Ezra's Round Table / Systems Seminar: Gonzalo Guillén Gosálbez (ETH Zurich) - Towards a more sustainable industry using Process Systems Engineering

Location

Frank H. T. Rhodes Hall 253

Description

Operating safely within the Earth’s ecological capacity is a major challenge facing us today. In this talk, I will discuss the use of systems thinking, mathematical programming and life cycle principles in the optimization of sustainable industrial systems. I will start by motivating the need to transition towards a more sustainable industrial sector consuming less resources and generating less emissions and waste, formally defining the problem of interest and reviewing existing methods for environmental impact minimization in process industries. I will then focus on the integration of multi-objective optimization and life cycle assessment (LCA) principles, describing the main algorithmic challenges to be addressed and focusing on recent works in supply chain management, process design and energy systems. I will finally present applications that tackle global sustainability challenges at the macro scale, illustrating the capabilities of systems approaches in the analysis of the U.S. Clean Power Plan.

Bio:
Professor Gonzalo Guillén Gosálbez, previously a reader at Imperial College London, United Kingdom, is an Associate Professor of Chemical Systems Engineering. Gonzalo Guillén Gosálbez’ research is conducted at the interface of chemical engineering, operations research and environmental technology. With due regard to the life cycle assessment, he develops computer-assisted decision-making tools for evaluating and optimizing sustainable practices, primarily in the chemical industry. Gonzalo Guillén Gosálbez uses a mathematical approach to help close the gap between the natural and engineering sciences, creating important synergies with other departments of ETH Zurich and with industry.