At NJIT Symposium, A Call for Innovation and Partnership in the Quest for Sustainability

Innovation, collaboration, legislation and recognizing the implications of our actions are key to achieving sustainability, according to Shawn LaTourette, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

LaTourette, speaking at a sustainability symposium at New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, rejected the notion that safeguarding the environment conflicts with economic development. Rather, he sees a symbiotic relationship between nature and humans, with an investment in one benefitting the other. What’s more, he added, environmental justice must be integral to the equation.

“Despite the challenges of rising seas and extreme weather, of wildfire risk, I think we are charting a new course for the future, with a stronger and more just environment at its center — where it belongs. Part of the calculus. Not intention with the opportunity, but necessary for the opportunity,” LaTourette said.

“It’s a future that demands that we protect and preserve public health in our natural environment as we promote growth,” he added. “It’s a future of partnership, of collaboration … where there’s no one industrial villain that seeks to pollute and plunder and there’s no single conservationist with a monopoly on value either. Because, just like the water we drink and the air we breathe, we are all interconnected.”

The symposium took place on the second day of events celebrating the inauguration of NJIT President Teik C. Lim, including a scholarship reception, student research showcase and ceremony welcoming him as the ninth president of the university.

Other speakers at the symposium, Sustainability in a Changing World, included NJIT professors of engineering, science and humanities and alumni who are now leaders in state government, energy and construction management. Like LaTourette, they recognize that new thinking, innovation and global awareness are essential to achieving goals related to sustainability.

On the innovation front, Michel Boufadel, a distinguished professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is developing an index that measures the resilience of a particular area faced with extreme weather such as heavy rain that causes flooding.

Omowunmi Sadik, chair and distinguished professor of the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, is using nanoparticles to create biosensors for hand-held devices that detect pathogens in crops.

Among alumni, Chao Yan, is creating advanced technologies for recycling the lithium-ion batteries used in electric cars, smart phones and laptops as co-founder of Princeton NuEnergy. His company has collaborated with universities and national labs and received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the state.

Yan, who holds both a master’s in chemistry and doctor of philosophy in physical chemistry combustion from NJIT, credited the university for preparing him to tackle global problems like finding a way to lower the cost of recycling batteries, thereby diverting them from landfills.

“Two things I learned from here. The first thing is innovation, which is very important,” Yan said. “The second thing is collaboration. Before I came here, I didn’t know how to work with other people, how to work with multiple agencies.” Six years later, he’s grateful to be applying those lessons.