Center for Sustainable Development



Mission Statement The Center for Sustainable Development supports and inspires research, education, and applied projects in sustainable development by the students, faculty, staff, and administration of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Many of the projects associated with the Center focus on sustainable water resources through the Ecological Systems Laboratory.
	It is critical that highly skilled scientists and engineers be leaders in the area of sustainability. Engineering and the supporting sciences are essential to achieving a sustainable infrastructure that supports economic growth and protects the environment. Their success depends on a transdisciplinary education build upon a foundation of the core engineering and science disciplines.
On-Going Projects, Collaborations and Other Efforts at Rose-Hulman Ecological Systems Laboratory - The Ecological Systems Laboratory provides education and research opportunities related to aquatic systems (wetlands, rivers, and streams) to faculty and students as well as outreach to the community. Visit ESL's website Rose-Hulman's Sustainability Team - The mission of the Sustainability Team is to reduce, to the extent technologically and economically feasible, the environmental impacts associated with the operations of the Institute. Visit the Sustainability Team's website ChallengeX - Crossover to Sustainable Mobility - Keep up to date on the success of Rose-Hulman's Challenge X Team. Visit the website.
Photo: Looking east over JI Case Wetland Contacts Dr. Michael Robinson, P.E. Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Civil Engineering Department (812) 877-8286 robinson@rose-hulman.edu	Photo: Summer interns sampling JI Case Wetland Photo courtesy of Jim Avelis - Tribune Star, Terre Haute, Indiana

Background Information on Sustainable Development

Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future - 1987 report that introduced the concept of sustainable development
EPA web site on sustainability - provides information and additional links on sustainability in the areas of 1) built environment, 2) water, ecosystems and agriculture, 3) energy and the environment, and 4) materials and toxics.
EPA web site on Green Engineering - provides information on "green engineering" with a particular emphasis on chemical manufacturing processes and risk assessment.

Professional Societies

ASCE Committee on Sustainability - To generate ideas and to identify potential opportunities and strategies that will expand and enhance the leadership role of ASCE in advancing science, engineering and technology and in building national capacity for sustainable development in a global perspective
AIChE Sustainable Engineering Forum - provides information on how the chemical engineering profession is addressing sustainable engineering with focus on: metrics for sustainability, designing products and processes optimized to those metrics, designing new processes or products that are comparatively benign (such as via green chemistry and engineering approaches) and developing educational materials related to the field.
ASME Sustainable Engineering Program Committee - provides information on the goal of the mechanical engineering profession to better integrate the profession with other areas involved with the concept of sustainable development at the local, regional and international level from an engineering perspective.
IEEE Sustainable Development Forum - provides a forum and information resource for engineers and community stakeholders concerning "sustainable development" and other related public imperatives. Requires free membership.
American Institute of Architects - The Green Challenge - information from the architectural community on its sustainable initiative.
Practice, Education and Research for Sustainable Infrastructure (PERSI) - an initiative of the U.S. infrastructure community with a mission to advance and incorporate concepts and knowledge of sustainability into the standards and practices used throughout the life cycle of infrastructure systems. PERSI operates within the organizational structure of ASCE.