1336872 (Bakshi) and 1334083 (Daily). Even though all human activities depend on goods and services obtained from nature, modern technological advances and prosperity have resulted in increasing ignorance of this dependence, leading to severe degradation in the ability of ecosystems to provide services for sustaining human activities and well-being. This research is a step toward restoring this connection, and is based on the premise that understanding and accounting for the interaction and interdependence between technological and ecological systems can result in new insights about the sustainability of human activities, and the discovery of innovative designs based on synergies between technological and ecological systems. This work will develop the new framework of techno-ecological synergy (TES) that integrates data and models of technological and ecological systems at multiple spatial scales. Relevant information will be obtained from engineering models, life cycle inventories, input-output models, and ecological data and models. Such information will be used to develop TES models at spatial scales such as local, regional, and national. Design of synergies will be enabled by a multiobjective optimization framework that will combine process and input-output models of technological and ecological systems. As a way of developing this framework, these methods will be applied to assessing the sustainability of The Ohio State University campus based on its demand and supply for ecosystem services. Strategies will be suggested for enhancing campus sustainability and for meeting the University President?s commitment of carbon neutrality. The proposed activities will bring together the expertise of leaders in Sustainable Engineering and Ecosystem Services. Understanding the synergy between existing systems is expected to result in a novel approach for assessing system sustainability. TES models at a spatial scale will indicate the extent of overshoot between the demand and supply for individual ecosystem services. This will provide insight into the options and appropriate scale for closing material cycles, and encourage the development of "islands of sustainability." Such models across scales will be used to develop hybrid models that consider the entire life cycle, supporting ecosystems, and their capacity. Designing techno-ecological synergy will expand the design space to include innovative solutions that are beneficial to the economy and the environment. These solutions cannot be found by traditional engineering design since it ignores the role of ecosystems. A unique feature of the optimization framework will be its ability to utilize process models from existing software and input-output models built from economic and environmental data. Through this work, methods for ecosystem services modeling will expand their reach into industrial supply chains, life cycles, and technology design and assessment. Application to campus sustainability will advance methods for developing green buildings and sustainable habitats. Application of the proposed framework to the OSU campus will provide unique opportunities for education and outreach to students, staff and faculty, and to enhance public engagement with science and technology. This will be enabled by working with the campus Office of Energy Services and Sustainability, and two student groups: the local chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World, and the Ecological Engineering Society. The results of this work will be disseminated by means of on-campus exhibits organized by these groups; web-based tools to explore campus sustainability options; short courses to policy makers and engineers, organized by the Natural Capital Project and the MIT Summer Program, respectively; elective courses and graduate student training; and through academic publications and presentations. Involvement of underrepresented minorities and women will be ensured not just through graduate student recruitment, but also via the student groups associated with this work. The proposed framework will open many new avenues for further work such as the effect of techno-ecological synergies on the resilience of spatial regions, integration with social and behavioral aspects, etc. This work will contribute to reestablishing a mutually beneficial connection between technology and ecology, which is needed for keeping engineering and other human activities within ecological constraints, and to ensure human well-being and sustainability.
