Bert Bras
Georgia Tech helped Professor Bert Bras discover his interest in sustainability.
"As a young professor, people ask you about your niche area," says Bras, who joined Tech in 1992. He found his niche immediately when he was asked by other professors about the exciting research and developments that were then occurring in Europe regarding product take-back and recycling. A native of the Netherlands who is fluent in Dutch and German, he began to read the emerging literature from abroad about product recycling, remanufacturing, and sustainable engineering design, and then to perform his own research in these areas. Over the past fourteen years, sustainability, and in particular how it relates to engineering design and manufacturing, has been his main research focus, leading him to serve as the director of Tech's Institute for Sustainable Technology and Development (ISTD) from 2001 to 2004.
Multidisciplinary research is at the heart of his work, says Bras, who collaborates with other professors across the campus on funded projects involving a variety of disciplines, such as mechanical engineering, industrial and systems engineering, chemical engineering, biology, and even management and city planning. As part of his prior work with the ISTD, he organized a College of Management retreat several years ago "to see how sustainability could play a role in the College." The retreat blossomed into working relationships with College of Management faculty members who are interested in helping companies make more sustainable manufacturing decisions.
"As engineers, we can design a beautiful product, but if no business case exists to take it to market, it will sit on the shelf," explains Bras, who currently works on several projects, including two National Science Foundation research grant projects with Dr. Mark Ferguson and Dr. Beril Toktay in the College of Management. "There's only a limited amount of resources available, and once you use the resources, you can't get them back," he says. "Somewhere, something has to change, and companies are realizing this."
"It all comes back to impact," he says. Making an impact hinges on more faculty members becoming involved in research in sustainability, says Bras, who encourages young faculty members to consider research in sustainability, whatever their discipline.
Bras is confident that with more researchers devoted to sustainability, a lasting impact is possible. "I think Tech is very well positioned to be a leader in this area," he says. "As a professor, you have an enormous freedom to do what you like to do. You can make an impact."
Links
Bert Bras' Web page at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering