Living Earth Lecture Series

In its Precision Sensing Lecture Series, International Institute for Biosensing (IIB) is proud to host Dr. Angelica Walton serves asDirector of the Center for Planetary Health and Environmental Justice and as the Research & Scholarship Director for the Planetary Health North America Hub, where she advances holistic, justice-driven scholarship to empower communities and foster cross-sector collaboration. A Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, her work bridges planetary, healing justice, and regenerative systems design. Rooted in ecofeminist values, she integrates arts, storytelling, and place-based relationships into education and advocacy to cultivate interconnection, equity, and resilience. Dr. Walton partners with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and leads local sustainability initiatives that center cultural healing and environmental stewardship. Across her roles, she uplifts nature based community wisdom, champions value-based leadership, and supports the restoration of health in relationship to land, body, and collective well-being.

Seminar title: Embodied Ecologies and Planetary Health 

Speaker: Dr. Angelica Walton

Location: Walter Library 101

Lecture and Networking: 12:00 - 13:00 

 Presentation

The Living Earth Initiative, International Institute for BioSensing, Biomimetics International, IEEE Twin Cities Sensor Council Chapter brings together an extraordinary group of thinkers, builders, and change makers to explore a different narrative—one rooted in hope, alignment, and action. In the first session, Dr Mei Lin Fung Vice Chair of the UN AI for Good Impact Steering Committee and Co-Founder of the People-Centered Internet, challenges us to develop our collective biosensing. How can we, as a species, tune our individual Hearts & Minds to become the Biosensors of Spaceship Earth? This is not a passive lecture, but a live experiment in collective intelligence and adaptive evolution in the AI era.

We are made of stardust, the heavy elements forged in the hearts of dying suns. This cosmic heritage makes every human being a "sensor" in a grand, universal symphony—the Music of the Spheres. While the field of biosensing often focuses on the hardware of detection, this interactive keynote invites us to explore the most sensitive instrument we possess: Our  Hearts & Minds. This internal signal is our compass for resonance, balance, and planetary health.

Mei Lin Fung is a world-renowned orchestrator of ecosystems where technology, global policy, and financial innovation converge. As one of the last business partners of the legendary Douglas Engelbart, she was a primary catalyst for the Program for the Future, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the "Mother of All Demos." Today, she carries that legacy forward by architecting the "connective tissue" required for global economic resilience.

Seminar title: The Music of the Spheres: Tuning Our Collective Heart Spark as Biosensors for Spaceship Earth

Speaker: Mei Lin Fung, PhD

 Presentation

The Living Earth Initiative, International Institute for BioSensing, Biomimetics International, IEEE Twin Cities Sensor Council Chapter brings together an extraordinary group of thinkers, builders, and change makers to explore a different narrative—one rooted in hope, alignment, and action. In the first session, Michael Wright, CEO Biomimetics International will talk about "Digital Water the New Currents of Life." If we want to reduce tensions and build a viable, technologically driven future for humanity, we have to redirect our thinking. To redirect our thinking, we have to reshape our language. A harmonious, durable, equitable, enforceable digital world will not emerge from technology alone; it must be wrapped in foundational words that even our youngest children can reach for and understand. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine bits flowing as drops of water in a stream. What we usually call “data” now moves like water across the landscape of our lives. Every message, click, sensor reading, and transaction becomes part of a vast, invisible hydrology: Digital Water. Michael will be discussing what digital water is and how it should be treated.

Seminar title: Digital Water the New Currents of Life 

Speaker: Michael Wright 

 Presentation

The Living Earth Initiative, International Institute for BioSensing, Biomimetics International, IEEE Twin Cities Sensor Council Chapter brings together an extraordinary group of thinkers, builders, and change makers to explore a different narrative—one rooted in hope, alignment, and action. In the first session, Robin Evans-Agnew, RN, PhD, Professor, UWT SNHCL will talk about "Singing in the rain: Nursing and just relations for the Rights of Water."

Seminar title: Singing in the rain: Nursing and just relations for the Rights of Water

Speaker: Prof. Robin Evans-Agnew, RN, PhD 

The Living Earth Initiative, International Institute for BioSensing, Biomimetics International, IEEE Twin Cities Sensor Council Chapter brings together an extraordinary group of thinkers, builders, and change makers to explore a different narrative—one rooted in hope, alignment, and action. In the first session, Thomas Fisher (Director GeoCommunities, director of the Minnesota Design Center, and Dayton Hudson Chair in Urban Design in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota will talk about "The Global Chorus: Raising Voices for a Living Planet."

Fisher served for 19 years as a dean at the University of Minnesota and became the director of the Minnesota Design Center in 2015. His research has focused on sustainable architecture, design ethics, and community-based service design.

Recognized in 2005 as the fifth most published writer about architecture in the United States, Fisher has written 9 books, over 50 book chapters or introductions, and over 400 articles in professional journals and major publications. Named a top-25 design educator four times by Design Intelligence, he has lectured at 36 universities and over 150 professional and public meetings. He has written extensively about architectural design, practice, and ethics. 

Seminar title: The Rhythm of Cities

Speaker: Prof. Thomas Fisher 

 Presentation

The Living Earth Initiative, International Institute for BioSensing, Biomimetics International, IEEE Twin Cities Sensor Council Chapter brings together an extraordinary group of thinkers, builders, and change makers to explore a different narrative—one rooted in hope, alignment, and action. In the first session, Michael Sheldrick, Chief Policy, Impact and Government Relations Officer at Global Citizen  will talk about "The Global Chorus: Raising Voices for a Living Planet."

Michael Sheldrick is an Australian author and policy entrepreneur who seeks to address global challenges such as extreme poverty, global health and climate change. He is the co-founder and Chief Policy, Impact and Government Affairs Officer at Global Citizen. Sheldrick is on the board of the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon's Centre for Global Citizens.

Seminar title: The Global Chorus: Raising Voices for a Living Planet

Speaker: Michael Sheldrick 

 Presentation

The Living Earth Initiative, International Institute for BioSensing, Biomimetics International, IEEE Twin Cities Sensor Council Chapter brings together an extraordinary group of thinkers, builders, and change makers to explore a different narrative—one rooted in hope, alignment, and action. In the first session, Björgvin Sævarsson, CEO Yorth Group will talk about "Orchestrating Circularity in the Real World: Infrastructure, Governance, and the Work of Coordination." 

Despite growing consensus around the promise of the circular economy, implementation in real-world systems remains uneven, fragmented, and often reduced to isolated technical interventions. This presentation argues that circularity is not primarily a design challenge—it is an orchestration challenge.

Drawing on applied work across infrastructure, urban systems, and cross-sector partnerships, this session reframes circularity as a multi-scalar coordination problem spanning physical infrastructure, institutional governance, and stakeholder alignment. It explores how circular outcomes emerge not from individual innovations, but from the deliberate integration of systems that close loops, slow flows, and regenerate value across economic, ecological, and social domains.

Seminar title: Orchestrating Circularity in the Real World: Infrastructure, Governance, and the Work of Coordination

Speaker: Björgvin Sævarsson 

 Presentation

As part of the BiosVerse™ Week (Nov 2–5, 2025) hosted by Biomimetic International, the International Institute for Biosensing (IIB) hosted a special session on “Living Earth Twin: Harnessing the Exposome to Reimagine Sustainability”. In this session, Dr Patricia Khashayar, Director of International Institute for BioSensing in the Research Computing, Research & Innovation Office at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities will talk about "From Snow Globe to Living Earth Twin: Reimagining Resilience Through Exposomics."  In this role, she leads a coordinated and collaborative national and international initiative that brings together experts from academia, nonprofits, industry, and government agencies. Her work focuses on developing real partnerships, identifying barriers to advancing biosensing research, and generating innovative solutions.

Seminar title: From Snow Globe to Living Earth Twin: Reimagining Resilience Through Exposomics

Speaker: Prof. Patricia Khashayar, MD, PhD, MBA

  Presentation

As part of the BiosVerse™ Week (Nov 2–5, 2025) hosted by Biomimetic International, the International Institute for Biosensing (IIB) hosted a special session on “Living Earth Twin: Harnessing the Exposome to Reimagine Sustainability”. In this session, Dr Teddie Potter, Clinical Professor, Population Health and Systems Cooperative, Director of Planetary Health, School of Nursing Specialty Coordinator Doctor of Nursing Practice in Health Innovation and Leadership, School of Nursing, Appointed member of the University of Minnesota Bias Response Team.

Seminar title: Planetary Health: Connecting the Dots for a Better Future

Speaker: Prof.  Teddie M. Potter, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP

  Presentation

As part of the BiosVerse™ Week (Nov 2–5, 2025) hosted by Biomimetic International, the International Institute for Biosensing (IIB) hosted a special session on “Living Earth Twin: Harnessing the Exposome to Reimagine Sustainability”. In this session, Dr Justin Johnson, Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Economics at University of Minnesota. Justin researches how the economy affects the environment, and vice versa, on global to local scales. Using big-data, spatial econometrics and computable general equilibrium modeling, Justin assesses how to manage tradeoffs among the sustainable development goals, such as improving food security and protecting natural ecosystems. Justin works closely with the Natural Capital Project at the Institute on the Environment and Stanford University where he studies how ecosystem services and natural capital affect human wellbeing. Recently, Justin published The Economic Case for Nature with the World Bank, which produced the first global model that links a general equilibrium approach to a high-resolution (300 meter grid-cell) model of ecosystem services. This research showed that investing in ecosystem services benefits low-income countries most and that “nature-smart” policies can achieve both economic development and environmental protection.

Seminar title: The Economics of Resilience: Integrating Circular Thinking into the Living Earth Twin

Speaker: Prof.  Justin Johnson, PhD

  Presentation