Workshop

Workshop
8:00 am – 5:00 pm on Sunday April 20, 2025
Technologies for a Circular Economy
A one-day hybrid workshop included with SusTech registration, sponsored by the IEEE Technical Activities’ Future Directions SusTech Initiative

For details see https://sustech.ieee.org/circular-economy

Registration includes access to the workshop, breakfast, lunch and coffee breaks.

Building a circular economy is becoming increasingly recognized as a means of achieving a variety of sustainability goals. From the long-term availability of natural resources, to the protection and recovery of ecosystems from global pollution, the benefits of such a system of production and consumption can be far-reaching, if implemented judiciously. This workshop will introduce the topic of circular economy and examine several areas where technological advances or scaling are needed. Expert presentations and discussion topics will include:

1. At the beginning of the economic cycle: the important topic of the availability of critical mineral resources used in electronics and battery products, including design for reuse/recycling;

2. During the manufacturing and consumption phases of the economic cycle: technologies to track components and products through, for example, “digital passports”;

3. At the end of the economic cycle: solutions for managing widespread waste and pollution, including the carbon emissions which now cripple our planet’s climate.

Our aim is to expand your knowledge, build connections, and brainstorm ideas which can help the IEEE build communities and resources to develop the solutions that are urgently needed.

Participants who complete this workshop and elect to return a feedback form will be awarded 8 Professional Development Hours (PDH) and an IEEE certificate. Hardcopies of the form will be available at the workshop, or you can download it here: PDH Evaluation Form_Circular Economy [PDF, 76KB]

Timeline

For speaker details see https://sustech.ieee.org/circular-economy

Time	Speaker	Title
8:00 – 8:15	Carole Graas	Welcome and Logistics
8:15 – 8:35	Maike Luiken	Introduction to Circularity
8:35 – 8:55	Wei-Jen Lee	Workshop Organization
8:55 – 9:00	Wei-Jen Lee	Q&A
9:00 – 9:45	Alan Booker	Learning from Nature’s Approach to a Circular Economy
9:45 – 10:15	Ravinder Dahiya	Circular Electronics
10:15 – 10:30	Break
10:30 – 11:00	Babu Chalamala and Wei-Jen Lee	Fireside chat on Lithium Batteries Recycle and Reuse
11:00 – 11:30	David Snyder	Carbon Dioxide Pollution
11:30 – 12:30	Lunch
12:30 – 1:45	All Authors, Wei-Jen Lee moderating	Q&A / Panel about Circularity
1:45 – 2:00	Form breakout Groups / stretch break
2:00 – 3:30	Breakout Groups
3:30 – 3:45	Break
3:45 – 4:30	Group Reports
4:30 – 4:45	Ed Perkins	Introduction to the SusTech 2025 Conference
4:45 – 5:00	Maike Luiken and Wei-Jen Lee	Conclusion and Next Steps