The Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI) played a pivotal role as being the venue host of the first day in the inaugural Washington DC Climate Week on April 28.

ROSEI provided the DC Climate Week organizers and attendees with access to event space on the eighth floor of Johns Hopkins University’s 555 Pennsylvania Avenue building in downtown Washington DC, which included conference rooms, a large hall for presentations and a rooftop terrace with a pristine view of the Capitol Building.

“When I first heard about DC Climate Week, I knew this was something that ROSEI and Hopkins should be involved with,” said Ben Link, ROSEI’s deputy director. “It was great for JHU to take center stage and host around 300 people working in the climate innovation sector for a full day. I also loved seeing a contingent of ROSEI faculty and staff take advantage of the opportunity by being there in person to network and explore possibilities for future collaboration.”

The day’s theme was “Climate Innovation & Technology” and focused on the most promising advancements shaping a more sustainable world. Link and Susanna Thon, ROSEI’s associate director, spoke for a few minutes about the institute as part of the welcome remarks to kick off the day’s activities.

The agenda included presentations from various companies about how their groups are attacking climate change, panels from experts and a lot of networking opportunities. Highlights included a keynote address from Sir Andrew Steer, a Distinguished Research Professor of the Practice in Environment and Economics, and a fireside chat with Bill Nye the Science Guy.

“I think DC Climate Week has the potential to become a major annual event in our nation’s capital, and it’ll be really exciting to look back years later and see the ROSEI and Hopkins names among the key people and groups that made the first day happen,” Link said.