Because our group represents multiple disciplines, we invited our speakers to share resources on their particular areas of expertise. We hope you’ll peruse these resources as you’re able.
Julian Allwood will be our first speaker on Thursday, May 6, 2021. His talk is “The supply and use of bulk materials with zero emissions in the near future.” He recommends viewing the Absolute Zero report and/or video overview (https://youtu.be/xpImlufArwk). A longer recommended read is Sustainable Materials – With Both Eyes Open by Julian M. Allwood and Jonathan M. Cullen (Uit Cambridge Ltd.).
Josh Reno will also speak on Thursday, May 6, 2021, presenting “Putting People First… Or Second: Waste as a Problem and Program in the Social Sciences.” He recommends his article “What is Waste,” published in Worldwide Waste: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 1(1) DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/wwwj.9 and so do we. This engaging articles focuses on how we approach and define waste differently from our various points of view.
Reid Lifset will speak on Monday, May 10, 2021, presenting “A World Without Waste When the Answer to Most Questions is ‘It Depends.’” He recommends this meta-review on packaging and food serve ware, published in Environmental Science Technology (Vendries, et al. (2020)https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b07910). The review draws from numerous life cycle assessment studies to to determine whether material attributes commonly considered to be environmentally beneficial (recyclability, recycled content, compostability, and biobased) actually correlate with lower net environmental impacts across their full life cycle.
Harry Saunders will also speak on Monday, May 10, 2021, addressing “Energy Rebound.” If rebound is a new concept to you, feel free to look through Saunder’s slide deck and familiarize yourself with related terms and ideas.
Linda Molnar will speak on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 about “Accelerating Convergent Solutions for Societal Impact.” She recommends checking out the NSF Convergence Accelerator’s website to see what other grand challenges the program is addressing: https://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/convergence-accelerator/portfolio.jsp
Two Resources from Weslynne Ashton
Weslynn Ashton will speak on Wednesday, May 12 on “Wasted resources: opportunities and pathways for re-imagining and regenerating value.” She recommends the two papers below as we approach the social aspects essential to building solutions that actually work.
Expanding perceptions of the circular economy through design: Eight capitals as innovation lenses André Nogueira, Weslynne S. Ashton, Carlos Teixeira. Resources, Conservation and Recycling,
2019: (149) 566-576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.06.021.
Capital-based life cycle sustainability assessment: Evaluation of potential industrial symbiosis synergies Subramanian, K, Chopra, SS, Ashton, WS. J Ind Ecol. 2021; 1– 16. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13135