New book addresses sustainable engineering

Co-authored by ASU's Brad Allenby and Yale's Tom Graedel, this work covers economic, technological, and industrial systems and their interaction with environmental and social systems.

By David Greenfield December 10, 2009

Brad Allenby, a professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, hasrecently

Brad Allenby, professor in ASU’s School of Sustainable Engineering

co-authored a book with Yale University’s School of Forestryand Environmental Studies professor Tom Graedel that combines concepts of sustainable engineering with industrial ecology.

The book, "Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Engineering," is said to be the first book to fully integratethe two fields.

Industrial ecology broadens the scope of thesustainability concept, Allenby says. "It looks, for instance, at economic,technological and industrial systems and their interaction with environmental andsocial systems," he says.

From that point of view, Allenby says, "Youlook at a factory not only from merely an economic perspective, but from theperspective of its overall impact on environmental and social systems. You lookat things like its carbon emissions and how the factory uses resources, and howthey are tied to design choices and manufacturing practices."

The book is available at Amazon.com.

Allenby is currently writing a second book,"The Theory and Practice of SustainableEngineering," which isdesigned to provide students a comprehensive introduction to the subject.

Access other Control Engineering contentrelated to sustainable engineering:

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– Edited by David Greenfield , editorial director
Control Engineering Sustainable Engineering News Desk