Gotham Foundry Symposium: Regenerative Materials Across Industries

This annual symposium will convene thought leaders and showcase the four central pillars of Gotham Foundry, from leading-edge regenerative material innovation and translation, workforce training, industry engagement to democratizing access to the materials innovation ecosystem. The Gotham Foundry, established in 2025 and headquartered in West Harlem, is a unique partnership between the city (NYC-EDC), its leading community organizations and academic institutions (Genspace, CUNY-ASRC, FIT, and Columbia), working together with tremendous West Harlem and city-wide partners to turbocharge sustainable materials innovation and workforce training, for three leading New York industries: fashion, construction and health. 

Speakers Include:

• Kate Ascher, Co-director, Gotham Foundry, and Milstein Professor of Urban Development at GSAPP, Columbia University 

• Jui Chaugule, Head of Research, Provizigen

• Stephanie Down, Co-founder & CEO, Uncaged Innovations

• Susan Easton, Product & Marketing Director, NYFIC

• Shiho Kawashima, Associate Professor, Columbia University

• Kelley Kizzier, Director, Materials and Manufacturing Innovation, Bezos Earth Fund

• Casey Lardner, Co-director, Gotham Foundry, and Executive Director, Genspace

• Samia Lemfadli, Founder & CEO, Change for Good

• Helen H. Lu, Director, Gotham Foundry, and Hudson Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University

• Jin Kim Montclare, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, NYU Tandon 

• Aradhita Parasrampuria, Founder & CEO, Cellsense

• Sonia Park, Vice President of Industry & Innovation, NYCEDC

• Janet Rodriguez, Founder & CEO, SoHarlem

• Jonsara Ruth, Co-founder and Design Director, Healthy Materials Lab

• Jen Tausig, Principal, Jen Tausig Consulting

• Theanne Schiros, Co-director, Gotham Foundry, NYFIC consortium member, Professor FIT

• Rein Ulijn, Co-director, Gotham Foundry, Professor of Chemistry at Hunter College, CUNY, and Director, Nanoscience Initiative, CUNY Advanced Science Research Center

• Emily Laurilliard, Assistant Director, Innovation Workforce Initiatives, Empire State Development.

• Helen Zha, Associate Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering, RPI

• Diandian Zhao, Co-founder and CEO, Carbon Infuse

This event is part of Climate Week at Columbia Engineering.

Media interested in attending or covering the event must RSVP to engmediarelations@columbia.edu

Campus Access:
In accordance with the University's current visitor guidelines, all non-Columbia guests will receive a QR code within a few hours of the event date. The code will be sent to you via email from CU Guest Access and must be presented for campus entry, along with a government-issued ID. All guests should enter campus at the main entrance located at W 116th St and Broadway.

Accessibility:
Columbia University makes every effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you require disability accommodations to attend an event at Columbia University, please contact the Office of Disability Services at 212.854.2388 or access@columbia.edu.

Photography/Videography:
Columbia Engineering reserves the right to capture and use images (including video, photo, audio) of participants at this event in its current or future marketing materials. These materials include but are not limited to: social media, digital and/or print posters, email and web-based materials. By attending and participating in this event, you are consenting to having your image captured for these purposes. If you have concerns about your likeness being used, please reach out to engineeringcommunications@columbia.edu and we will accommodate your request.

Climate Week at Columbia Engineering | Website | View More Events
Co-hosted with: Gotham Foundry