Sutherland Named Inaugural Editor-in-Chief of Purdue Engineering Textbook Series

john sutherland
John W. Sutherland, Professor and Fehsenfeld Family Head of Environmental and Ecological Engineering
John W. Sutherland, the Fehsenfeld Family Head of Environmental and Ecological Engineering (EEE), has accepted a new, additional role as editor in chief of a Purdue College of Engineering publication arm that will produce textbooks, monographs, course notes, and case studies.

“The idea is to have educational materials available electronically for free to people around the world and at a low cost in print form,” Sutherland said. He sees great potential in tapping the talents of Purdue Engineering’s faculty, industry partners, and alumni. “This is a tremendous opportunity to innovate and disseminate the knowledge of Purdue Engineering to a global audience,” continued Sutherland.

Sutherland has spent his career pursuing disruptive innovations. In the early 1990s, he pioneered the field of sustainable manufacturing. “Almost three decades ago, I recognized that many industrial environmental problems were actually created by engineers that lacked knowledge of the consequences of their decisions on resource consumption and waste creation,” noted Sutherland. With this in mind, Sutherland began undertaking research to create technologies and methods to avoid wastes and use resources more effectively in manufacturing.

When Sutherland arrived at Purdue in 2009 as the first permanent head of EEE, he joined a handful of other faculty who were working to disruptively reinvent the environmental engineering discipline. “Historically, environmental engineers were called upon when there was a problem. They were asked to develop engineering systems to contain, control, treat, and mitigate waste streams. Such an approach effectively manages existing problems – but it does not help avoid future problems.” The philosophy of EEE is to integrate classic environmental engineering and industrial sustainability to address existing challenges and avoid future ones. “And, in only a few years, we have grown into one of the largest environmental engineering programs in the country,” Sutherland remarked.

Sutherland concluded by saying, “I am excited about the opportunity to lead the Purdue Engineering Textbook project. This is an opportunity to work with people from across the College and have a worldwide impact.” He also indicated that he welcomes discussions with all Engineering faculty, alumni, and corporate partners who are interested in contributing to the effort.