Worcester Polytechnic Institute
IN-25: Innovation B

The new WPI Research, Discover, and Innovation (ReDI) Annual Symposium provides a platform for faculty to share new discoveries and ideas with colleagues and university partners. The symposium provides faculty with the chance to share their work while exploring new opportunities for internal and external collaborations. The ReDI Symposium features talks by WPI faculty members at the forefront cutting-edge research accompanied by talks from alumni, post docs and students who have developed exceptional innovations.The inaugural event incorporated a set of critical cross-disciplinary themes, including university groups centered around materials and manufacturing, Bio-X (biologically-focused disciplines), the smart world, and global initiatives. These themes are supported by foundational underpinnings which represent core values that are evident throughout WPI’s research and scholarship program: sustainability; diversity, equity and inclusion; innovation, entrepreneurship, and value creation; project-based learning and STEM; and design thinking and marker culture. Because of its interdisciplinary nature sustainability is inherently linked with all of the core foundational underpinnings, and it is also woven throughout all of the cross-disciplinary theme areas. Examples of presentation topics include: Sustainable Water Management, Science at the Interface of Cells and the Environment, and Metal Production for a Sustainable Future. The event culminated with presentations and a panel introducing case studies demonstrating the potential for the circular economy, which is an economic system where waste is eliminated and effectively reduced to promote sustainable use of resources. WPI plans to continue to engage faculty and promote these collaborative, cross-disciplinary research themes.This inaugural event incorporates the critical cross-cutting themes and foundational underpinnings evident throughout WPI’s research and scholarship program: sustainability; diversity, equity and inclusion; innovation, entrepreneurship, and value creation; project-based learning and STEM; and design thinking and marker culture.