ChBE's fourth seminar of the Spring Quarter will be presented by Dr. Yinlun Huang, detailed information is given below:
Date & Time: Thursday, April 21st 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Location: Ford ITW Room (refreshments will be available at 8:45am)
Speaker: Yinlun Huang, Wayne State University
Title: Multiscale Sustainability: Basic Theory and Applied Studies
Abstract
The quest for engineering sustainability reflects a crucial paradigm shift in the 21st century, i.e., from the traditional techno-economic paradigm to triple-bottom-lines-based sustainable system design, manufacturing, and management at various length-time scales. However, sustainability is an extremely complex area of research and practice in terms of scope, spatial/temporal aspects, and goals; sustainability science is far from exact today. Engineering sustainability needs not only evaluation of the status quo of systems, but also prediction and strategic decision-making for the future under information uncertainty and knowledge insufficiency. Obviously, how to characterize, analyze, design, and restructure systems from the material-product-process level to the large-scale industrial system level, in the context of sustainability, is a very challenging area of research that needs much exploration.
In this presentation, the challenges and opportunities in engineering sustainability research will be discussed first. Then, the concept and fundamentals of multiscale sustainability will be introduced, and a Multiscale Design for Sustainability methodology will be described, which is developed by resorting to basic sustainability science, multiscale complex systems theory, uncertainty theory, and control theory. The methodology can be used to perform hierarchical system modeling, comprehensive sustainability analysis, and multiscale decision making under uncertainty. The methodological efficacy will be demonstrated through a few case studies, ranging from sustainable design of nanomaterials, sustainable manufacturing of automotive coatings, and to industrial-zone-based technology network sustainability. Finally, an NSF-funded academic-industrial collaboration network involving seven countries on sustainable manufacturing research, education, and technology development will be highlighted and the urgent research needs identified at a recent NSF workshop on sustainable advanced manufacturing will be discussed.
Bio
Dr. Yinlun Huang is Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Wayne State University, where he directs the Laboratory for Multiscale Complex Systems Science and Engineering. His research has been mainly focused on the fundamental study of multiscale complex systems science and sustainability science, with applied study on engineering sustainability, including sustainable nanomaterial development, integrated design of sustainable product and process systems, and manufacturing sustainability. He has published widely in these areas. Dr. Huang is currently directing the NSF funded Sustainable Manufacturing Advances in Research and Technology Coordination Network (SMART CN), which involves 14 domestic universities, seven foreign universities in six countries, and 11 national organizations and university centers. Among many honors, Dr. Huang was a recipient of the Michigan Green Chemistry Governor’s Award in 2009, the AIChE Research Excellence in Sustainable Engineering Award in 2010, and the NASF Scientific Achievement Award in 2013. He is an elected AIChE Fellow. Dr. Huang holds a B.S. degree from Zhejiang University, China, and a M.S. and a Ph.D. degree from Kansas State University, all in chemical engineering. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Austin before joining Wayne State University in 1993.