How do they match: Industrial Ecologists

  • Product Development Ecologist
  • Product Life Cycle Planner
  • Industrial Green Systems Designer
  • Sustainable Systems Analyst

  • Apply principles and processes of natural ecosystems to develop models for efficient industrial systems. Use knowledge from the physical and social sciences to maximize effective use of natural resources in the production and use of goods and services. Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment.

  • Analyze changes designed to improve the environmental performance of complex systems and avoid unintended negative consequences.
  • Apply new or existing research about natural ecosystems to understand economic and industrial systems in the context of the environment.
  • Build and maintain databases of information about energy alternatives, pollutants, natural environments, industrial processes, and other information related to ecological change.
  • Conduct analyses to determine the maximum amount of work that can be accomplished for a given amount of energy in a system, such as industrial production systems and waste treatment systems.
  • Conduct applied research on the effects of industrial processes on the protection, restoration, inventory, monitoring, or reintroduction of species to the natural environment.
  • Create complex and dynamic mathematical models of population, community, or ecological systems.
  • Develop or test protocols to monitor ecosystem components and ecological processes.
  • Examine local, regional, or global use and flow of materials or energy in industrial production processes.
  • Examine societal issues and their relationship with both technical systems and the environment.
  • Identify environmental impacts caused by products, systems, or projects.
  • Identify or compare the component parts or relationships between the parts of industrial, social, and natural systems.
  • Identify or develop strategies or methods to minimize the environmental impact of industrial production processes.
  • Plan or conduct field research on topics such as industrial production, industrial ecology, population ecology, and environmental production or sustainability.
  • Plan or conduct studies of the ecological implications of historic or projected changes in industrial processes or development.
  • Promote use of environmental management systems (EMS) to reduce waste or to improve environmentally sound use of natural resources.
  • Recommend methods to protect the environment or minimize environmental damage from industrial production practices.
  • Redesign linear, or open-loop, systems into cyclical, or closed-loop, systems so that waste products become inputs for new processes, modeling natural ecosystems.
  • Review industrial practices, such as the methods and materials used in construction or production, to identify potential liabilities and environmental hazards.

  • Conduct research of processes in natural or industrial ecosystems.
  • Monitor environmental impacts of production or development activities.