Second College of Engineering radio program focuses on sustainability

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Innovative ideas for addressing energy needs and
environmental protection is the subject of the second installment of
the Global Challenges radio series. The series is produced by the
Purdue University College of Engineering and WFYI Public Radio in
Indianapolis.

“Sustainability” is available on the Internet at http://www.engineeringimpact.org and will be broadcast nationally on public radio stations after its 7 p.m. Wednesday (April 22) premiere on WFYI.

The program, narrated by Barbara Bogaev, former
host and editor of “Weekend America,” examines a handful of
developments that may benefit from the Obama administration’s push for
renewable energies and clean technologies.

Purdue professors Fu Zhao, mechanical
engineering, and Suresh Rao, environmental engineering, who are working
on transforming municipal solid waste into ethanol, are among those
featured. Larry Nies of civil engineering, also is interviewed.

“Sustainability” looks at the Subaru of Indiana
Automotive plant in Lafayette, which sends zero waste to landfills.
Listeners also will be introduced to an MIT professor who has invented
a solar cell that not only works at night, but in the rain; a group of
New York City sanitation engineers who have cleaned up the dead zones
in the East River using a process they invented that could revive
oceans and rivers all over the world; a California company that
captures CO2 as it’s being emitted from power plants and seals it away;
and a team of experts that has developed special sidewalks that will
suck CO2 out of the air.

“This series of radio programs is designed to
spotlight engineering’s role in solving pressing global challenges,”
said Rwitti Roy, former director of marketing and communications for
the College of Engineering and now Purdue’s senior director of brand
and advertising. “Certainly, finding ways to ensure the sustainability
of our planet is one of those challenges.”

Richard Miles, WFYI vice president of audio
services and television programming, said: “The Global Challenges
series reflects WFYI Public Radio’s commitment to produce high-caliber
programs that impact the lives of our listeners. We’re delighted to be
collaborating with Purdue’s College of Engineering on this radio
series.”

The first program in the series, “After Oil,” also is available online at http://www.engineeringimpact.org  

Writer: Judith Barra Austin, 765-494-2432, jbaustin@purdue.edu

Sources: Rwitti Roy, 765-496-9799, rroy@purdue.edu 

Lori Plummer, 317-614-0462, lplummer@wfyi.org

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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