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Dayton Engineer

Elevating Sustainability

By Devon Florczak

Dr. Jun-Ki Choi received his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 2006 and has since dedicated his work to sustainability issues.  He is currently an assistant professor at the University of Dayton School of Engineering and Assistant Director of the University of Dayton Industrial Assessment Center (UD-IAC).

Dr. Choi was recently featured in Issue #4 of KEEN’zine, a publication of the KEEN Engineering Network, an organization that focuses on transforming engineering education by creating an entrepreneurial mindset among students. Dr. Choi was an inaugural KEEN fellow here at UD, learning how to incorporate real-world challenges into the classroom as part of a co-hort of peers.

As a result of that training, Dr. Choi developed a Design for Environment course for the University of Dayton that challenges the students who partake in his course to partner with Crown Equipment Corporation, in New Bremen, Ohio, and develop sustainable alternatives for the products Crown Equipment develops.

The article details how sustainability can be utilized in engineering design and how the partnership with Crown is so valuable to the student learning experience. Students finish the popular course with the type of experience usually gained during the first year on the job.

“Creating value does not end at the point-of-sale or when a product is delivered to a consumer. It extends over the entire life cycle of a product, meaning that sustainability goes hand-in-hand with value creation.” says Dr. Choi.

Sustainability is an increasingly important factor for many students. He was surprised to learn that around 75 percent of Millennials are willing to pay more for a product with sustainable ties, an increase of more than 50 percent in just the past year.

 Click here to read Dr. Choi's article.

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