NRT-HDR: Data-Driven Sustainable Engineering for a Circular Economy

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester MA

Investigators

Abstract

The current ‘take-make-waste’ economic model relies on the irreversible conversion of non-renewable raw materials to products. The health, environmental, and economic burden of hazardous byproducts of this process falls disproportionately on the most vulnerable communities. To drive change towards a sustainable future and improved outcomes for all, there is a need to train future leaders in the circular economy that maximizes use of renewable materials, increases the efficiency of manufacturing processes, upcycles wastes into valuable byproducts, and minimizes the harm of irreducible waste streams. Despite much effort, educational models training students to become experts in increasingly isolated fields and without regard for communication with stakeholders have not yielded the desired results. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship award to Worcester Polytechnic Institute will address this demand by establishing the CEDAR Program (Circular Economy and Data Analytics Engineering Research for Sustainability) to educate an outward facing community of scholars versed in data-driven sustainable engineering solutions to the challenges preventing transition to a circular economy. The CEDAR traineeship anticipates providing a comprehensive training opportunity for one hundred and twenty (120) graduate students, including thirty (30) funded PhD-level trainees, in disciplines ranging from chemical sciences (chemistry, biology, physics, engineering) to data sciences (computing, business analytics, statistics, mathematics) with a convergent focus on advancement of circular economies. The CEDAR traineeship interweaves technical and social considerations and focuses on the well-being of our society. This integrated traineeship in data and chemical sciences will develop leaders ready to transform industrial chemical processes towards a green and circular economy by addressing fundamental problems in three critical areas: (1) development of atom and energy efficient processes, (2) understanding and deploying upcycling, and (3) minimizing harm from the irreducible waste streams that cannot be avoided. Communication and collaboration across traditional disciplinary boundaries are fostered via professional workshops and convergent research seminars team-taught by instructors from distinct disciplines. To drive change, trainees learn leadership skills by participating in multi-way exchanges of ideas and advocacy with audiences ranging from the general public to academia, government, and industry. Connections with industry made by participating in CEDAR community retreats, CEDAR External Advisory Board meetings and in the internship program will strengthen trainee professional and career development, and infuse talent into the sustainable economy. The CEDAR program will tackle the underrepresentation of women and minorities in STEM disciplines by employing innovative minority-centric recruiting strategies using peer ambassadors to cultivate relationships with faculty and potential students at the program’s partner universities, creating pipelines to CEDAR. Focus on social, ethical and business implications will further help recruit a diverse cohort of students and train well-rounded leaders that are advocates for the sustainable circular economy. The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.