Demand for new products is accelerating in the Global North while consumption is fast-rising in developing economies; these factors present challenges to global manufacturing related to resource availability, material and energy efficiency, and environmental impacts. There is strong evidence that transitioning to circular economy could lead to higher economic growth and improve resource efficiency while reducing impacts on the environment. This presentation will discuss key technology enablers in this area.
An overview of the REMADE Institute in the United States will also be provided. REMADE was established to close knowledge gaps and drive down the cost of technologies essential to circular design and the recycling and remanufacturing of materials such as metals, fibers, polymers and electronic waste. Throughout, the institute aims to achieve significant improvement in resource and energy efficiency in materials manufacturing.
Dr. Nabil Nasr is Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and Director of Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Dr. Nasr’s research interests focus on remanufacturing, circular economy, life cycle engineering, cleaner production and sustainable product development, and he is considered an international leader in research and development efforts in those disciplines.
Nasr is also the founding Chief Executive Officer of the REMADE Institute, providing oversight of node-level research roadmap development as well as corporate engagement of the Institute’s partners. This national coalition is working on new clean energy initiatives, focusing on driving down the cost of technologies essential to reuse, recycle and remanufacture materials such as metals, fibers, polymers and electronic waste.
Dr. Nasr currently serves as a member of the International Resource Panel of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In addition, he has been an expert delegate with the U.S. Government in several international forums such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), United Nations, World Trade Organization, and the OECD. He also serves as a trustee with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. He holds an MS and PhD in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Rutgers University.