Immersive Experiences


The Emory Climate Hub is an interdisciplinary, campus-wide initiative that empowers students, faculty, and alumni to engage deeply with the science, policy, and justice dimensions of climate change. Through a dynamic mix of programming—including the annual COP delegations, speaker series like Climate Hub Coffee Hours, webinars, podcasts (e.g., AmpliFIRE), and a vibrant blog—the Hub cultivates a rich learning environment and public forum . It also nurtures critical communication skills via policy memos, white papers, and multimedia outputs, fosters collaboration across Emory organizations, and connects the campus community with real-world climate discourse and solutions. Led by Director Eri Saikawa and supported by faculty experts, the Hub serves as a central catalyst for climate engagement, equipping participants to translate scholarship into advocacy and action at local, national, and global scales
The COP Student Delegations program provides students with the opportunity to attend United Nations climate conferences as official observers, engaging in global climate policy discussions and research while developing leadership and advocacy skills. Since 2015, Emory has sent annual student and faculty delegations to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conferences of the Parties (COP). These delegations, composed of undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty from diverse disciplines (including Emory College, Goizueta, Rollins, Law, and Laney), are selected through a competitive application followed by enrollment in a preparatory course (ENVS 326/526: Climate Change & Society) and participation in a year-long climate negotiation seminar. During COP events, students present research, participate in mock negotiations, and network with policymakers, NGOs, and global scholars. This immersive experience equips participants with interdisciplinary policy, science, and advocacy skills, catalyzing their continued campus activism, research contributions, and career trajectories in climate and public service fields.
Science Gallery Atlanta’s Resilient Earth exhibit, curated in partnership with Accenture and Emory’s research offices, was an immersive, site-specific showcase of 13 interactive installations that bring together art and science to explore sustainability and resilience. Upon entry, visitors encounter “Resilient Earth: Reflective Us”—a sculpture of hands holding a tree made from reclaimed materials prompting self-reflection on our consumption habits. Other highlights include “ECOLECTIVOS,” a plastic-bottle installation addressing waste and community-led solutions, “Floating Climatopias,” envisioning flood-resilient settlements, “Sacred Breaths,” a living greenhouse responsive to air quality, and “Thermal Reverberations,” a thermal paint brain-themed installation illustrating neuroplasticity and adaptation. ECRI Task Force members Lisa Thompson, Eri Saikawa, Yang Liu, and Melissa Hage contributed to the exhibit. Hage and Saikawa served on the curatorial panel and Thompson, Saikawa, and Liu served on research teams for three installations.