The last day.

It was pretty simple, really. Just collect your brainstormed ideas, distill them down into very few realistic ideas and then focus the best of those ideas into a final product. Once that is done, simply go up on stage and present in front of the 600 or so people that were attending. Simple... right? Right.

As you may remember from my explanation of Day 2 at the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 summit, I was in a group that focused on Advanced Energy Research. We were a group that had a much more diverse makeup than I had anticipated...I had expected only engineers in my quite limited sight. Instead we got a few engineers, a PR person, a patent lawyer, a stay-at-home mom, the head of financing at a non-profit, a start-up executive, a college student, a PR-person-turned-entrepreneur and a solar array installer. I couldn't have made up that mix if I tried! But it was really great, the perspectives were unique and very much appreciated. Looking back at the roughly 6 hours of word we did, it's amazing just how wide a breadth of ideas we covered and how we were able to reduce it to a final product.

So...what did we come up with?

Our group conceived an incubator of sorts, but with many more bells and whistles. Our focus was on the commercialization of technology, as that is probably the most difficult part in making a research concept into a tangible, sell-able product. As a starter name, we decided on "The Laboratories for Advanced Energy Commercialization" (LAEC...pronounced "LAKE"). Catchy, eh? I liked the name a lot. Anyway, the concept would be that eventually LAEC would become the center for all things advanced energy in Cleveland. The pinnacle of achievement would come when we constructed or rehabbed a building (LEED certified, of course) to serve as the center of advanced energy activity in Cleveland. This would include an "Energy Village", where new technologies could be tested and showcased on model homes, in addition to subjecting it to the Cleveland elements. You think you have a great idea for a new solar panel? Well let's see how it stands up to Cleveland's cloudy days and great northern winters. Additionally, there would be a "PowerMart", where now-commercialized technologies in their final form could be previewed and sold to municipalities and power companies from around the globe; this would help to showcase the region and bring outside investment to the area. Up to and past the point where a brick and mortar location for LAEC exists, the center would also act as a research resource and knowledge hub for all local and non-local researchers. Want to know which companies and Universities are researching or commercializing that new wind turbine technology? Check the LAEC databases or talk to a staff member we would hope to be able to hire. There would be maximum focus on being an independent, yet well connected and informed group that helps to bring all of the research and development firms in the area together around a common goal of increasing advanced energy knowledge.

There were many unanswered questions.

First off, funding. We really didn't know where funding would come from for such a center. It's possible that there are foundations out there that would be interested in sponsoring a center such as LAEC but never any guarantees. Other funding concerns would come later, if LAEC was ever truly established; how would the center be able to help to bring in funding for commercialization efforts that have always been so scarce in Cleveland in the first place? These are questions I am not sure the answer to.

If we take a further step back, another question remains: Doesn't something like this already exist? Yes and no. There are many institutions that are serving the entrepreneurial crowd, some that serve the advanced energy crowd and some that serve the university crowd. However, we felt that there was not a central, all inclusive resource or institution that would allow for independent research and assistance in getting more money into the area for the commercialization of technology. Let's be honest: Cleveland has many fine institutions that are capable of attracting funding and delivering worthwhile research. But while this does exist, the jobs are still not flooding the area as a result of any research breakthroughs. That is what LAEC would hope to deliver.

The summit left us on an interesting note. Our diverse team is now expected to go out and take action on a plan we set forth, including checkpoints at 3 weeks, 3 months and (1 to) 3 years. We are supposed to begin on our own but with some eventual guidance from the Mayor's office at some point. As to when we will hear from them, I don't know. What I do know is that I hear more about this summit and the resulting initiatives, I will continue to write about them here. If nothing ever comes of our ideas, I think there are other things that I could take away from the summit that will be equally, if not more, valuable than the plan for the LAEC.

So what did I really gain from the summit?

1. Connections
   • The people I met at the summit was the first real glimpse I've had of the Cleveland working community outside of my company...and these were mostly non-engineering types. If nothing else, I learned that it is my duty to get out and begin networking better. Not for a better job or a higher salary, but because there are a lot of people out there with great ideas.
2. Perspective
   • Similar to above, I never realized the passion of the people that are in the sustainability movement in Cleveland. There are multiple organizations that meet on a regular basis to discuss issues that are important to them and can truly affect the entire community. See some of the links below that I had just found out were locally run. Who knew there was so much interest in sustainability in a city that had a burning river 40 years ago?
   • More info
     • E4S.org - Entrepreneurs for Sustainability
     • Green City, Blue Lake -- An institution that is now part of the Great Lakes Science Center
     • GreenEnergyOhio.org -- Cleveland chapter of the Columbus based initiative
3. Hope
   • It's hard to explain the feelings most people have about Cleveland. It's like the quirky second cousin you never tell your friends about. You still like your cousin, especially certain things about them...but you have very mixed feelings towards that cousin when others ask you about them. I have always toted the benefits of Cleveland to friends when I could, but I have felt it drag on me too...the negativity of others can be infectious, especially in the winter. But this summit gave me hope; it made me realize there are other people out there that see the potential and the great things that can be done in Cleveland. And that always feels good, no matter where you're from. It was refreshing to be around that kind of excitement and I really hope that I get to be around something like it again soon.

So that's all I have to say about the Sustainable Cleveland summit for now. I think there will be a continuing dialogue among my group, with the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, with others from the conference and with outsiders that are not yet participating. If you have any kind of interest in participating in something like LAEC, please let me know, either by email, phone or in the comments. I think we can really make a difference for Cleveland and for progressing Advanced Energy technologies, but we need to work on it together.

I must say, I'm impressed. My questions from day one have almost all been answered in one way or another. A few things really caught my attention today, some of which I didn't really expect.

To start we had Ray Anderson of Interface. If you would have asked me what the company was just from the name I would have immediately jumped to technology. However, that's not the case; Ray is in the business of carpets...and has been for 30 years or so. He also took a pledge, both for himself and for his company about 15 years back. A pledge to reduce environmental impact and do no harm. And they have succeeded so far (I didn't get the feeling they were planning on quitting anytime soon). Here's some of their broad stroke statistics on how they have progressed over the past 15 years:

• 76% reduction in waste since 1996
• 74% less water used to produce the carpet tiles
• 44% less total energy used in production
• 60% less fossil fuels in production
• 27% use of renewable energy for production worldwide
• 100% use of renewable energy for production in Europe
• 24% recyclable or bio-based materials.
• $405 million saved due to these reductions since 1994

Ray went on to explain the importance on reducing the overall impact of the technosphere on the biosphere (his words). He maintained that if we continue using technology in the wasteful, disposable ways we currently are, the future looks bleak. However, if we bring technology on as a reducer of waste instead of a primary contributor, great progress can be made towards a very low usage, need-driven (as opposed to want-driven) society. If I had to sum up the wonderful presentation by Ray Anderson, it would be this: do no harm in business and you will succeed. The results he has produced with his company Interface are a great example of renewable, sustainable practices producing a better shareholder solution and a better company for customers and the environment.

From there, we went on to explore the next stage of the AI process, the "Dream" stage. I believe this was an important component, trying to postively visualize where we believed the city could end up and finding a creative way of expressing it. There were many bold dreams of a Cleveland of tomorrow mixed in with a many themes that resonated throughout the presentations (more on those themes later). Some were sillier than others, which I have first-hand experience with: I was the captain of the Best Times 2019 boat.

Once the creative fervor was scaled back a bit, we smoothly transitioned into the design phase. This was by far the most exciting part and really what I had been waiting for. It is the meat of any AI gathering; when stuff really begins to come together and progress is finally made. We first were reminded about good brainstorming concepts. Personally, the concepts and ideas presented on how to brainstorm reminded me that this entire process was a great example of a crowd-sourced kind of activity. Key among the concepts was the notion having a multitude of ideas, so many that your head would spin. The concept is that among a large large group of ideas, a few winners would rise to the top, along with some accompanying themes. From there the groups would be able to identify the favorite ideas, group other thematic elements and begin to focus intensely on the top ideas. Hopefully, they can all be implemented into a single prototype that would later be presented as a final product, at least as a tangible result of the design/brainstorming process. Dr. Cooperrider used Ideo, the design firm and prior client of his, as an example of rapid prototyping and idea generation. I had heard about them previously but plan on finding out more about the world-renowned design firm.

Before going further, I think it's important to list of the top-level themes that were identified from the "Dream" stage implemented earlier in the day:

• Advanced Energy Research
• Advanced Energy Generation
• Advanced Materials and Manufacturing
• Communication Campaign and Branding of the final ideas of the summit
• Engaging 1.6 Million People
• Fostering Social Capital
• Green Buildings
• Health
• Vacant Land Use
• Local Foods
• Maintaining Post Summit Momentum
• Metrics of Success (for the summit)
• Public Compact (or Manifesto if you will)
• Social Entrepreneurialship
• Strategic Partnerships and Learning
• Sustainable Business Innovation
• Transportation
• Waste to Profit
• Water
• World Class Sustainability Education

As new visitors to the site might guess (given the graphic at the top of my site) , I chose the very first topic. As an engineer really interested in renewable energy (and how it can be implemented), I felt it necessary to talk about the research aspect, as opposed to the generation, of the energy. I feel the latter can be left up to others for a time when the energy is cheap enough to be widespread; until it has reached the tipping point of being more economical to use renewables over other forms of energy, the research will never really be done. Past that, once commercial interests begin using renewables on a regular basis, investing in efficiencies will be a self-sustaining activity and one that only adds to the new benefit of renewable energy technologies. I plan on saving the results from today's brainstorming session for a post tomorrow or the day after, simply because of the length of this post and in order to report on our finished idea, as opposed to an undeveloped seed of an idea.

While day 2 of Sustainable Cleveland 2019 was effective (OK, and a little bit fun, I'll admit), I think tomorrow will really decide the final outcome of the entire summit. Without concrete action plans, the whole thing is for naught. The fears that the summit is actually just another run-of-the-mill convention will or will not come to fruition. If instead we take action on the plans we have in place tomorrow and the next day and the day after, then we will truly be able to say we have achieved something. I look forward to experiencing and writing about tomorrow.

Today was the first day of the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 summit, hosted by Frank Jackson in downtown Cleveland. It was a mix of speakers, round-table discussions, breakout sessions and the usual other summit/convention type activities. We are continually reminded that this is not just some conference to be forgotten but instead acted upon later on. Time will tell if that comes to fruition and as I wrote before will require input from everyone in the community, including you Clevelanders out there reading this.

To start, here are some neat facts I learned today:

1. Van Jones, from the department of sustainability for the white house, reminded us that only 80 Billion dollars of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act were slated for "green" technologies. If you do the math 80/787 = 10.2% of the stimulus dollars are going towards renewable energy jobs and upgrades. Not enough.
2. Peter Senge, author of "The Necessary Revolution" and professor at MIT, told us of a new(ish) EU initiative whereby cars made by European manufacturers must also be recycled by the same manufacturer. Imagine what kind of dramatic shifts in material usage and intelligent recycling will take place in order to preserve profitability and allow for (valuable) reuse of materials.
3. Ray Anderson posed an interesting idea from an unknown book (as of right now) of designing systems and manufacturing environments using nature as a model. What would the byproducts of the process be reused as by other organisms? How can the process be optimized to use just enough energy, just as nature intends it? If there are materials pulled from the ground for use in the process, how are those same materials replenished at a later time?
4. Jeff Baldassari, of The Taylor Companies (furniture), told us how his company has reduced waste throughout and optimized their process to a point that their entire monthly refuse hauling cost is only $1000.
5. Dr. Senge also told us that we require an 80% reduction in carbon emissions to reduce global warming so it does not cross an irreversable threshold of run-away heating. More interesting, he told us about a project by MIT, an open source piece of software that allows the general public to better visualize what kinds of reductions we need in order to hit theose targets and how much collaborative action is required in the future. More info at http://climateinteractive.org/.

Aside from the speakers we also began the Appreciative Inquiry process, using techniques refined by our moderator David Cooperrider. We're still in the "discovery" stage of the AI 4-D cycle (below), basically a time to figure out who is there, what individuals are good at and what in the past has worked well and can be built upon. The entire philosophy of the method is to focus on the positive aspects of change (what could be) instead of waiting until things go wrong and trying to fix them (what was). While it can produce some ideas for how to really enact the change, I am only expecting this summit to be a motivational type of event; an event that really makes people want to keep going with developing community and talking to their government leaders.

And although I have enjoyed my time so far, I'd like to point out some things I'm a bit skeptical about and questions that are yet unanswered:

1. Will this really work? I believe my skepticism is based on the fact that we haven't done anything yet. I'm told that happens on day 2 really, so I'll have to find out more tomorrow.
2. One of the things pointed out in some pre-summit literature is that to really drive change in a region, you need a critical mass of contributors in a given sector of a given region (i.e. wind turbine development in NE Ohio). Even if we do have some of the highest concentrations of engineers in the country (according to Van Jones), are they capable of working on renewable energy type systems? More importantly, are they driven to work on those types of applications? Finally, will there ever be enough business interest in those industries that would bring even more people into the region?
3. Can we walk the walk? As a group of 700 succesful leader-types gathering at a conference/summit on sustainabilty, will we be able to go home each night and practice sustainability and not just talk about it? To be honest, I do what I can on the simpler side of things (CFLs, recycling, etc), but there needs to be more action and accountability by us first before we can ask others to do the same.
   • As a corollary, I wonder if it is ever possible to ask human beings--especially those that aren't interested in the ideas we are working on--to consume less/sacrifice/etc. I know that we can be told to do something (reluctantly, I'm sure). I know we can be pressured into doing something because of super high taxes or prices. But the question is: can we drive people to realize that the typical American lifestyle is dangerous to the environment and can we make them care about it? I think this is a major hurdle and a topic I hope is brought up again and again at the summit. I'm skeptical that the general population will care about some of these issues; that is, until sea levels have risen past their doorsteps.

So far I have met some wonderful people, which if it came down to it, would be reason enough for me to attend this summit. Making connections with people that are enacting change in Cleveland really allows me to step outside the bubble of my world and to see what is important to others. In some cases technology doesn't factor into their thought process at all, something that is hard for me to imagine. On the same note though, some of those I have met and am sure to meet more of are spectacular at working with people, something that is also not my strongest suit. I think there can be a mutual exchange of ideas among all of us that will allow me to grow as a person and as someone that will hopefully be able to drive change in my hometown.

What about you? Do you have any questions about the first day of the summit? Are you attending the summit and have somehow found this page? What is your take on the summit thus far? Let me know in the comments!

I had an interesting conversation today with a few friends about the exodus of young people from the workplace back to school during this recession. It seems as though people in Generation Y are bailing left and right on current jobs and diving back under the safe covers of academia. And who can blame them? You get to work on interesting research (hopefully), you get a stipend (maybe) and you have better prospects when you're all done (eh, doubtful). But that leads me to ask, "Who's going to do all the work when the economy is in full swing again?" Let's survey the current demographics, starting from the top:

• The bosses -- Not to sound deriding, but they aren't doing the type of work I'm talking about here. The never have and never will...mostly because they actually have better things to do. For real. They have to meet with other big wigs and figure out where to steer the company and where the market is going and hopefully how to react in time. The work I talk about is more a "down-in-the-trenches" kind of work and I never really expected them to do that kind of work, just thought it was necessary to actually start at the top.
• The elders -- The elders are those who aren't necessarily in charge but those that have been around for a long time and really understand how a company or industry works. They won't be doing the work when the economy recovers...because they'll be retiring. Think about it. How many people were likely planning on retiring in 2008 onwards who suddenly saw their investments vaporize? No, they decided they better stick it out. And though they won't see a huge return to the days where their portfolios were bulging, I would venture a guess that if the conditions are good enough and they feel that they can squeak by on portfolio growth after they retire, a lot will take the out. If you're pushing into your 70s, I'm guessing you're ready for a break. Even if they stay on part time, they won't be doing the grunt work.
• The smart ones -- The smart ones are those that drive ideas and new products. Even though they may have been around and producing good work for a while, they aren't allowed to go anywhere. They are the geese with the golden eggs. Where would they go anyway? The people in charge of promoting them would have to replace themselves. Not likely. So they will have to do some work still, but you can probably watch for this group eying the social security line on their weekly pay stub longingly and starting to stick a pinky toe out the door. If you're looking for a technical mentor, get 'em before they're gone.
• The middle -- The middle is all those people that were doing the grunt work 20 years ago and did a good job. They may have run out of salary headroom and jumped over to management or maybe they needed a new challenge (I can only imagine dealing with engineers or other similar underlings from a management perspective every day). Either way, there's little likelihood they're planning on stepping back into lesser roles. No, they have their eyes on the upper management jobs of the elders and the other aging boomers.
• The lazy ones -- They were the ones on the team that did work every once in a while but in general only contributed when the workload really picked up. They were the auxiliary fuel tank of your company as an airplane--useful when you need it but really just weighing things down when not in use. And although we know it's not really true, we have an inkling some of them got the ax when it fell last year. Even if you were deluded enough to believe that all the dead weight in your company was gone, the ones in this category that aren't gone are really good at two things: not doing work and looking like they are. Count them out.
• The young upstarts -- This group has a shot at doing some of the beefy work. In fact, this group has the highest likelihood of doing the majority of the work. I should mention I also feel as though I am a part of this group and therefore have a lot of interest in studying it. "What's that?? Jim, Allison and Mark are all going back to school? Why? Trudy is going too? What the heck? Who's going to do their work?!?", you say (the answer: whoever is asking that question). This newfound love of the classroom is the other reason I am interested in my own demographic. We're all jumping ship hoping to leapfrog into the next part of our career! There doesn't seem to be any paying of dues, does there? Welp, that's because there isn't. But you can't do anything about it because everyone in this demographic is back in classes learning about managerial accounting or tort law and not actually doing any work. Now the real question: when everyone pops out of school at the end of the recession, who will be better prepared? MBA Marty or Experienced Eddy? I'd be inclined to say the second, but again, I'm biased here. If you're in this group and not going back to school, expect more work coming your way. Lawyer Larry is busy studying.
• The new grads -- Quick! We're running out of people that have any interest in engineering and menial tasks! Get me some workers! "Waaaaaait a second," says Bob the manager. "All we've got is the new grads. There's no way I'm hiring them without any experience." Well Bob, too bad, you're running out of options. Just hire these new kids and try and push them to learn faster and work harder. And do this even though those new grads have higher expectations of what employers will give them and the hours they are asked to work. You'll probably end up giving it to them too, because what other options do you have?
• The overseas workers -- Well, there's your answer. It's really been more of a circular process, figuring out who will be doing all the work. Think about what's been said and how people have reacted. "Foreign labor is taking all of our jobs!", the workers said at the beginning. Then they thought, "Oh! I better go back to school and learn how to manage people overseas and the remaining labor in the US!". Then they get out of school three years later, lobby for a shiny new management position and ask "Ok, where are my underlings? Hunh? No underlings?!? Well crap, hire more foreign workers, we need to get this project out the door!". Lather, rinse, repeat.

I want to be clear about a few things. First, I don't disagree with going back to school. I plan on doing it myself some day, in some capacity. I just disagree with the timing. I liken going back now to pulling all your investments out of the market at the lowest point back in March (maybe to pay for school?). You remove yourself from the market at a time when the most growth can occur. You remove yourself from situations that include working long hours on hard work but it's with a team that affords you more responsibilities. I feel that the next few years will provide some great opportunities for innovation and growth in certain positions and companies. Second, I realize that some people are going back to revamp skills, especially when they feel that they cannot find employment. This is understandable and expected based on enrollment numbers from past recessions. I would only remind these people to remember to keep up their real-world skills so they can be hired right out of school. Academia doesn't have room to hold onto you and they have a similar hierarchy as above except for one catch: those tenured professors don't plan on giving up their cushy position until they are forced to or decide to leave on their own. If you do choose the academic track, get a comfy couch to wait/sleep/eat/live on. Finally, I'd like to speak to my targeting of MBA and Law degrees. It's not that I think they aren't important, because I feel that a lot of really important concepts are taught in both management and law classes. I mostly take offense to the idea of you being my boss in 5 years because of a piece of paper. I respect the people around me who are working hard and have better vision than I do to tell me what to do. If you plan on "managing" me without first working by my side or in a similar position, expect to work extra hard to gain my respect.

I believe the solution here is what a lot of people are actually doing: sitting tight and getting some work done. You need to continue to show your company you are a valuable and contributing member while maintaining boundaries on how many peoples' work you are willing to do. It sometimes seems bleak when you see others stagnating in their career progression right in front of or next to you. However, I believe hard work and tangible results will be the true indicator or advancement and success whenever the economy rebounds. If you think your hard work should go towards a more noble cause, strike out on your own. If companies end up short on talent when the economy comes back, a savvy consultant could be flexible and fluid enough to be exactly the solution customers and companies are looking for.

What about you? What category do you feel like you fall into? Take the poll below or leave a note in the comments!

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I find myself sitting around these days trying to catch up on knowledge I feel like I missed in school. Worse, I feel like I learned it at one time but it all fell out the other side once I took the exam. Pretty standard really, when you don't think you're going to need to the knowledge some day. Haven't you ever sat in class wondering if you'd really ever use the material you were expected to learn? How much did you pay attention?

I feel that a requisite of every college class should be at least an entire class devoted to how you can use the knowledge contained in the remainder of the course material. It should probably happen close to the beginning of the semester or quarter. I have always lobbied for this kind of explanation and have always tried to include it whenever I am teaching something. Better yet, if someone from the field come in and explain how they use the knowledge in their working lives it would really drive the point home. When you know that you will definitely use certain knowledge, you're more likely to sit up and pay attention.

Some of the material that I have been relearning lately has been tangential to the actual material we covered in classes back in my school days. Some of this is because I needed to go back and re-learn the absolute basics, such as semiconductor physics. I didn't quite need to learn why a PN junction behaves as it does, only how it behaves and how it relates to larger devices such as transistors (basically a couple PN junctions specialized for certain behavior and placed in a certain configuration). I also don't need to know why certain materials carry magnetic fields, only how they do and how you can use them to build a transformer. Other than re-learning the absolute basics, it's driven by things I encounter in my daily work where I feel I was lacking. Very general topics but things that have very specific application in my job. Transformers are an area where I felt it was necessary to get more info, so I used my favorite resource (OhioLink) to get some textbooks based on co-workers recommendations. Hey, you just end up reading the textbook in some classes anyway, right? So why not?

So I guess that's all I have to say about this topic. If you don't know something, go to the library and and figure it out (I love libraries). And if books don't show you what you need, ask a friend. Most importantly, find out where you might use the material you're learning the first time you see it. If you're not being directly told why you will need a certain piece of information, do the legwork yourself and figure out why you should care (someone saying "because it's in the course outline" isn't good enough). The application of the knowledge is much more important over the long term.

Got something you can't figure out? Ask me in the comments.