The Many Facets of Sustainable Development

Materials Research Society, Warrendale PA

Investigators

Abstract

TECHNICAL A forum, entitled The Many Facets of Sustainable Development supported by the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS) Divisions of Materials Research (DMR), Chemistry (CHE), and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (OMA), as well as the Engineering (ENG) Directorate Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) will be held April 9, 2012 at the Materials Research Society (MRS) Spring Meeting in San Francisco. The primary objective of this forum is to introduce different perspectives on sustainable development to a community comprising chemists, physicists, materials scientists, and engineers from many disciplines. The forum will place a special emphasis on developing the viewpoints of economists, social scientists, industrial ecologists, and resource experts to help create a holistic approach in the field of sustainable development. In particular, the forum goals are well aligned with the Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) initiative and many other disciplinary programs across NSF. NON TECHNICAL This forum will have broader impacts by fostering a holistic approach toward the science and engineering of sustainable development. Many researchers working in the field of sustainable development (e.g. industrial ecology, economics, social and behavioral sciences) are currently not part of the materials science and engineering community at large. Typically, they do not attend the conferences that are centered around the materials community. The broader impact of this forum will be significant in that it would provide a platform to connect these experts and their outstanding work and create opportunities to integrate their ideas into the materials community. The forum will feature a diverse set of speakers and panelists, including women, underrepresented minorities, and early-career scientists. The forum will expose a national and international group of researchers to the field of sustainable development. This group includes academic faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, post docs, and industrial and government researchers in all fields of science and engineering. The forum will foster new interdisciplinary, and potentially transformative, collaborations in this important research area. Thus, the broader impact on education, research and training of faculty members as well as graduate and undergraduate students will be substantial.