Innovating for Sustainability in a Transforming World
Advancing sustainable technologies in industry represent both opportunities and challenges in today’s transforming world. As we are facing growing social, economic, energy, and environmental challenges, how can new technologies have an impact and offer a path to a better world? From the very small nano-level research to macro-economics topics, we will explore through examples and concrete research programs how experts are innovating for sustainability. In this conference you’ll learn how organizations are adapting to this transforming world. You’ll also listen to experts discussing the impact of technology on sustainability and how corporations, academia and startups can work together to tackle today’s challenges with the environment and energy transition.
*** Online registration is closed. Walk-in registration is available on-site. ***
Registration Fee
ILP Member: Complimentary Invited guest: Complimentary
Roberto Rigobon is the Society of Sloan Fellows Professor of Applied Economics at the Sloan School of Management, MIT, a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a visiting professor at IESA.
Roberto is an economist who concentrates on measurement issues: economic, social and ethical. He studies financial contagion, and the propagation of shocks through economic networks. He is one of the two founding members of the Billion Prices Project that produce alternative measures of inflation in many countries; And he is the founder and director of the Aggregate Confusion Project which studies how to improve ESG measures.
Roberto joined the business school in 1997. He has won 5 times the teacher of the year award, and three times the excellence in teaching award at the Sloan School. He got his Ph.D. in economics from MIT in 1997, an MBA from IESA (Venezuela) in 1991, and his BS in Electrical Engineer from Universidad Simon Bolivar (Venezuela) in 1984. He is married with three kids.
Ariel L. Furst is the Paul M. Cook Career Development Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. Her work centers on inventing technologies to improve human and environmental health by making access to resources more equitable. Her lab develops transformative technologies to solve important problems related to healthcare and sustainability by harnessing the inherent capabilities of biological molecules and cells. She is also a co-founder of the regenerative agriculture company, Seia Bio. She completed her Ph.D. at Caltech developing non-invasive diagnostics for colorectal cancer and was then an A. O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley, where she developed sensors to monitor environmental pollutants. She is a 2023 Marion Milligan Mason Awardee, a CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar for Bio-Inspired Solar Energy, and an ARO Early Career Grantee. She was recently awarded the MIT UROP Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award for her work with undergraduate researchers. She is passionate about STEM outreach and increasing participation of underrepresented groups in engineering.
Carlos Portela is the d’Arbeloff Career Development Assistant Professor in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Portela’s research lies at the intersection of materials science, mechanics, and nano-to-macro fabrication with the objective of designing and testing novel materials -- with features spanning from nanometers to centimeters -- that yield unprecedented mechanical, optical, and acoustic properties.
Architected materials—i.e., materials whose three-dimensional (3D) micro- or nanostructure has been engineered to attain a specific purpose—are ubiquitous in nature and have enabled properties that are unachievable by all other existing materials. Their concept relies on maximizing performance while requiring a minimal amount of material. Several human-made 3D architected materials have been reported to enable novel mechanical properties such as high stiffness-to-weight ratios or extreme resilience, especially when nanoscale features present. However, most architected materials have relied on advanced additive manufacturing techniques that are not yet scalable and yield small sample sizes. Additionally, most of these nano- and micro-architected materials have only been studied in controlled laboratory conditions, while our understanding of their performance in real-world applications requires attention.
In this talk, we will explain the concept of architected materials, providing various examples that we routinely fabricate and test in our laboratory at MIT, and we will discuss how nanoscale features significantly enhance their performance. We will also discuss ongoing research directions that will not only allow us to scale-up their fabrication, but also understand how they perform in realistic conditions outside the laboratory—towards contributing to more efficient material solutions.
Vincent Maret is Corporate Innovation Director with Bouygues SA, where he focuses on open innovation, business development, and business transformation consulting across the whole group, with an emphasis on digital transformation, energy, and smartcities. Maret has experience as Marketing Manager, Deputy R&D Director with Bouygues Telecom, and previously as a Project Executive with IBM Global Services. He was the founder and CEO of the US Office of Bouygues Telecom (now Winnovation). Maret serves on the board of directors of Bouygues Asia, is also a board member of Cap Digital, serving as president of its Membership Committee, and sits on the board of ESPCI alumni. Maret is a graduate of ESPCI ParisTech with a master’s in physics and a master’s in chemistry and holds a master's in electronics from UPMC Paris.
Corine de Bilbao is a graduate of Institut d’Études Politiques (IEP) de Bordeaux with an MBA in Purchasing Management. She has been President of Microsoft France since July 2021, in which capacity she supports various French companies and businesses in their digital transformation. Corine de Bilbao started her career at the General Electric Group in 1989, in the medical imaging division. She spent 28 years at General Electric where she held various international management positions in the healthcare and energy sectors. She was Vice President of Sales for the Subsea Oil & Gas division, responsible for the global development of its operations, particularly in Africa and Latin America. More recently, from 2016 to 2019, Corine de Bilbao was Chair of GE France and managed the integration of Alstom’s energy business after its acquisition by GE in 2015. She also contributed to GE’s digital transformation by setting up a European software centre in Paris. From 2019 to 2021, she headed the international division of Segula Technologies, an engineering company with 13,000 employees and operations in 30 countries. In this role, she was in charge of the company’s international expansion, and also headed its research and innovation department. Corine de Bilbao has nearly 30 years of industrial sector experience, including more than 20 years in the energy, oil and gas, electricity generation and distribution sectors. This experience has given her an overview of the industry and its challenges in many different market environments.
Félicie Burelle graduated from the ESCE Business School and holds a graduate degree in business and finance from London South Bank University, as well as an MBA from the Instituto de Empresa Business School in Madrid.
After beginning her career at the Plastic Omnium group in 2001 as accounting manager at a subsidiary of the Auto Exteriors division in Madrid (Spain), Félicie Burelle moved to the Mergers & Acquisitions department of Ernst & Young Transaction Services in 2005. In 2010, she returned to Compagnie Plastic Omnium and took over the Strategic Planning and Commercial Coordination department of the Auto Exteriors division, also joining its Executive Committee.
Félicie Burelle has been a member of Burelle SA’s board of directors since 2013. In 2015, she became Strategy and Development Director of Compagnie Plastic Omnium and has since been a member of its Executive Committee. Félicie Burelle was appointed as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Compagnie Plastic Omnium on 1 January 2018 and then named Managing Director effective 1 January 2020.
Marie-Luce GODINOT is Senior Vice President of the Bouygues Group.
Professor John E. Fernández is Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Environmental Solutions Initiative, enlisting the capacity of the MIT community in the transition to a net zero carbon, biodiverse and equitable future. He is a professor in the Department of Architecture at MIT, affiliated with the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and a practicing architect. Fernández founded and directs the MIT Urban Metabolism Group and is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Commission on BiodiverCities by 2030, the Urban Climate Change Research Network and the Leadership Team of Oceanvisions. He has published on a wide range of subjects from sustainable cities, urban biodiversity, design and more and is author of two books, numerous articles in scientific and design journals including Science, the Journal of Industrial Ecology, Building and Environment, Energy Policy and others, and author of nine book chapters. He is formerly Chair of Sustainable Urban Systems for the International Society of Industrial Ecology and Director of the MIT Building Technology Program from 2010 to 2015.
Diana Nielsen leads business development and related commercial functions at Swift Solar. She is committed to deep decarbonization and loves mountains, bikes and making the world a better place.
Borja Soriano is a European Licensed Architect and associate architect with Ensamble Studio, which he joined in 2013. Throughout his years at the firm, he has gained intensive experience in Team coordination, information and material flows directing projects on site. His active participation in the realization of singular works like Ca'n Terra in Menorca, has advanced his knowledge on passive climate strategies, building systems and their integration in architecture. Currently he manages the fabrication of prototypes and ensures BIM integration across disciplines. Soriano holds a master's degree from San Jorge University of Zaragoza and a bachelor's degree by the University College of Dublin.
He is a partner at WoHo and leads the BIM and product development strategy of WoHo's R&D projects.
Justine Bonnot is Founder & CEO of Yubik.
Jaikrishnan R Pillai is Founder & Director of Bovlabs.