Norman Scott Speaks in Qizhen Global Vision Lecture Series

On November 21, Prof. Norman Scott, Member of America’s National Academy of Engineering and former Vice President of Research and Advanced Studies at Cornell University, was invited to deliver a speech titled “A systems approach to develop sustainable communities”. This speech is part of Qizhen Global Vision Lecture Series in celebration of the coming 120th anniversary of Zhejiang University.

Norman Scott began his speech with the definition of sustainable development, elaborated on the concept of sustainable communities in terms of technology, economy, society and policy, and made a special mention of the contributions of renewable energy to a system of sustainable communities. He wrapped up his speech with his word―“Systems make it possible, but people make it happen”―in the hope that students will make contributions to the development of future sustainable communities.

Dr. Scott has been involved in bioengineering research and teaching for over 20 years. His early research was focused on thermoregulation in poultry, biomechanics of machine milking of dairy cows and electronic applications in agriculture, with particular attention to automatic identification and estrus detection of livestock, as well as the effects of transient current on dairy cows. Since returning to the faculty in 1998, he has focused on research in sustainable development. This research is directed to development of sustainable communities with emphasis on biologically derived fuels, renewable energy, recycling, managed ecosystems and industrial ecology.