How can science be positioned to contribute to a healthy, happy planet and sustainable outcomes? Promoting sustainable development: Using less electrical energy and natural resources in production and operations while reducing waste and pollution. Improving technologies for heating and cooling buildings is a significant source of energy usage in buildings. This list includes other examples of how to achieve that;
As one of the leading research centers of Windsor University, the Windsor Sustainability Research Center (WSARC) aims to utilize the power of scientific knowledge and utilize the unique interdisciplinary and solutions-oriented research agenda to address the pressing problems of sustainability, which include, but not limited to:
– Climate Change;
– Energy consumption;
– Waste production;
– Threats to public health;
– Poverty & social exclusion;
– Management of natural resources;
– Loss of biodiversity;
– Water Resources;
– Protecting Marine fisheries;
– Sustainable Engineering development (Smart cities, green buildings, land-use public transportation, etc.);
– Sustainability in the Supply Chain;
– Sustainable Development & challenges;
– Circular Economics;
Sustainability and Sustainable Development: Has several definitions, and has been the target of research since the 1980’s. It translates into meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide continuum resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. Sustainability promotes the value of nature, limiting the negative effects of urbanization on human and environmental health, and assessing the impacts and trade-offs of policies and incentives. The research in sustainability has three core objectives, which include:
a- Understanding the fundamental interactions between the society and nature;
b- Guiding these interactions into sustainable directions; and
c- Promoting social learning necessary to navigate the transition to sustainability;
In September 2015, The United Nations (UN) has set seventeen aspiration goals with 169 targets (See Figure 1) that address global challenges, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. These goals would be the inspiration of our research center. As seen in the Figure below, the goals would incorporate tens of different research disciplines, in which researchers would apply qualitative and quantitative methods from economics, engineering, environmental sciences, social sciences as well as the humanities.
Figure 1: UN Sustainable Goals – Source: (UN Knowledge Hub)
As the most critical fields, priorities will be given to the following three fields, but other fields will receive appropriate attention:
– Sustainable manufacturing;
– Renewable energy; and
– Transportation
Funding:
One of the main concerns of research is funding. WSARC will target different national and international science funding bodies, which establish research investment priorities. These include, but not limited to:
– The United Nations;
– The International Council for Science Future Earth Initiative;
– US National Science Foundation (NSF) program-wide investment area in Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES)
Therefore, the WSARC is research body that mainly aims to craft a viable vision of the future, by offering research pathways that moves towards theoretically and empirically rich solutions-oriented research, and develop creative solutions to promote healthier communities. WSARC will aim to partner with government agencies, nonprofits, and community members and offer national and international funding for sustainable development research. One of our goals is to offer graduate and undergraduate research projects for students and researchers and to publish manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, including the proposed Windsor Research Centers Journal.