We are proud to announce that Lewis Center Associate Director, Juan Matute will be participating in UCLA’s commitment to President Barack Obama’s Grand Challenges initiative. Juan will be serving on the Spatial and Discipline Integration Committee as part of UCLA’s Sustainable LA Grand Challenge Project, Thriving in a Hotter Los Angeles.
In order for UCLA to provide Los Angeles with a successful and efficient blueprint for achieving 100% sustainability by 2050, the project will first develop a work plan for the next five years. A call to campus experts—faculty and students alike— of varying fields was made. Faculty experts will be serving on one of four interdisciplinary research committees to produce a research plan by June 30, 2015. The Spatial and Discipline Integration Committee, on which Juan is serving, will verify that the three plans from the other committees are well integrated with one another to ensure the plan for sustainability is a success. The remaining three committees are dedicated to research in energy, water, and biodiversity.