On February 4, the University of Miami College of Engineering (UMCoE) hosted a presentation by Nabil Z. Nasr, associate provost for academic affairs, founding director of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and CEO of the Reducing EMboied-Energy And Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute. He also is the founder of RIT’s Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery, on innovating the manufacturing sector to improve its long-term sustainability while promoting further development and tackling the global environmental challenges that it currently faces.
Nasr began his presentation by discussing his work with the Golisano Institute for Sustainability (GIS) at RIT, a research center dedicated to the economic imperative of sustainability and the global competitiveness of the manufacturing sector. Located on the campus of RIT in Upstate New York, GIS consists of a diverse set of academic programs, applied research centers, sponsored programs, and initiatives that focus on industrial collaboration on the deployment of new technologies for more efficient and sustainable products and processes. Nasr described how all of GIS’s research programs are led by a multidisciplinary team of faculty and professional research staff who are highly collaborative with external organizations locally, nationally and internationally to create implementable solutions to complex sustainability problems.
Nasr also discussed how sustainability needs to be grounded in the scope and practicality of real-world manufacturing problems. He explained how unsustainable consumption and production are the major causes of the continued deterioration of the global environment and how transitioning to a sustainable economy would lead to higher economic growth while reducing the impact on the environment.
The presentation highlighted key enabling technologies focused on enhancing product performance, expanding product service life, and lowering energy and material consumption. These technologies exemplify how circular economies – a key topic in Nasr’s presentation –provide society-wide benefits. Circular economies look beyond the current linear extractive industrial model of ‘take, make and dispose’ and aim at minimizing waste and making the most of resources using processes such as remanufacturing, refurbishment, repair and direct reuse. This regenerative approach encourages the design of products that can be ‘made to be made again’ and are powered with renewable energy.
Nasr concluded his presentation with an overview of the REMADE Institute, a consortium that brings together academia, industry and federal partners with a goal to increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and promote a robust and sustainable national manufacturing research and development infrastructure. REMADE is one of 14 institutes funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) to bridge the gap between basic research and product development in key technology areas regarded as critical to U.S. industry and manufacturing.
“For us, as a university, hosting Nasr’s presentation is an honor,” says Vincent K. Omachonu, interim chair of the College of Engineering’s Department of Industrial Engineering. “Nasr is not only a person of great distinction, he is a person whose influence spans academia, industry, federal government and international communities and enterprises.”
Nasr also is a member of the International Resource Panel of the United Nations Environment Program and previously served as an expert delegate with the U.S. Government in international forums such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He also served on the National Academies National Research Council, National Materials and Manufacturing Board. Nasr holds an MS and PhD in industrial and systems engineering from Rutgers University.
Nasr’s presentation is one of two lectures that make up the UMCoE’s Spring 2019 Strategic Research Initiatives Seminars, which center on sustainable production and sustainable structures. This theme aligns with the UMCoE’s focus on promoting fundamental and applied research in the area of sustainability. These talks describe research that cross boundaries between engineering and chemistry, physics, energy and systems management. To learn more, please click here.
