Sustainability Week: AI Meets Sustainability Debate - You Decide!

Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking debate exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and sustainability. As AI technologies advance at an unprecedented pace, they bring both opportunities and challenges for creating a greener, more sustainable future.

Hear from experts across the field, and see them go head-to-head in a debate and discussion.

This event will bring together experts and perspectives from across the University of Melbourne to critically examine the role of Artificial Intelligence in shaping a sustainable future. Attendees will also have the opportunity to contribute by voting on the final outcome and engage directly with the experts through a Q&A. 

As part of Sustainability Week, this debate reflects the University of Melbourne’s commitment to fostering critical conversations on the challenges and opportunities shaping our sustainable future.

Meet the debaters:

Aditya Desu - Software Engineer, Product Innovation, Enterprise Technology, University of Melbourne
Adi designs and builds Spark AI, the University’s secure generative-AI platform for staff, and co-develops the AI Learning Assistant in the LMS, which gives students subject-specific support. He partners with educators and professional staff to turn real classroom and workplace needs into simple, reliable features, and has streamlined cloud services to improve performance while reducing operating costs by more than 25%. Aditya holds a Master of Information Technology (AI) from the University of Melbourne and has worked across research and product roles focused on natural language and education technology.

Adel Nadjaran Toosi, Associate Professor in Computer Systems, The University of Melbourne and Director of the Distributed Systems and Network Applications (DisNet) Laboratory

Dr. Adel N. Toosi is an Associate Professor in Computer Systems at The University of Melbourne and Director of the Distributed Systems and Network Applications (DisNet) Laboratory. His research focuses on making digital infrastructure more sustainable by reducing the carbon footprint of cloud and edge computing. He received his PhD from Melbourne in 2015 and has since published more than 90 peer-reviewed papers in leading venues such as IEEE Transactions on Cloud Computing, IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Computing, and IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems. His work has attracted over 6,000 citations with an h-index of 39, reflecting both academic and practical impact. Beyond publications, Dr. Toosi has developed widely used open-source tools including WattEdge, Con-Pi, WattEdge, and AutoScaleSim that help researchers and industry measure and optimise energy use. He has also built real-world prototypes such as solar-powered micro data centres and renewable-driven agricultural systems, demonstrating measurable reductions in fossil-fuel energy consumption. His contributions have been recognised through awards including Best Vision Paper at ACM SIGSPATIAL 2024 and Best Paper at IEEE/ACM UCC 2023. He has secured over $1.8M in competitive funding and serves on the editorial board of Future Generation Computer Systems, one of the leading journals in computing systems. At the core of his work is a commitment to ensuring that the digital technologies shaping our future are not only powerful and scalable but also environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically sustainable.

Chris Dixon, Sustainability Strategy Analyst, The University of Melbourne

Chris is the lead analyst within the Sustainability Strategy Team within Corporate Development. In this role, his work is focused on managing the University’s greenhouse gas inventory, supporting progress towards the University’s Climate Leadership targets, supporting sustainable procurement outcomes, and data analytics. Prior to working for the University, Chris was a Senior Consultant at ERM where he supported clients in developing Net Zero strategies, developing Science-Based Targets, achieving carbon neutrality certification, and various other carbon services.

Rachael Miller, Sustainability Coordinator (Biodiversity & Water), The University of Melbourne

Rachael is responsible for ensuring the University meets its Healthy Ecosystem targets in the Sustainability Plan 2030 and is co-founder and co-chair of the ACTS Biodiversity Working Group which is aiming to accelerate the sectors efforts to combat the biodiversity crisis.

Edward Antony, Energy & Building Services Engineer, The University of Melbourne

Edward is the Energy & Building Services Engineer on the Energy & Campus Analytics team within Campus Operations & Delivery. He is passionate about harnessing data, technology, and innovative design to make buildings not just efficient, but intelligent contributors to a sustainable future. At the University, Edward spearheads utilities management—covering electricity, gas, water, and steam—and oversees operational monitoring of renewable energy systems including solar and wind generation. He advocates for practical & scalable energy efficiency and electrification initiatives across the campus, directly supporting the University’s decarbonisation targets and sustainability strategy.

Sue Hopkins, Manager, Sustainability Delivery Team, The University of Melbourne

Sue has over 25 years’ experience in tertiary education, national government and the not-for-profit sector. Currently Manager of the University's Sustainability Delivery Team, Sue works to embed sustainability holistically. With a particular interest in circularity, she has been instrumental in developing the University's Choose to Reuse plate program, embedding circularity into building design standards and overseeing the delivery of the ambitious just and circular economy targets in the University's Sustainability Plan 2030.