Symposium EE15-Materials for Sustainable Development—Integrated Approaches

As defined by the Brundtland Commission (UN, 1987), sustainable development entails meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Materials science will play a pivotal role in solving many of the key challenges our society will continue to face in the coming years, including providing a sustainable supply of energy, water, products, services, transportation, buildings, and public infrastructure.

New approaches to sustainable development will require materials researchers who have technical expertise and who understand the complex interrelationships between materials science and other disciplines. In addition, materials researchers must develop relationships with industry and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing challenges and opportunities to translate their work to practice.

This symposium will encourage an integrated approach toward the role of materials science in sustainable development and will provide a medium for technically based, interdisciplinary discussions of core materials technologies and their connection with societal, ecological, and economic drivers that together will illuminate the path toward sustainable development.

A complementary suite of activities focusing on sustainability in industry, teaching sustainability, student engagement, and public outreach is tentatively planned.

Topics will include:

Materials for alternative energy sources
Materials designed for enhanced recyclability
Materials for sustainable buildings and infrastructure
Materials for sustainable transportation
Materials impacts on human health and the environment
Materials efficiency and life cycle assessment
Materials research and corporate social responsibility
Materials for sustainable water purification and conservation
Sustainable materials systems: supply chains, industrial ecology, and waste management
Bridging the development gap: innovation, scale-up, and adoption
Tools and techniques for workforce development and teaching sustainability
Objective application of economic, sociological, and governmental models that enable materials research and technological developments

Invited Speakers:

EE15_Materials for Sustainable Development—Integrated Approaches _0 (Arizona State University, USA)
EE15_Materials for Sustainable Development—Integrated Approaches _1 (Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
EE15_Materials for Sustainable Development—Integrated Approaches _2 (University of Michigan, USA)
EE15_Materials for Sustainable Development—Integrated Approaches _3 (Stony Brook University, USA)
EE15_Materials for Sustainable Development—Integrated Approaches _4 (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
EE15_Materials for Sustainable Development—Integrated Approaches _5 (University of Houston, USA)
EE15_Materials for Sustainable Development—Integrated Approaches _6 (National Science Foundation, USA)
EE15_Materials for Sustainable Development—Integrated Approaches _7 (University of California, Davis, USA)
EE15_Materials for Sustainable Development—Integrated Approaches _8 (National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), Mexico)