The Many Facets of Sustainable Development

由数学和物理科学理事会（MPS）材料研究部（DMR）、化学部（CHE）、多学科活动办公室（OMA）以及电气、通信和网络系统（ECCS）工程理事会（ENG）分部支持的题为“可持续发展的许多方面”的技术论坛将于2012年4月9日在旧金山举行的材料研究学会（MRS）春季会议上举行。本次论坛的主要目的是向来自不同学科的化学家、物理学家、材料科学家和工程师介绍可持续发展的不同观点。该论坛将特别强调发展经济学家、社会科学家、工业生态学家和资源专家的观点，以帮助在可持续发展领域建立一个全面的方法。特别是，论坛的目标与科学、工程和可持续发展教育（SEES）倡议以及NSF的许多其他学科计划保持一致。本次论坛将通过促进对可持续发展的科学和工程的整体方法产生更广泛的影响。许多从事可持续发展领域的研究人员（如工业生态学、经济学、社会科学和行为科学）目前还不是材料科学和工程界的一部分。通常，他们不参加以材料社区为中心的会议。本次论坛的广泛影响将是重大的，因为它将提供一个平台，将这些专家和他们的杰出工作联系起来，并创造机会将他们的想法融入材料社区。该论坛将邀请各种各样的演讲者和小组成员，包括女性、未被充分代表的少数民族和早期职业科学家。该论坛将使一个国家和国际研究小组接触到可持续发展领域。这个群体包括所有科学和工程领域的学术教师、本科生和研究生、博士后、工业和政府研究人员。该论坛将在这一重要的研究领域促进新的跨学科和潜在的变革性合作。因此，对教育、研究和教师培训以及研究生和本科生的广泛影响将是实质性的。

TECHNICAL A forum, entitled The Many Facets of Sustainable Development supported by the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate (MPS) Divisions of Materials Research (DMR), Chemistry (CHE), and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities (OMA), as well as the Engineering (ENG) Directorate Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) will be held April 9, 2012 at the Materials Research Society (MRS) Spring Meeting in San Francisco. The primary objective of this forum is to introduce different perspectives on sustainable development to a community comprising chemists, physicists, materials scientists, and engineers from many disciplines. The forum will place a special emphasis on developing the viewpoints of economists, social scientists, industrial ecologists, and resource experts to help create a holistic approach in the field of sustainable development. In particular, the forum goals are well aligned with the Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) initiative and many other disciplinary programs across NSF.NON TECHNICALThis forum will have broader impacts by fostering a holistic approach toward the science and engineering of sustainable development. Many researchers working in the field of sustainable development (e.g. industrial ecology, economics, social and behavioral sciences) are currently not part of the materials science and engineering community at large. Typically, they do not attend the conferences that are centered around the materials community. The broader impact of this forum will be significant in that it would provide a platform to connect these experts and their outstanding work and create opportunities to integrate their ideas into the materials community. The forum will feature a diverse set of speakers and panelists, including women, underrepresented minorities, and early-career scientists. The forum will expose a national and international group of researchers to the field of sustainable development. This group includes academic faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, post docs, and industrial and government researchers in all fields of science and engineering. The forum will foster new interdisciplinary, and potentially transformative, collaborations in this important research area. Thus, the broader impact on education, research and training of faculty members as well as graduate and undergraduate students will be substantial.