Atmospheric and Urban Digital Twins Workshop

The workshop activities are supported through NSF AGS (2324744; Dr. N. Anderson and C. Lu)

In partnership with UNESCO, WCRP Digital Earth Lighthouse Activity, Bentley Systems

As part of this activity, a series of workshops and community presentations/meetings have been undertaken and/or planned for the future.
The next workshop is focused on Building Energy, Urban Development Twins on Feb 4, 2025. Please email happy1@utexas.edu if you would like to attend this workshop virtually or for in person registration.

Workshop Venue: Barrow Hall (Room JGB 4.102), Jackson School of Geosciences, UT Austin
Time: 09:00 AM - 01:00 PM
Schedule/ Agenda is available at: Schedule PDF Link


Project Leads and Participants

  • Dev Niyogi and Zoltan Nagy, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Xinyue Ye, Texas A&M University
  • Ruby Leung, PNNL
  • Yuhan "Douglas" Rao, North Carolina State University, Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies
  • Rob Redmon, NOAA NCEI and NOAA Center for AI
  • Tan Bui-Thanh, Oden Institute, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Daniel Aliaga, Purdue University
  • Aditya Grover, UCLA
  • Andrew Gettelman, PNNL and WCRP Digital Earth Lighthouse Activity
  • Dru Crawley, Bentley Systems
  • Ruchi Choudhary, Cambridge University and Stanford University (sabbatical)
  • Bhanu Neupane, UNESCO
  • Paulo Ferrao, Instituto Superior Técnico - University of Lisbon

Background

The primary goal of the AUDT workshop is to foster development, understanding, and application of digital twin technologies in atmospheric and urban contexts. This aims to support weather and climate studies through advanced simulations, visualizations, and analyses, leveraging the growing capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), coupled with vast computational resources. The workshop intends to bridge the gap between academic research and practical applications, emphasizing the integration of physical and social sciences to enhance urban sustainability and smart city initiatives.

Scope of AUDT Workshop

The scope of the workshop encompasses discussions related to definitions, applications, needs, opportunities, challenges and participation of academia in the development and widespread adoption of digital twins. It aims to:

  • Develop clear definitions and requirements for atmospheric digital twins (ADTs) and urban digital twins (UDTs).
  • Create exemplary demonstrators of AUDT to showcase their potential.
  • Facilitate discussions on channeling various digital twin developments for enhanced weather and climate studies.

The workshop will address the need for academic engagement in digital twin technology, focusing on areas not fully covered by current agency-driven efforts. It will explore the integration of ADTs and UDTs for improved urban planning and climate change adaptation, emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration.

Workshop Participants

The workshop will bring together a diverse group of participants, including:

  • Academics and researchers in atmospheric sciences, urban planning, computer science, and related fields
  • Practitioners from the weather and climate enterprise, urban planning, and infrastructure development sectors.
  • Representatives from government agencies, non-profit organizations, and industry stakeholders interested in the application of AUDT for urban sustainability.

Breakout Topics

The workshop will feature a range of breakout topics, including but not limited to:

  • Definitions and standards for ADTs and UDTs.
  • Integration of digital twins with AI and ML technologies for predictive modeling and simulations.
  • Challenges and opportunities in representing urban components and dynamics within digital twins.
  • Best practices and innovative approaches in developing and using AUDTs for climate change mitigation and urban planning.
  • Case studies and demonstrator projects showcasing the application of AUDT in real-world scenarios.

General Workshop Outcomes

The anticipated outcomes of the workshop include:

  • A white paper on the potential applications, challenges, and opportunities of combining atmospheric and urban digital twins, aimed at informing future research, policy-making, and urban planning efforts.
  • Enhanced collaboration among the academic community, practitioners, and stakeholders in the development and application of AUDT technologies.
  • Recommendations for integrating digital twin technologies into research and education, highlighting interdisciplinary opportunities and the need for a unified approach to urban sustainability and climate resilience.
  • Establishment of a community of practice for ongoing dialogue, collaboration, and innovation in the field of atmospheric and urban digital twins.