CSS and Alcoa Foundation SEMINAR
Prof. Eric Williams, Arizona State University

Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 1:00 PM
Room 1064 Dana Building

"Life Cycle and Technological Progress Models of Alternative Energy Infrastructures"

Dr. Williams' research interests include industrial ecology, life-cycle assessment, information technology, and energy systems. His best-known work addresses the environmental assessment and management of IT hardware. Dr. Williams also investigates energy topics such as long-term, second-law efficiency trends and the effects of development and urbanization on energy demand in industrializing nations. He has worked in the areas of hybrid life-cycle assessment (which combines process and economic input-output techniques), uncertainty analysis in industrial ecology, and sector-level forecasting of technological change and growth..

Eric Williams is an Assistant Professorat Arizona State University with joint appointments in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment and in Civil Engineering.

This event is sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Systems and the Alcoa Foundation Conservation and Sustainability Fellowship Program

PANEL PRESENTATION

Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 11:30 AM
Room 133 in the Chrysler Center, 2121 Bonisteel Blvd (North Campus)

"WOOD: the More Sustainable Structural System"

The University of Michigan, the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers and the Detroit Regional Chapter of the US Green Building Council will present a lunch-hour forum showcasing “Wood: the More Sustainable Structural System.”
A panel of green building experts will present new techniques in the use of wood in residential and institutional construction to maximize energy efficiency, create impressive aesthetic design and minimize environmental footprint. The panellists will include Peter Moonen and Marianne Berube of WoodWORKS! who will demonstrate how to make green buildings greener to meet the demands of an increasingly informed consumer. WoodWORKS! seeks to increase the use of wood in commercial, industrial and institutional construction. Also speaking will be David Moses of Equilibrium Consulting of Toronto who will focus on the recent remodelling of the Art Gallery of Ontario which presented demanding challenges met only through advances in very recent technologies. Today, when architects and engineers design landmark buildings, they look to wood to express a contemporary beauty that is rooted in nature and a respect for the environment. Wood is sustainable, carbon neutral and a highly effective insulator that creates superb living conditions. The ‘green building’ market is the wave of the future and Michigan can look to its benefits to help sustain and grow its economy.

The Canadian Consulate General is a proud partner in this event.

Each year the Center for Sustainable Systems based at the School of Natural Resources and Environment, invites an internationally recognized expert to deliver the Peter M. Wege Lecture on Sustainability at the University of Michigan. This annual Lecture Series focuses on critical issues of sustainability and honors Peter M. Wege for his many outstanding contributions to the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems and to the environmental field. This Lecture Series addresses important sustainability challenges facing society in the 21st century including: energy security and declining fossil resources, global climate change, freshwater scarcity, ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss; and sustainable development strategies for mobility, buildings, and other complex systems for meeting human needs in both developed and developing countries.

- First Annual Peter M. Wege Lecture, October 17, 2001
"Environmental Challenges for the 21st Century - A Matter of Degrees"
Keynote speaker: Dr. Rosina M. Bierbaum, Dean, School of Natural Resources & Environment
Panel response: Carl P. Simon, Director, Center for Study of Complex Systems
Stephen W. Director, Dean, College of Engineering
Douglas S. Kelbaugh, Dean, A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning

- Second Annual Peter M. Wege Lecture, November 6, 2002
"Reflections on the Great Lakes"
Keynote speaker: Dr. Joseph L. Sax, Professor of Environmental Regulation, Emeritus, U-C Berkley, School of Law
Lecture Notes: (Click to read Dr. Sax's notes.)

- Third Annual Peter M. Wege Lecture, March 31, 2004
"Cities as Sustainable Ecosystemss"
Keynote speaker: Dr. Peter Newman, former Professor of City Policy and Director of Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia; now Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University
Lecture Notes: (Click to read Dr. Newman's notes.)
Slide Presentation(Click to view Dr. Newman's slides. NOTE: This is a 325MB file in PDF format. It may take several minutes to open!)

- Fourth Annual Peter M. Wege Lecture, October 29, 2004
"Sustainable Development - A Global Perspective on Ecology, Economy & Equity"
Keynote speaker: Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, thrice-former Prime Minister of Norway; recent Director-General of World Health Organization; Chair of UN World Commission on Environment and Development
Lecture Notes: (Click to read Dr. Brundtland's notes.)

- Fifth Annual Peter M. Wege Lecture, October 24, 2005
"Special Lecture on Global Climate Change"
Keynote speaker: Al Gore, 45th Vice President of the United States
This talk parallels his movie, "An Inconvenient Truth". (2-minute trailer: view )

- Sixth Annual Peter M. Wege Lecture, November 14, 2006
"Sustainability: A Practical Agenda"
Keynote speaker: Lord Browne of Madingley, Group Chief Executive of BP
Transcript: (Click to read full transcript of Lord Browne's talk)

- Seventh Annual Peter M. Wege Lecture, November 13, 2007
"The Road to Sustainable Transportation"
Keynote speaker: William Clay Ford, Jr., Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ford Motor Company
Video: (Click to watch video webstream)

- Special Peter M. Wege Lecture, April 20, 2008
"Earth Day Reflections"
Keynote speaker: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
Video: (Click to watch video webstream)

Previous Conferences, Workshops and Events

CSS has planned, sponsored or hosted numerous workshops with industry and government leaders, NGOs, academia, and students. Examples of previous events include:

- Energy Fest, September 15 & 17, 2009
- Green Fair, June 12, 2009
- The Role and Mission of the Integrated Water Resource Management Center at University of Zambia, May 13, 2009
- Engaging Africa: Advancing African Studies, March 12 - 14, 2009
- UM Energy Workshop: Forging Alliances Positioning for Opportunity, March 12, 2009
- Energy Fest, September 9 & 11, 2008
- Alcoa Foundation's Conservation and Sustainability Fellows Workshop, January 25, 2008
- Engineering Sustainable Systems (ESS) Dual Degree Information Session, November 29, 2007
- Energy Fest, September 11 & 13, 2007
- Michigan at a Climate Crossroads - Mulit-stakeholder Forum 2, October 25, 2006
- Energy Fest, September 12 & 14, 2006
- Green Roofs - The Last Urban Frontier, Jennifer Sprout of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities September 14, 2006
- Green Fair, June 16, 2006
- Energy Fest, September 13 & 15, 2005
- Green Fair, June 17, 2005
- Energy Fest, September 21 & 23, 2004
- Green Fair, June 4, 2004
- Energy Fest, September 16 & 18, 2003
- International Society for Industrial Ecology, June 29 - July 2, 2003
- Stonyfield Farm Yogurt Giveaway, October 16, 2002
- Energy and the Environment, October 2 - 4, 2002, John P. Holdren, Harvard University
- Green Fair, June 16, 2003
- Energy Fest, September 19, 2002. Photos of Energy Fest 2002
- Green Fair, June 28, 2002
- Ann Arbor Public Library Sustainability Series, May 20022
- Energy Fest, September 20, 2001. Photos of Energy Fest 2001
- Green Fair, June 22, 2001
- Life Cycle Approach to Sustainable Agriculture Indicators, February 26-27, 1999
- National Sustainable Buildings Workshop October 8-9, 1999
- Environmental Assessment/Audit of College/University Campuses, October 8, 1999 and May 16, 2000
- International Workshop on Environmental Systems Analysis, November 19-20, 1999
- Fuel Cells for Motor Vehicle Applications Seminar Series, fall 1998 - winter 1999
- Industrial Ecology of the Automobile Seminar Series, fall 1994 - winter 1995

Previous Invited Lectures

-"Inventing a Clean Energy Future at Google," Vice President and Co-Chair of the Board of Climate Savers Computing Initiative and Google's Green Energy Czar, September 15, 2009

-"Ann Arbor’s Award-Winning Energy Program," Dave Konkle, City of Ann Arbor Energy Office, September 10, 2008

-"Using Life Cycle Cost Analysis for Highway Pavement Selection," Ben Krom, P.E., Pavement Performance and Selection Engineer, Michigan Department of Transportation, March 7, 2008

-"Dirty Industries and Pollution Havens: Evidence from China," Dr. Chunbo Ma, Alcoa Foundation Conservation and Sustainability Fellow, March 3, 2008

-"Lessons from a Serial Entrepreneur," Mark A. Retzloff, President and COO, Aurora Organic Dairy, February 5, 2008

-"Potential of Biofuels: A Life Cycle Evaluation of Lignocellulosic Ethanol," Dr. Sabrina Spatari, Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley, November 5, 2007

-"Issues on Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Part 1 - Adaption of new European driving cycle for plug-in vehicles and its impact on electric grid; Part 2 - Comparison of plug-in vehicles with other technologies in complete life-cycle analysis," Dr. Carla Silva, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Technical University of Lisbon, October 24, 2007

-"Wind Energy: A Michigan Opportunity," Larry Flowers, Wind Program Manager, US DOE NREL, September 11, 2007

-"Wind Power Implementation and Development in Michigan," Dr. Geoff Lewis, Alcoa Foundation Conservation and Sustainability Fellow, November 17, 2006

- "Adapting Water Law to Hydropolitical Stresses and Global Climate Change," Joseph W. Dellapenna, Professor of Law, Villanova University School of Law, Villanova, PA, November 17, 2006, as part of Integrating Science and Ethics to Promote Sustainable Water Policy Speaker Series with support from a Rackham Interdisciplinary Workshop Grant and the Wege Foundation.

- Making Sense of the 'Social Side' of Industrial Ecology: Insights from Organizational Theory Lecture, March 29,2006

- Analysis of Shrinkage-induced Stresses in Concrete Pavements and Countermeasures for Performance Improvements Seminar, February 23, 2006

- Bolko von Roedern, Senior Scientist at National Renewable Energy Lab, National Center for Photovoltaics, "Status and Development of Photovoltaic Module Technology", September 14, 2005

- Gloria Jeff, Director of Michigan Department of Transportation, "Sustainable Transportation: How is it happening in Michigan?" March 24, 2005 Slide Presentation: (Click to view Gloria Jeff's slides)

- Keith Bradsher, New York Times Correspondent & former Detroit bureau chief, "High and Mighty: SUVs -- The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way", February 4, 2004

- Dr. Xinmiao Yang, Institute of Transportation Engineering, Civil and Engineering Department, Tsinghua University, China, "Development and Challenges of Beijing's Urban Transportation System", February 2, 2004

- Dr. Brad Allenby, VP EH&S, AT&T, "Information Technology and the New Environmentalism", February 6, 2003

- Warren Leon, Union of Concerned Scientists, "Consumer's Most Effective Environmental Choices," Sept. 15, 1999

- William Browning, Rocky Mountain Institute, "Balancing Environmental and Economic Sustainability in the Built Environment: Green Developments and the Bottom Line," Oct. 19, 1999

- Dr. Steve Strong, Solar Design Associates, "Building-related and Integrated Photovoltaics Worldwide: Economic and Environmental Benefits, Technologies and Case Studies," November 9, 1999

- Dr. Henry Vaux, Jr.,"Envisioning the Water Research Agenda for the 21st Century", April 6, 2001

- Dr. Nevin Cohen, Research Director of Digital Dividends Project at World Resources Institute, "Internet, E-Commerce and Environment: What are the Costs and Benefits of Information Technology?" April 16, 2001

Professional Education Courses

Continuing Education Experience

- Design for Environment (DFE): Fundamentals for Sustainable Development, Engineering Continuing Education, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, June 27-29, 1994
- Design for Environment (DFE), AT&T Bell Labs, Murray Hill, New Jersey, November 17, 1994
- Design for Environment (DFE), U.S. Post Office, Washington D.C., February 22, 1995
- Design for Environment (DFE): Fundamentals for Sustainable Development, Engineering Continuing Education, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, June 19-21, 1995
- Design for Environment (DFE): Fundamentals for Sustainable Development, Engineering Continuing Education, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, June 24-26, 1996
- Sustainable Product Systems: Life Cycle Tools and Applications, Center for Professional Development, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, June 24-26, 1998
- Tutorial on the Theory and Application of Tools for Environmental Product Design, International Symposium on Electronics & the Environment, sponsored by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Danvers, MA, May 11, 1999
- Energy Engineering course offered to General Motors' students using videotape delay (with M.H. Ross and J. Barker); Center for Professional Development, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, fall semester, 1999