As part of virtual micro courses that will be taking place throughout the semester, Carnegie Mellon faculty will be giving virtual lectures open to the CMU-Q community. Jonathan Chapman, Professor, Director, Doctoral Program, Design at Carnegie Mellon University will be speaking on, “Design for the Circular Economy”. 

Abstract: 

We live in a predominantly linear economy and have done for the past hundred years or so. This extractive, wasteful mode of operations follows a straight path, with social and environmental destruction at both ends. In sharp contrast, a circular economy redefines growth by decoupling economic activity from the mindless consumption and waste of finite resources. This lunchtime lecture introduces an array of “circular design” strategies. From product take-back and disassembly to service, upgrade, and repair. These creative tactics — and a great many more covered in this talk — advance understanding of circular design, and accelerate our progress toward becoming agents of sustainable change. This talk shares new insights from my own research and consultancy, details of which can be found here: https://design.cmu.edu/user/1386