Several of UCLA’s brightest innovators came together on Feb. 13 at UCLA Covel Commons to present their latest research and solutions for pressing climate issues at UCLA Technology Development Group’s Climate Action Day.   

Scientists and researchers in environment-related fields are faced with a major new reality in 2025: In 2023 and 2024, global temperatures breached the 1.5-degree warming target threshold set by the Paris Agreement signed in 2016. Almost no country is meeting its emissions targets. And California is facing especially daunting challenges, including accelerating temperatures from coast to inland counties, population increases and repeated wildfire destruction and health impacts.

“California is going to have to be a leader in (climate adaptation and mitigation strategies),” said keynote speaker Glen MacDonald, distinguished professor with the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. MacDonald, who is also Professor of California and the American West, praised attendees for taking the lead in technology, policy and strategies. “It’s a lot on your shoulders, but I have a lot of confidence that you can do this. The spotlight is on us. The successes and the failures of our state will be very, very important, not just for the nation but the rest of the world.”  

Four groups of UCLA research grant awardees presented summaries on supercool radiative cooling paints, fast-charging electric vehicle batteries, carbon-negative, energy-positive water recycling and photovoltaics/photosynthesis integration for high-efficiency sustainable food and energy production. Their work was funded by Climate Action Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards, awarded to UCLA in 2023 by the UC Office of the President’s Research Grants Program Office and designated grants from California Legislature. The grants support action-oriented climate research and solutions in areas of climate adaptation, resilience and mitigation that ensure all California communities, especially those that are most vulnerable to climate change, are prepared and resilient, RGPO senior program officer Nick Anthis told the assembled attendees.  

TDG’s mission is to take science done at UCLA and help faculty form it into real-world solutions and technology that can positively impact lives. These four groups have the potential to become startups or be licensed to a local entity in California, said Amir Naiberg, associate vice chancellor, CEO and president of TDG.

MacDonald’s address, titled “Climate Change and California Sustainability,” drew attention to the various impacts of climate change on the state, including rising sea level, wildfire burn areas exceeding historic acreage, vulnerabilities created by more demand for resources among a growing population and the resulting rise in carbon emissions. “Climate change is not something for the future,” he said. “It’s here and now. And we’ve seen since the 1980s in particular in California that the challenge is accelerating.”

You can watch recordings of each presentation below.

• “Enabling electric vehicle adoption through fast-charging batteries” — presented by Sarah Tolbert, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and Bruce Dunn, distinguished professor of materials science and engineering
• “Photovoltaics/photosynthesis integration for high-efficiency eco-system producing energy and food” — presented by Ying Zhang, UCLA postdoctoral fellow, materials science engineering
• “Carbon-negative, energy-positive water recycling via a Combined Aerobic Membrane Bacterial-Algal Reactor” — presented by Kevin Clack and Kshitija Shah, Ph.D. candidates
• “Durable supercool radiative cooling paints for climate resilience to extreme heat” — presented by Aaswath Raman, associate professor of materials science and engineering

The event also included panel discussions on investing in sustainability, which can be viewed here.