World Institute for Sustainable Development of Materials (WISDOM)

Within the field of materials science and engineering, numerous research endeavors aspire to address sustainability related issues. Many of these efforts are focused on ‘sustainable technologies’ such as renewable energy system technologies (e.g., solar and energy storage technologies), and energy-efficiency technologies (e.g., LED light bulbs). What is often not recognized, however, is that these ‘sustainable’ technologies require the use of materials and manufacturing processes that might not be ‘sustainable’. In other words, these technologies might require the use of toxic substances or high energy demands in their fabrication processes. Or they might require materials that are in limited supply, difficult to manage at end-of-life, for instance with limited recycling options, or otherwise lead to undesirable impacts on human health and environmental quality. Thus, there is a need to investigate ‘sustainable development of materials’ through the lens of not just energy efficiency, but also chemical footprint and potential human and environmental effects.

To address these knowledge gaps, we propose the creation of the ‘World Institute for Sustainable Development of Materials’ (WISDOM) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), sponsored by the Lincoln Dynamic Foundation. The WISDOM mission will be to advance interdisciplinary research, education and knowledge translation for innovation, evaluation and adoption of technologies that utilize nontoxic, safer chemicals and generate less greenhouse gas emissions (Figure 1). We will seek to maximize reductions in carbon footprint while reforming engineering design and manufacturing practices to minimize chemical footprint. WISDOM will place UCI at the forefront of discovery at the complex interface of green chemistry, materials selection and design, life cycle assessment, toxicology, alternatives assessment and public policy.

Specific Aims:

WISDOM will coordinate UCI faculty and student activities to focus on the following research areas:

1. To develop methodological tools for comparative hazard and exposure assessment of materials.

2. To apply sustainable green-design strategies and life cycle assessment approaches to evaluate industrial and consumer products, and engineering design and manufacturing processes.

3. To develop and evaluate alternatives analysis methods and decision-making strategies in the context of selected case studies in both regulatory and private sectors for the purpose of developing and evaluating policies to improve chemicals management.

4. To foster partnerships that enable comprehensive assessments of sustainable development of materials in a global context.

Leadership:

WISDOM is envisioned as a campus-wide entity that will engage scholars across multiple disciplines at UCI. Dr. Julie Schoenung (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) and Dr. Oladele Ogunseitan (Department of Population Health and Disease Prevention) will serve as Co-Directors. Dr. Schoenung and Dr. Ogunseitan have worked together for almost twenty years on related research topics.

Selecting Projects:

We plan to support one postdoctoral scholar and one graduate student over a five-year period. Research topics will be determined by the leadership team together with the program sponsor, Dr. Johnny Lincoln. Research topics that are judged to be scientifically rigorous and that incorporate the interdisciplinary mission of WISDOM will be recommended for funding. Additional criteria for selecting research projects will include creativity, innovation, and qualifications of the investigators. Researchers supported by WISDOM will receive support for salary and fees, plus expenses such as travel to present at relevant technical conferences. Funding will also be used to support workshops and administrative activities.

Representative Research Case Studies – Initial Ideas:

• Materials for wind energy technologies;

• Materials intended to mitigate the environmental damages of transportation applications (i.e., advanced materials for aerospace, automotive, other);

• Materials for geoengineering applications, including solar reflection technologies and greenhouse gas removal technologies (e.g., afforestation, sequestration, or other carbon capture and storage concepts).

Additional information about the WISDOM initiative is available at the UCI news website.