NEWS RELEASE
May 27 2003
Forests
fashion new systems for sustainable manufacturing
If you have ever spent
an hour just sitting in a forest and observing you might be surprised to
know you have some idea about new notions of sustainable manufacturing.
If not, the next lecture in UniSA’s
Visions for Environmentally Sustainable Development free lecture series,
Sustainable Manufacturing System, at 6 pm May 28 at Mawson
Lakes campus, is designed to get you thinking deeply about how
emulating the complex systems of nature may unlock the secrets of
sustainable systems of production.
UniSA Foundation Chair of Mathematics and
Statistics, Professor Jerzy Filar, will explore what complex ecosystems
such as a forest can teach industry about operating successful and
sustainable businesses.
“An ecosystem such as a forest is
successful, and by that I mean ecologically sustainable, because it is
diverse and, in a special sense, optimised,” Professor Filar says. In
nature, the lifecycles of different flora and fauna have evolved to be
optimally synchronised with the time scales of other species so that, for
example, the decay of one plant or animal becomes the food source for
another, making it a robust environment, virtually free of waste. These
systems also have the capacity to recover from natural disasters such as
storms, fires and floods.
“When you examine the interdependent
relationships within an ecosystem and apply similar principles to the
design of industrial systems there is much to be gained not only in actual
efficiencies, but also in profits.”
Professor Filar says some of the most
exciting prospects for the future of industry lie in exploring systems
that support sustainable development.
“Looking ahead, real improvements in
manufacturing systems will come from an engagement with models of
sustainability.”
A Fellow of the Australian Mathematical
Society, Professor Filar is the founder of UniSA’s Centre for Industrial
and Applied Mathematics and author of more than 75 refereed research
papers. Professor Filar is also the editor in chief of Environmental
Modelling and Assessment and co-editor of International Game Theory
Reviews. He is an honorary Theme Editor of the Mathematical Models
Theme of the upcoming UNESCO Encyclopaedia of Life Support Systems.
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli (08) 8302
0966, 0418823673
Professor Jerzy Filar (08) 8302 3530
Need an expert? Find one at UniSA’s online Directory
of Experts -
http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/MDU/MDU-search.asp
.
