Applied Urban Science Showcase
The Center for Urban Science + Progress (CUSP) at New York University Tandon School of Engineering is excited to host the Applied Urban Science Showcase, highlighting the exceptional work of graduating students from the M.S. in Applied Urban Science and Informatics program and featuring a guest talk by Sybil Derrible, author of the recently published book The Infrastructure Book: How Cities Work and Power Our Lives (Prometheus, 2025).
All events will take place in the Pfizer Auditorium and adjacent foyer, located in the Dibner Building at 5 MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11245. The main entrance to the Dibner Building is located off Brooklyn Commons and you can refer to the NYU Brooklyn campus map for guidance.
Schedule
4:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Check-In
CUSP administrators will be managing a Check-In table at the main entrance of the Dibner Building. Look out for the poster displays! Posters will be on display in the Foyer starting at 4:00 PM, with students available from 6:00 PM to discuss their work.
4:15 PM - 4:40 PM
Introductory Remarks
Opening remarks from CUSP/NYU Tandon Leadership, followed by an introduction from Dr. Anton Rozhkov, Director of the M.S. in Applied Urban Science and Informatics Program at CUSP.
4:40 PM - 5:40 PM
Guest Talk by Dr. Sybil Derrible
Dr. Sybil Derrible, Professor in Urban Engineering and the Director of the Complex and Sustainable Urban Networks (CSUN) Laboratory at the University of Illinois Chicago, will deliver the lecture "Solving the Biggest Infrastructure Challenges of This Century" as part of CUSP’s Spring 2025 Urban Science Research Seminar series.
5:40 PM - 6:00 PM
Presentation of Capstone Awards
CUSP Capstone Team and Dr. Anton Rozhkov will provide an overview of the 2025-2026 Capstone Projects and present four awards to outstanding student teams.
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Poster Showcase and Student Presentations
All guests are invited to enjoy refreshments and light bites while engaging with CUSP students in front of their poster displays. The evening will conclude with a celebratory toast to the Class of 2025 students at 6:45 PM.
About the Guest Lecture by Sybil Derrible
Virtually every activity people engage in involves infrastructure in one way or another. The lifestyles of most people, especially in high-income countries like the U.S., would not be possible without constant and reliable access to infrastructure—including transport, water, wastewater, electricity, gas, solid waste, and telecommunication infrastructure. Yet, operating and maintaining existing infrastructure systems requires more energy and resources than the Earth can provide. Our society has never been so technologically advanced, yet it has never been so unsustainable and vulnerable. Coupled with climate change and important societal shifts such as depopulation, a new infrastructure paradigm must be developed to redefine how infrastructure is planned, designed, built, operated, and maintained. In this talk, we will first briefly go over each infrastructure to gain a system’s view of how infrastructure works. We will then see that they all are deeply interconnected, interrelated, and interdependent. Although these interconnections are intuitive, we will see that they are complex and often overlooked. Leveraging these interdependences and turning them into assets through smart and multifunctional approaches can help solve some of the biggest infrastructure challenges of this century.
Speaker Biography
Sybil Derrible is a Professor in Urban Engineering and the Director of the Complex and Sustainable Urban Networks (CSUN) Laboratory at the University of Illinois Chicago. His research is at the nexus of civil engineering, urban metabolism, and data and complexity science to help design livable, sustainable, and resilient cities. He is the author of the popular science book The Infrastructure Book: How Cities Work and Power Our Lives (Prometheus Books 2025) and the textbook Urban Engineering for Sustainability (MIT Press 2019). He received a U.S. NSF CAREER Award for his work and the Huber Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Infrastructure Systems and for Scientific Reports, and he is a Fellow of the ASCE.
About the CUSP Capstone
The Capstone Project is a cornerstone of the M.S. in Applied Urban Science and Informatics program, allowing students to apply advanced skills in AI, machine learning, and data science from their first year to address real-world urban challenges. Spanning the second-year required Urban Science Intensive I and II courses, the Capstone Project enables students to collaborate directly with a sponsoring company, government agency, nonprofit, or academic institution. This hands-on experience enhances both academic and professional development, ensuring a smooth transition into a successful career after graduation. Since 2013, CUSP has guided nearly 200 capstone projects, collaborating with 29 government agencies, 23 nonprofits and think tanks, and 21 private companies worldwide. Explore the CUSP website to learn more about the capstone program and browse the capstone directory.