocation of resources to the design of new sustainable techniques, practices and products. The range of problems that fall under Computational Sustainability is therefore rather wide, encompassing computational challenges in disciplines as diverse as environmental sciences, economics, sociology, and biological and environmental engineering.

Course Details

Meeting Time (Spring 2011)
TR 2:55 - 4:10 PM
Location
315 Upson Hall
Instructors
Carla Gomes, Department of Computer Science. Office Hours: F 2:00 - 3:00 PM (5133 Upson Hall).
Bart Selman, Department of Computer Science.
Faculty and Research Team
Jon Conrad, Department of Applied Economics.
Theo Damoulas, Department of Computer Science.
Course Assistants
Kiyan Ahmadizadeh, Department of Computer Science. Office Hours: T 1:00 - 2:00 PM (5160 Upson Hall).
Stefano Ermon, Department of Computer Science. Office Hours: W 11:30 - 12:30 PM (4142 Upson Hall).
Ryan Finseth, Department of Applied Economics. Office Hours: R 10:30 - 11:30 AM (5160 Upson Hall).

Announcements

February 28th, 2011
The due date for the final project proposal has been extended to March 8th, 2011.
February 18th, 2011
Readings for Lecture 9 posted.
February 14th, 2011
Readings for Lecture 7 posted.
Students should email kiyan@cs.cornell.edu with a PDF of their reaction paper. Due this Thursday, February 17th, 2011.
February 11th, 2011
Slides from this week's lectures have been posted.
Please note that the lecture on Thursday, February 17th has been cancelled. Students should instead attend the AI Seminar on Friday, February 18th at 12:00 PM in 5130 Upson Hall.
February 8th, 2011
A guide to completing Coursework 1 has been posted. The first coursework is due February 17, 2011.

Course Information

The scope and definition of Computational Sustainability are still fluid and in progress. The main goal of the course is to identify interesting computational research questions concerning sustainability problems and more generally we hope the course will provide additional insights towards the understanding of the boundaries and central methodologies in Computational Sustainability. The course is meant to provide a high-level perspective on different topics. Computational and mathematical topics include constraint satisfaction and optimization problems, probabilistic reasoning and inference, machine learning methods, game theory, agent-based models, and dynamical models. The course will include examples of sustainability topics concerning:

Natural Resource Protection
Reserve design, site selection, fish barrier removal, ecosystem sensing, ecosystem modeling, ocean ecosystem services.
Economics and Human Behavior
Human well-being and poverty, over-population, infectious diseases, ecosystem services (incentives), social networks, human-computer interaction (HCI).
Energy Resources
The Smart Grid and electric cars, wind, biofuels, material discovery.
Human-Built Systems and Land Use
Agriculture, sustainable cities, energy efficiency, life cycle analysis (LCA).

Given the multi-disciplinary nature of the material, the course will include several guest lecturers representing various disciplines.

Course Work

The course work consists of four components:

  • Attendance and participation in lectures.
  • A reaction paper identifying one or two computational questions concerning sustainability problems, a presentation of a research problem in class, or a good annotated bibliography. Due February 17th, 2011. Click here for guidelines on completing the first coursework.
  • A short (2 page) final project proposal. Due March 8th, 2011.
  • A final project. Teams will present projects during the last two weeks of class.

More details on the reaction paper, project proposal, and final project will be posted as the semester progresses. Students will be encouraged to work in interdisciplinary groups for the final project.

Lectures

The schedule will be posted as it becomes available and is subject to change.

Lecture 1 - Thursday, January 27, 2011. [Readings]
Speakers: Bart Selman, Department of Computer Science, Cornell University. Carla Gomes, Department of Computer Science, Cornell University.
Topic: Introduction to CS 6702 and Computational Sustainability. [Slides]
Lecture 2 - Tuesday, February 1st, 2011. [Readings]
Speaker: Yrjo Grohn, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University.
Topic: Optimizing Intervention Strategies in Food Animal Systems: modeling production, health and food safety. [Slides]
Speaker: Rebecca L. Smith, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University.
Topic: Cost Effective Control Strategies for The Reduction of Johne's Disease on Dairy Farms. [Slides]
Speaker: Maarika Teose, Department of Applied Mathematics, Cornell University.
Topic: Introduction to Complex Adaptive Systems and System Dynamics. [Slides]
Lecture 3 - Thursday, February 3rd, 2011. [Readings]
Speaker: Kiyan Ahmadizadeh, Department of Computer Science, Cornell University.
Topic: Embedding System Dynamics in Agent Based Models for Complex Adaptive Systems. [Slides]
Speaker: Rebecca L. Smith, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University.
Topic: Estimating parameters for MAP with Markov Chain Monte Carlo models. [Slides]
Speaker: Zhao Lu, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University.
Topic: Optimal Control Models of Johne's Disease in Dairy Farms. [Slides]
Lecture 4 - Tuesday, February 8th, 2011. [Readings]
Speaker: Elva Cha, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University.
Topic: Optimal Clinical Mastitis Management in Dairy Cows. [Slides]
Speaker: Yrjo Grohn, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University.
Topic: Conclusion: Optimizing Intervention Strategies in Food Animal Systems [Slides]
Lecture 5 - Thursday, February 10th, 2011.
Speaker: Kiyan Ahmadizadeh, Department of Computer Science, Cornell University.
Topic: Introduction to Conservation Planning. [Slides]
Speaker: Ryan Finseth, Department of Applied Economics, Cornell University.
Topic: Cost Effective Strategies for Species Recovery. [Slides]
Lecture 6 - Tuesday, February 15th, 2011. [Readings]
Speaker: Bistra Dilkina, Department of Computer Science, Cornell University.
Topic: Network Cascades for Spatial Conservation Planning [Slides]
Lecture 7 - Friday, February 18th, 2011. [Readings]

Note that Thursday's lecture is cancelled. Student's should instead attend the AI seminar in 5130 Upson Hall at 12:00 PM on Friday.

Speaker: Neo Martinez, Director and President of the Pacific Ecoinformatics and Computational Ecology Lab
Topic: Sustaining Ecological Networks and their Services [Slides]
Lecture 8 - Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011.
Speaker: Kiyan Ahmadizadeh, Department of Computer Science, Cornell University.
Topic: Course projects.
Lecture 9 - Thursday, February 24th, 2011. [Readings]
Speaker: Thomas Whitlow, Department of Horticulture, Cornell University.
Topic: Making rational decisions about air pollution, asthma and urban tree planting. [Slides]
Lecture 10 - Tuesday, March 1st, 2011. [Readings]
Speaker: Evan Cooch, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University.
Topic: [Slides]
Lecture 11 - Friday, March 4th, 2011. [Readings]

Note that Thursday's lecture is cancelled. Student's should instead attend the AI seminar in 5130 Upson Hall at 12:00 PM on Friday.

Speaker: Matthew Ginsberg, CEO of On Time Systems and partner Green Driver
Topic: Green Driver: AI in a Microcosm [Slides]
Lecture 12 - Tuesday, March 8th, 2011. [Readings]
Speaker: Harold Mathijs Van Es, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University
Topic: [Slides]