The world is heating up, and cities are feeling the burn! Northwestern Engineering's Alessandro Rotta Loria is tackling this sizzling issue head-on. On November 13, 2025, he co-led a groundbreaking Theme Issue in the prestigious journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, focusing on the scorching topic of urban heat.
But it's not just about the heat we feel on the streets. Rotta Loria's edition, titled "Urban Heat Spreading Above and Below Ground," delves into the complex world of heat accumulation and migration in urban environments. It's a pressing concern as global temperatures rise, and cities need solutions. The journal issue presents a comprehensive exploration of how heat affects both the surface and subsurface of our cities, offering insights that could shape future urban planning and climate adaptation strategies.
Rotta Loria, a rising star in civil and environmental engineering, contributed two pivotal pieces to the issue. In "Urban Heat Above and Below Ground: Toward Improved Understanding, Modeling, Mitigation, and Adaptation," he provides a roadmap for addressing this complex challenge. He also explores the often-overlooked influence of underground urban morphology on subsurface heat islands in his article, "Influence of the Underground Urban Morphology on Subsurface Heat Islands." And that's not all—he's also the director of the Subsurface Opportunities and Innovations Laboratory (SOIL), where he champions renewable energy, decarbonization, and innovative infrastructure solutions.
Here's where it gets personal: Rotta Loria's passion for this topic is evident. He expressed his excitement about the diverse range of studies in the journal, hoping to inspire not only researchers but also policymakers to take action. And his work has already made waves. In 2023, he gained recognition for connecting underground urban heat to ground movement, earning him a spot on Crain's Chicago Business "40 Under 40" list and a TEDx talk. His innovative research includes developing a method to reinforce coastlines using electricity to bind sand into rock and creating carbon-negative construction materials.
But the heat doesn't stop there! The University of Chicago's Richard Hornbeck, in his 2025 Leon N. Moses Distinguished Lecture at Northwestern, challenged traditional economic estimates of transportation infrastructure value. Meanwhile, Professor James Rondinelli's discovery of symmetry principles may revolutionize low-power electronic materials. And the Northwestern team of Professors George Wells, Keith Tyo, and Jennifer Dunn received a $2.7 million grant to develop microbial technology for wastewater treatment.
So, what does this all mean for our future cities? Rotta Loria's work and the broader research community are paving the way for a more sustainable and resilient urban environment. But the question remains: Are we doing enough to address the rising heat in our cities? Share your thoughts in the comments!
