On behalf of the University of Pittsburgh’s Mascaro Sustainability Initiative (MSI), we are pleased to announce this first call for papers for Engineering Sustainability 2007: Innovations that Span Boundaries, to be held in Pittsburgh, PA from April 15-18, 2007. This conference aims to bring together scientists and engineers from academia, government, industry, and non-profits to share the results of cutting edge research directed at creating a more sustainable built environment. 

The built environment, which includes buildings, the transportation grid, and water collection and treatment systems, helps to sustain our economy and way of life, but at the cost of heavy resource use and waste generation. Buildings alone consume a substantial fraction of the materials produced globally each year and require significant amounts of energy for operation. The water and transportation grids are also material-intensive, and the maintenance requirements of aging infrastructure in the developed world are stressing the abilities of municipalities to maintain viable systems. Meanwhile, the growth of mega-cities in the developing world has far outstripped the ability of these regions to create necessary infrastructure. 

Water, although often perceived to be an infinite resource, is fast becoming a leading cause of societal stress throughout the world. In the developed world, competing needs for water among agriculture, industry, and domestic use creates conflict among stakeholders and depletes groundwater supplies. In the developing world, the lack of sufficient clean water is fast becoming the most important obstacle to the creation of sustainable economies. It is estimated that 2 billion people lack access to clean water, and that ten to thirty thousand die each day from water-borne diseases. Water is a significant factor in energy generation, and clean water production requires significant amounts of energy using current technology. 

We are interested in contributions (papers, posters) in the following areas: 

• Greening the indoor environment:
  • design of more sustainable construction materials and building systems (HVAC, lighting, plumbing),
  • design of a more sustainable construction process,
  • toward the zero-operating cost building,
  • Impact of green construction on learning (schools), patient outcomes (hospitals), or worker productivity.
• Sustainable distributed power for the built environment:
  • More cost-effective wind energy, solar
  • Fuel cells for sustaining the built environment
• Sustainable water collection & treatment systems for the developing and developed world:
  • “Grid-less” water solutions for the developing world
  • Low energy production of clean water
  • Strategies for water use reduction for the built environment
• Design of more sustainable transportation grids, sustainable maintenance materials and strategies
• Using principles of sustainability to foster innovation and economic development

The theme of the conference is “Innovation that Spans Boundaries”, and hence we are particularly interested in contributions that demonstrate cross-disciplinary and/or cross-cultural collaboration. 

We look forward to seeing you in Pittsburgh in 2007! 

Sincerely,

Eric J. Beckman