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Track Three: Design and Innovation

The Design and Innovation track explores the development of innovation through the lenses of landscape design, global supply chains, and a transforming energy industry. The track opens with a panel discussing the role of designers in sustainable development. This panel will be followed by a panel discussing the growing interest in the role of Base of the Pyramid producers in the global supply chain. This track will conclude with a discussion on the rapid development of the renewable energy industry and discuss the prospects for this industry in the near future.

Session 2C: Designer’s Role in Sustainable Development
Anderson Room ABC, 1st floor
Friday, 10:45-12:00pm

The focus of this panel is to identify the role of designers, and what their contributions are, in a sustainable development project. Disciplines to be included are landscape architects, architects, design developers and industrial designers. The project experience of the panelists should run from urban redevelopment to conservation oriented. This panel will give the audience a solid overview of the design profession and how the work of designers makes sustainability feasible and meaningful to the inhabitants of the site. Potential discussion could include: overview of relevant project, challenges of working within the framework of sustainable principles, engaging and educating the community, and challenges of working within a multidisciplinary team.
Confirmed Panelist:
Dale Medearis, Environmental Planner, Northern Virginia Regional Commission
Vernon Swaback, Swaback Partners
Tavis Dockwiller, Viridian Landscape Studio
Kurt Nahikian, Vice President Workstage LLC

Session 3C
 Renewable Energy: Continued Growth or Waiting for the Bubble to Burst?
 Anderson Room ABC, 1st floor
 Friday, 1:30 pm – 2:45 pm
From Wall Street and Silicon Valley to America's Heartland, renewable energy has seen explosive growth in the past few years. This session will examine if the renewable energy sector is poised for continued growth and investment or if a possible bubble is forming. Panelists will discuss possible obstacles for future growth and which technologies will continue to be an integral part of the US energy portfolio in ten or twenty years.

Moderator:
Peter Adriaens, RE Professor of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

Confirmed Panelists:
Lauren Bigelow, Managing Director, Cleantech Network
Max Shtein, Asst Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan
Maria Klutey, Senior VP, Origination for GE Energy Financial Services Renewable Energy, GE
Scott Baron, Leader of Organizational Effectiveness, Acciona Energy North America

Session 4C:
Base of the Pyramid Workshop: Examining Charity-based vs. Market-based Approaches to Poverty Alleviation
Anderson Room ABC, 1st floor
Friday, 3:15pm-4:00pm
Sponsored by: William Davidson Institute

Across Africa malaria kills up to 3 million people a year and 3,000 children a day. Estimates are that the continent requires more than 90 million bed nets to protect people from the disease. Using mosquito net distribution as a case study, participants will explore and debate the most effective approaches to solve this pressing problem. Should nets be distributed free of charge to ensure rapid coverage? Or would it be more effective and cost-efficient to use a social marketing approach – charging a nominal amount to harness local businesses to produce and sell the nets, ensuring consistent supply independent from the whims of donor funding? This interactive workshop will explore this issue from the perspective of different actors in the value chain including donors, government, and the affected Base of the Pyramid communities.

Moderator:
Ted London, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Base of the Pyramid Initiative; Adjunct Assistant Professor of Business Administration, University of Michigan