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Sustaining life in the future demands action in the present. The task is complex. It requires deep thinking about the environment, economy, society. It inspires complex and creative solutions. Our faculty eagerly seize the challenge. They focus on ways to better teach the topic, solve economic barriers to sustainable living, more efficiently supply energy, ensure vital ecosystems. These are Purdue’s Future Makers.

David Hummels
David Hummels
Krannert School of Management

David Hummels

As an economist, David Hummels focuses on international trade. As a world citizen, he’s concerned about the greater impact of business decisions on the environment. As a researcher, his insights could help guide international trade policy and economic development.

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Klein Ileleji
Klein Ileleji
Engineering

Klein Ileleji

In the days and weeks after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, many Americans struggled to make sense of the events, but for Klein Ileleji, who spends his days focusing on energy issues, they brought clarity.

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Larry Nies
Larry Nies
Engineering

Larry Nies

When Larry Nies introduced his Engineering for Environmental Sustainability class in 2002, a few colleagues likened the topic to a passing fad. Some students scoffed at the class as nothing more than hippie peacenik propaganda cloaked in green liberalism. Turns out he was ahead of the curve.

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Suresh Rao
Suresh Rao
Engineering

Suresh Rao

Humanity's future wellbeing may very well depend on solving "wicked problems" plaguing the world’s ecosystems — problems introduced by people — that might only be solved through “pragmatic sustainability.”

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Melissa Remis
Melissa Remis
Liberal Arts

Melissa Remis

A gorilla's size and strength often makes it a popular villain or misunderstood creature in movies, but Melissa Remis knows that these large apes play a starring role in a delicate ecosystem that also provides for their human neighbors.

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