Support for Student and Postdoc Participation in the 19th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering (LCE 2012); Berkeley, California; 23-25 May 2012

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides support to offset the costs for 26 students and postdocs to attend the 19th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering (LCE 2012) at the University of California, Berkeley, California, May 23-25, 2012. The conference is a forum to share ideas about different aspects of life cycle engineering as it applies to manufacturing processes and systems and to discuss recent and future trends in these areas. The students and postdocs who are provided with funding through this proposal will attend technical presentations given by leading international experts. There will be additional opportunities to interact and network more informally with peers and senior researchers during breaks and meals. The strong international character and interdisciplinary of this conference will foster new ideas and better understanding of worldwide challenges in the future development of sustainability, manufacturing science and engineering. A selection committee from the Life Cycle Engineering Scientific Committee will identify students and postdocs to receive funding based upon the following criteria: presenting a paper, his or her research statement, underrepresented status, and degree sought. The students and postdocs that attend LCE 2012 will have the opportunity to display, discuss, exchange, and develop research ideas and collaborative projects in the area of Life Cycle Engineering. Through this experience they will sharpen both their technical skills and their communication skills, which will be valuable in their future careers, international or interdisciplinary projects. The new perspectives attending students and postdocs gain will help enable them to employ their talents and knowledge to drive U.S. efforts for competitive and sustainable manufacturing. Additionally, because much of the research is industry-focused, American industry will ultimately benefit from the new knowledge and the expertise gained by the students and postdocs; therefore, advancing the national prosperity and welfare.