Today, Earth Day, Wayne State University is joining WWJ News Radio 950, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University to highlight the work being done in our state to encourage the development of environmentally sound technology.
This event -- Carbon Culture at the Crossroads: Embracing a Green Michigan -- combines a business forum, policy discussion, and daylong radio broadcast.
In 2006, Wayne State, U-M and MSU formed the University Research Corridor, a partnership designed to help turn around Michigan's bleak economy. The URC member institutions promote scientific discovery and create jobs by attracting billions of dollars in research funding to Michigan, developing new technologies, and nurturing emerging businesses. Each of these major research universities has significant initiatives in the environmental sciences and alternative energy research.
The Small Business Foundation of Michigan's 2007-2008 Entrepreneurship Score Card notes that our state "lags well behind a growing number of other states in the clean tech market," which is expected to grow by "many tens of billions of dollars over the next 20 years."
Each of the three URC universities is affiliated with business incubators that support the expansion of clean tech start-ups. TechTown in Detroit, Ann Arbor Spark and Prima Civitas and Leap in East Lansing are helping train the talent and develop the technology to support a secure and stable clean-tech economy in Michigan.
Here in Detroit, TechTown's foremost alternative energy tenant is NextEnergy, a 45,000-square-foot think tank and laboratory center. In 2006, the U.S. Department of Energy provided a $2.5-million grant to develop a biofuels technology lab at NextEnergy. This first-of-its kind lab has the task of developing and strengthening alternative fuel specifications and standards.
In 2003, the Wayne State University College of Engineering became a leader in teaching and promoting environmental sustainability when it launched a master's degree program in alternative energy technology. Today, a graduate certification and undergraduate concentration also are offered.
The college and its students have won national competitions in alternative fuel vehicle development, and collaborated with NextEnergy and Chrysler LLC in developing a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle now used by our police department.
Sustainable environmental practices are not a new concept at Wayne State; we have historically implemented measures to cut waste and encourage ecologically responsible behavior. Through our Task Force on Environmental Issues, we are examining our environmental stewardship across the board.
Wayne State has helped place Detroit at the forefront of environmental research and education. We are committed to sharing our expertise and research and to setting an example for other institutions through responsible energy use. We have set ambitious goals for recycling, green purchasing, sound waste-stream management, and construction that stresses energy, water and materials efficiency.
Sustainability must be much more than a philosophy or a trendy label: It also must be a way of life.
IRVIN D. REID is outgoing president of Wayne State University and the first holder of the Eugene Applebaum Chair in Community Engagement. Write to him in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226 or at oped@freepress.com.
