2025 PROGRAM

DAY 1 | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH

MORNING SESSION

BUILD

10:00am Opening Remarks

Greg Morrisett - Dean & Vice Provost, Cornell Tech

10:05am BUILD | Keynote

Mitchell Joachim - Professor, NYU; Co-founder, Terreform ONE

Mark Chambers - Executive Director, Terreform ONE

10:15am Panel | What’s Next for Construction Automation?

Moderator: Bryan Boyer - Faculty Director of Urban Technology Degree Program, University of Michigan

Jenny E. Sabin - Wiesenberger Professor in Architecture, Chair of Department of Design Tech, Cornell University College of Architecture, Art & Planning; Principal, Jenny Sabin Studio

Alexandra Donovan - Director of Design & Innovation, Assembly OSM; Senior Research Fellow, Center for Offsite Construction

Val Tzvetkov - Director, Emerging Technology, Skanska

  • This session will explore technologies that are revolutionizing urban construction projects as cities accelerate timetables for climate defenses and resilient buildings and infrastructure. Learn about how off-site assembly, autonomous robots, self-assembling materials and structures, and AI-driven project management tools transform city skylines.

10:55am Keynote

Eliyahu Rapaport - CEO, Global Construction Tech.

11:10am Pitch | Mireta Urban Dynamics

Raphael Kay - Co-Founder, Mireta Urban Dynamics

11:15am NETWORKING BREAK

11:30am Pitch | Stacks + Joules

Jonathan Spooner - Co-Founder & CTO, Stacks + Joules

11:35am Panel | Making Digital Twins for Adaptation

Moderator: Greg Lindsay - 2022-2023 Urban Tech Fellow, Cornell Tech

Bill Campbell - Senior Vice President of Americas & Global Public Safety, Hexagon's Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial Division

Catrina Cuadra - Urban Innovation Fellow, Cornell Tech

Robert Yori - Digital Solutions Studio Leader, New York Metro, AECOM

  • Urban adaptation and resilience—to economic shocks, climate shocks, and other events—is driving use cases and technological innovation in digital twins. This session will explore efforts to apply digital twins to urban adaptation challenges, and create technical, governance, and workforce training standards to drive continued innovation.

12:15pm Pitch | UrbanMix - Revolutionizing Real Estate Retrofitting with 3D and AI

Sharon Ayalon - Founder & CEO, UrbanMix

12:20pm Pitch | COMCODE - Hacking Smart Cities: The Rising Importance of Cyber-Physical Resilience

Jonas Geier - Strategic Partnerships, COMCODE

12:25pm LUNCH

Explore the Cornell Tech campus, network with attendees, and enjoy a boxed lunch, included with admission for all attendees.

AFTERNOON SESSION

POWER

1:15pm Keynote

Leigh-Ann Buchanan - President & CEO, Miami-Dade Innovation Authority

1:25pm Fireside Chat

Cara Eckholm - Managing Director, Pitchfest; Founder, AKA Urban

Leigh-Ann Buchanan - President & CEO, Miami-Dade Innovation Authority

1:40pm Pitch | Switchbox

Juan-Pablo Velez - Executive Director, Switchbox

1:45pm Keynote

Brandon Owens - Vice President of Innovation & Research, NYSERDA

2:00pm Panel | Preparing New York’s Power Grid for the AI Era

Moderator: Michael Samuelian - Founding Director, Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech

K. Max Zhang - Irving Porter Church Professor of Engineering, Cornell University

Joley Michaelson - Founder & CEO, The Sun Company

Nick Lombardi - Senior Vice President of Development & Construction, NineDot Energy

Lakshmi Subramaniam - Manager of Innovation, New York Power Authority

  • Surging use of AI is driving unprecedented demand on urban electrical systems, requiring fundamental shifts in how cities generate, distribute, and manage power. What’s happening to New York’s grid, and what strategies and innovations will enable us to responsibly and sustainably power the next generation of urban intelligence?

2:40pm Pitch | Brick

Sebastian Sheng - Founder & CEO, Brick

2:45pm Workshops

  • WORKSHOP 1 (Room 215) | Neuroinclusive Emergency Design: Building Systems that Think Differently

    Hosted by:

    • Alex Norman - Co-Founder & CEO, Access Built

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    WORKSHOP 2 (Room 225) | Community AI: Lessons, Questions and Goals for Hyper-Local Use Cases

    Hosted by:

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    WORKSHOP 3 (Room 315) | Crossing the Civic Finish Line: Helping Startups Break Through Government Barriers

    Hosted by:

3:45pm NETWORKING BREAK

4:00pm Pitch | Atomic Canyon

Sarah Lemonick - Product Manager, Atomic Canyon

4:05pm Panel | Rightsizing AI for Urban Needs and Planetary Limits

Moderator: Anthony Townsend - Senior Research Associate, Cornell Tech

Jean-Baptiste Poljak - Founder & CEO, Upciti

Heather McGeory - VP of Sustainability, CoreWeave 

David Gilford - Head of Policy & Strategic Partnerships, Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP)

  • As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in urban infrastructure, cities face the challenge of balancing computational power with sustainability goals. This session will explore new developments and directions for edge computing solutions, distributed AI architectures, and energy-efficient algorithms that enable smart city functionality while respecting planetary boundaries and reducing carbon footprints.

4:45pm Respondent Address

Sergio Marrero - Managing Director, Blue Ridge Labs at Robin Hood

Mike Gray - Venture Investor, Remarkable Ventures Climate

Simon Sylvester-Chaudhuri - Executive Director, CIV:LAB

  • Respondents will offer a candid take on the ideas and solutions related to each grand challenge topic. They will weigh in on the feasibility and fundability of the approaches shared, highlighting what stands out, where challenges remain, and what it takes to move from concept to capital.

5:00pm Keynote

Andrew Blum - Author, Electric Earth, The Weather Machine, and Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet

5:15pm Closing Note

Simon Sylvester-Chaudhuri - Executive Director, CIV:LAB

Jerry Hultin - Chairman & Co-Founder, Global Futures Group, LLC

DAY 2 | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH

MORNING SESSION

BOOST

10:00am Opening Remarks

Israel Cidon - Director, Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute

10:05am BOOST | Keynote

Zach Iscol - Commissioner, New York City Emergency Management

10:15am Panel | Building the Urban Tech Ecosystem: Scaling Emerging Technologies and AI for Cities

Moderator: Jonathan Schulhof - Executive Vice President of Innovation Industries NYCEDC

Michelle Brechtelsbauer - VP Strategy, Newlab 

Beth Porter - Head of Studio Operations, C10 Labs

Alex Mitchell - SVP BATWorks, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)

10:55am Pitch | Generative Agents in the Built Environment

Ariel Noyman - Research Scientist, MIT Media Lab

11:00am Keynote |  Emerging Technologies and the Future of Helicopter Tourism in New York City

Thomas J. Campanella - Professor of Urban Studies & City Planning, Cornell University

11:15am NETWORKING BREAK

11:30am Fireside Chat

Vijayta Narang - Program Director & Fund Manager, CIV:LAB

Joel Wish - Founder & CEO, Bright Harbor

11:45am Pitch | CIV:LAB

Alex Bell - Partnerships Manager, CIV:LAB

11:50am Panel | Next-Generation Congestion Pricing

Moderator: Ashwini Chhabra - Director of the Urban Innovation Fellowship, Cornell Tech

Rick Geddes - Professor, Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy

Matt Yarri - Data Science Manager, Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Ryan White, AICP - Transportation Planning Lead, Jacobs

David Shmoys - Laibe/Acheson Professor of Business Management and Leadership Studies, Cornell University

  • As New York City approaches the first anniversary of congestion pricing, this session tackles two topics. First, how has data helped document and evaluate the program so far? Second, what advances in telematics, predictive pricing algorithms, and smart payment systems are to come and what innovations in road pricing can they help unlock?

12:35pm Pitch | ClearRoad

Radu Sabo - Head of Product, ClearRoad

12:40pm LUNCH

Explore the Cornell Tech campus, network with attendees, and enjoy a boxed lunch, included with admission for all attendees.

AFTERNOON SESSION

MOVE

1:30pm MOVE | Keynote

Eyal Feder-Levy - CEO & Co-Founder, ZenCity

1:45pm Panel | New Technologies for Informed & Engaged Climate Planning

Moderator: Michael Samuelian - Founding Director, Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech

Dana Chermesh-Reshef - Founder & CEO, inCitu

Xiaofan Liang - Assistant Professor of Urban & Regional Planning, University of Michigan 

Josh Sorin - Global Director of Climate Action, Centre for Public Impact

  • This session explores how virtual and augmented reality, interactive simulations, and collaborative digital platforms are enabling more coordinated climate adaptation planning and action within government and with key stakeholders.

2:25pm Workshops

  • WORKSHOP 1 (Room 215) | From Innovation to Implementation: How Communities Make Use of Hyper-Local Data

    Hosted by:

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    WORKSHOP 2 (Room 225) | Medical Drone Logistics in New York City

    Hosted by:

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    WORKSHOP 3 (Room 315) | Resilience Scanner: Deep Research and Global Insights on Urban Climate Adaptation Technologies

    Hosted by:

3:25pm NETWORKING BREAK

3:40pm PITCH | Urbano.io

Yang Yang - Ignite Fellow, Urbano.io, Cornell University

3:45pm Keynote

Uri Sivan - President, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

3:50pm Panel | Managing the Risks of Urban AI

Moderator: Anthony Townsend - Senior Research Associate, Cornell Tech

Jacqueline Lu - CEO & Founder, Helpful Places

Daniele Quercia - Director of Responsible AI, Nokia Bell Labs Cambridge

Jiahao Chen, PhD - Director of AI & Machine Learning, New York City Office of Technology & Innovation

  • As cities deploy AI, new governance frameworks are essential to address algorithmic bias, privacy concerns, and system vulnerabilities. This session will examine risk assessment methodologies, accountability mechanisms, and public engagement strategies that ensure AI serves all urban residents while maintaining public trust and system security.

4:30pm Pitch | Beyond Compliance: Henning Larsen's Four Dogmas for AI in Architectural Practice

Nitsan Bartov - PhD Candidate, Henning Larsen

4:35pm Panel | Is New York City Ready for Autonomous Vehicles?

Moderator: Sarah Kaufman - Executive Director, NYU Rudin Center for Transportation

Wendy Ju - Associate Professor of Information Science & Design Tech, Cornell Tech

Sam Schwartz - Chair of Transportation Research Program, Roosevelt House at Hunter College

Patrick Smith - Senior Director of Policy & Programs, NYC Department of Transportation

  • Throughout history, automation technologies from traffic signals to telephone switches have driven New York City’s growth and expansion. As autonomous vehicle (AV) pilots get underway, this session will explore the city’s regulatory framework, ongoing pilots and anticipated deployments, and trends in urban robotics that will shape the future of the self-driving city.

5:15pm Respondent Address

Stacey Matlen - Senior Vice President of Innovation, Partnership for NYC

Daria Siegel - Senior Vice President, NYC Economic Development Corporation

  • Respondents will offer a candid take on the ideas and solutions related to each grand challenge topic. They will weigh in on the feasibility and fundability of the approaches shared, highlighting what stands out, where challenges remain, and what it takes to move from concept to capital.

5:25pm Keynote

Stephen Goldsmith - Professor, Harvard Kennedy School

5:40pm Closing Note

Michael Samuelian - Founding Director, Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech