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Annual Report 2011 Annual Report 2011 1 DIRECTORS COLUMN industrial ecosystems, with that of car- • Industrial ecology increasingly bon, nitrogen and phosphorus in nature. addresses biological resources when Of the five research objectives of ecology working on food and bioenergy and hence listed in Wikipedia’s definition of ecology, needs to understand the conditions of bi- “the movement of energy and material ological production. For industrial ecol- through living communities” also closely ogy, better understanding the impacts describes the interest of industrial ecol- caused by the environmental pressures ogy, with a focus on those living com- we quantify in our analysis of industrial munities formed by humans and their systems and designing these industrial domesticated plants and animals. While systems so that they are within the plan- those industrial ecologists occupied with etary boundaries requires a collabora- assessing the emissions of industrial tion with ecologists. Similarly, ecologists products, the flows and stocks of metals recognize the need to better understand in society or the organization of industrial human systems, as they increasingly waste exchanges may think of industrial acknowledge that we live in the anthro- ecology as a metaphor, I would argue that pocene, the geological age fundamen- in fact, industrial ecology and ecology are tally shaped by the presence of humans Programme director Edgar Hertwich much more closely linked than by the in terms of climate, nutrient availability, [email protected] analogy of material flows or the dynam- land cover and river flow and many other ics of complex systems. environmental variables. What is Industrial Ecology? The question was posed by a member of • One of the key research subjects In practical terms, one can foresee an the external review committee charged in ecology is the “grand geochemical increasing collaboration between indus- to evaluate energy-related research at cycles”, which describe the movement trial ecologists and ecologists in under- the faculty. “Ecology is the scientific of water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus standing and working for the potential co- study of the relations that living organ- and a great number of other elements evolution of human and natural systems isms have with respect to each other and or chemicals important for life on earth onto a mutually more beneficial pathway their natural environment,” the com- through both living organisms and the of development; addressing among other mittee member quoted Wikipedia, “but non-living environment. Today, these things anthro-biogeochemical cycles and how does industry fit in?” I have to say biogeochemical cycles cannot be under- habitat change. As the environment of that I was taken by surprise – somebody stood without understanding the flow of non-living organisms becomes increas- deemed by the faculty to be competent these elements or chemicals through ingly less natural and, intentionally or to assess our research must know about human-created systems, and it is the not, shaped by humans, there is an argu- the field he assesses. While misplaced study of those flows that is the domain of ment that natural ecology and industrial in a research assessment, it is nonethe- industrial ecology. ecology should not continue as separate less a question that is relevant to pose, disciplines, but rather become one. “In- as our students are also frequently con- • One of the most successful re- dustrial ecology is the scientific study of fronted with it. And – while short, reliant search foci in industrial ecology has been the relations that human systems have on established terms, and appropriately the study of the social metabolism, so- with respect to other living organisms indicating that the field is about industry cieties’ use of various types of energy and their natural environment,” may be and the natural environment – the term and materials both through historical the future Wikipedia definition, specify- Industrial Ecology is also prone to be mis- periods and in different geographical ing further, “with a focus on understand- understood. and developmental contexts. This body ing the material interaction of human and of work has shown how the utilization natural systems and the consequences Unlike population ecology or freshwater of fossil fuels enabled societies to over- of this interaction for both.” ecology, industrial ecology is commonly come an otherwise tight coupling to local not seen as a sub-discipline of ecology. biomass production both through fossil- Its study does not primarily address liv- fuel enhanced agricultural production ing organisms, even though, of course, and through transportation. The result- ecology also deals with inanimate vari- ing increasing distance between us and ables like the pH and oxygen content our use of natural resources may also of freshwaters and industrial ecology explain why we suddenly see human sys- also addresses living organisms as re- tems as being separate from local eco- sources, decision makers, and affected systems. On the global level, however, end-points. Industrial ecology was ini- we need to recognize that we still depend tially used as a metaphor, comparing the on natural ecosystems as ever before. cycling of important industrial materials such as steel, aluminium or platinum in 2 INDECOL PEOPLE NEWS cal risk assessment and to reduce the ing internationally renowned psycholo- number of animal tests required to as- gist in the field of global environmental sure the acceptability of chemical use change and sustainable consumption. and emissions. This research will be con- Sunita Prugsamatz got a 4 year Post-Doc ducted at Radboud University Nijmegen, position at the department of Psychology the Netherlands, where Karin received her PhD. At NTNU, Karin worked on the Professor Ellen Matthies at the depart- risk assessment of CCS, oil drilling, and ment of Psychology left her position in developed ideas for the assessment of November 2011, and has now a new job marine f ecological effects in LCA. in Magdeburg, Germany. Professor Anders Hammer Strømman Thomas Gibon has joined the Industrial The Department of Hydraulic & Environ- was honored with the Laudise Medal of Ecology programme first as researcher mental Engineering hired two new peo- the International Society for Industrial and since December 2011 as PhD stu- ple: Amund Nordli Løvik: PhD student; Ecology. This young researcher prize dent. Thomas works on a project called background in material science; is recognizes excellent research contribu- Environmental Sustainability of Low- studying alloying element accumulation tions to the field of industrial ecology Carbon Energy Technologies, financed in aluminium. and is awarded every other year. The ISIE by the Research Council of Norway. Tho- Franciska Steinhoff: Postdoc; awards committee underlined the con- mas has a bachelor in engineering from background in marine ecology; is study- tributions of Strømman in the areas of the École Centrale Paris and a Master in ing wood use in Norway and phosphorus input-output modeling, method devel- Industrial Ecology from NTNU. He has cycle in Baltic Sea basin. opment in hybrid life-cycle assessment, worked 1.5 years as a junior LCA consult- and life-cycle assessment of bioenergy. ant at Bio Intelligence Services in Paris. In September 2011, Dr. Martina Keitsch, a Congratulations to Anders! former IndEcol postdoc, joined IPD as an Former PhD student Thomas Martinsen associate professor. IndEcol says goodbye to visiting profes- has joined the faculty of the Norwegian sor Yaushi Kondo. Yasushi and his wife University of Life Sciences in Ås, where Professor Gunnar Fermann at the De- stayed in Trondheim for two years. Dur- he teaches efficient energy and resource partment of sociology and political sci- ing the 19th International Input-Output utilization and Energy systems and Tech- ence has been awarded a Fulbright Conference in June 2011, the Sir Richard nologies. In addition, he continues his Scholarship grant for 2012-13 research- Stone prize was awarded to Yasushi Kon- research and consulting work on energy ing “Energy Security and Foreign Pol- do + co-authors for their paper, Improv- system modeling. icy: Case-studies in Strategic Leader- ing the completeness of product carbon ship Comparing Norway and the United footprints using a global link input-out- Our former PostDoc, Professor Xiang- States” put model. ping Zhang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is back at NTNU and contin- Gunnar Fermann is accepted as Visiting PostDoc Karin Veltman won a Marie ues to work on CO2 capture under the Scholar to SCANCOR, Stanford University Curie Intra-European Fellowship with a BigCCS research centre. Fall 2012, and to The Norwegian Berke- research project addressing the predic- ley Center, University of California Ber- tion of the concentration of toxic effects Paul C. Stern joined the department of keley, Spring 2013. of novel chemicals in the target tissue of Psychology as an adjunct Professor in species. This work is to enhance ecologi- the summer of 2011. He is an outstand- Industrial Ecology programme they are employed. In 2011, 16 Msc Faculty Committee: Casper Boks, IndEcol is a matrix organization coordi- degrees were awarded and 4 Master of Helge Brattebø (MSc programme di- nating teaching and research in industrial Technology (MT) student completed a rector), Gunnar Fermann, Annik ecology at the Norwegian University of thesis at IndEcol. 15 new MSc students Magerholm Fet, Edgar Hertwich (Pro-
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