**Breakout Session 1: How does BE:MUSES address issues of national
importance?**

PREAMBLE: We encourage you to have free-ranging discussion on the above
topic. The questions below are provided ONLY to stimulate discussion,
NOT to serve as a template of response. Your group does not have to
answer all the questions, only focus what you think is important in
answering this breakout topic -- we all know what BE:MUSES is about, now
we ask you to transcend this based upon your varied expertise and
experiences.

Some Discussion provoking questions -

What argument, if any, would you make for the importance of MUSES
research and education in addressing issues of national importance? Does
this have long-term or near-term potential?

Describe MUSES project areas that involve radical innovation in
"materials use" research with connections to industry and the economy,
and to meeting societal needs.

Describe the emergence of novel socio-technical systems, their dynamics
and impact on national needs. For example, what are the materials
research challenges and the resulting socioeconomic impact of
developing, implementing, and sustaining the use of \'green\' materials
in environmentally friendly manufacturing?

Within the context of overall life cycle of \'green\' materials, what
shapes business decisions for investing in the development of \'green\'
materials for manufacturing and commercialization? How would these
developments impact national economic, environmental, and energy
policies?

How would (do) you get the message out regarding the importance of this
topic? Who do you think is the primary audience -- the public, the
academic researchers, industries, government agencies, other?

If you were sending a message to capture the attention and interest of
an 8^th^ grader regarding the work you are doing, or would like to do,
what would it focus on?

**The following is collated from the notes of the three breakout groups
and represents their discussions that led to the set of powerpoint
slides provided elsewhere -- the NSF staff only collated these, and did
not prioritize the responses in any fashion. Many of the items were
raised in discussion by more than one breakout group. This document is
provided for information purposes only in order to broadly disseminate
the full breadth of discussion of the research community at the
workshop**.

*[Why is MUSES research important?]{.underline}*

-   MUSES is problem centered, not academic silo centered

-   MUSES is INTERdisciplinary vs. MULTIdisciplinary -- it encourages
    investigation between the disciplines, identifies holes, and
    encourages studies regarding these holes.

-   MUSES is UNIQUE -- 1^st^ time bringing people together ... it is a
    framework to evaluate alternative materials and new technologies.

-   MUSES is making research policy relevant

-   MUSES research addresses multiple societal aspects\-- life cycle
    assessment and social decision making, beyond traditional research
    concerns

-   MUSES is helping to develop a HUMAN INFRASTRUCTURE of new
    researchers and grad-students.

-   MUSES invents new methods, pushing the frontier regarding
    interdisciplinary research.

-   Quantitative analysis of movement towards a sustainable future

-   Contributes to the globalization of environmental policy and
    problems

-   Big picture view complimentary to other scientific approaches.

-   Encourages socially responsible engineering and science.

-   MUSES is useful to bring more information into design process.

-   Explores complex relationships between human, economy and natural
    environment energy and material flows

-   MUSES can establish opportunities for dialogue between researchers,
    govt., and society.

    -   Should utilize MUSES for research from an END-USER'S perspective
        -- think about govt. agencies that would like to use research.

-   Understanding holistically the consequences on people and places of
    material use decisions.

    -   Look at spatial and temporal scales

## 

## Specific issues and reasons why MUSES research is important:

# Materials in national production

-   Adequacy of mineral resources for national production

-   Potable water supplies, especially in the West

-   National security- protect against vulnerabilities from relying
    solely or largely on imported materials.

# Land use

-   Impacts of land use, natural resource use in general on
    bio-diversity.

-   Interaction between the natural and built environment

-   How material flows could support sustainable (or smart growth) urban
    regions.

# Public Health/Environmental justice

-   Health impacts of toxic materials flows between economy and natural
    environment

-   water quality, pollution level

-   Air quality and air sheds, at larger scales than we used to think
    about.

-   Addresses human rights issues, especially environmental racism

*[Questions to be tackled by MUSES community:]{.underline}*

-   What is "socially responsible" material selection?

    -   How do you develop specific metrics?

    -   Elevation of idea of environmental responsibility in engineering
        design... integrate it into design like safety.

-   Multi-criteria evaluation?

-   How do you create a framework to conduct an optimization process for
    multi-objectives?

-   How do we bring people into helping to solve materials use problems?

-   How do you sell prevention?

-   How do you measure needs vs. wants and social responsibility?

-   Design by quandary?

-   Equity: Do some benefit more than others?

-   How do you sell prevention? Metrics are hard to establish if the
    impacts may never happen -- need to dedicate research there.

Will MUSES result in radically new materials? Not really -- largely
better uses and decision-making.

*[Issues to be addressed in MUSES research:]{.underline}*

1.  General understanding of materials flows and uses;

2.  Innovation of material use and performance;

3.  Multiple scales of analysis for size and time;

4.  Multi-disciplinary focus provides a good framework for understanding
    these issues;

5.  Better opportunity to examine over-looked impacts of new materials
    (life cycle benefits may overwhelm extra initial costs of better
    material

*[How to get the message out regarding the importance of MUSES
research:]{.underline}*

-   Multiple groups should be addressed-policy makers, industry,
    consumers

-   Think of ways to give incentives to use new materials, e.g.
    acceptance of recycled and renewable materials

-   Implementation strategies are also worthy of consideration in muses.

-   Link ongoing projects -- helps with education and outreach

-   Generalize outcomes for policy decision and influence pathways.

*[Working effectively with social systems (information,
education):]{.underline}*

-   The need to combine science, engineering and society is critical to
    solving problems in global context

-   Connections from the start of the project or design through to the
    end user

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-   Research work can inform curriculum development and education.

-   Can impact engineering enrollment with exciting research and
    results, expanding into a more diverse pool of students.

*[Challenges in MUSES research:]{.underline}*

-   International trade issues\--scientifically measuring differences in
    residuals from production in different nations

-   Overcoming barriers to accepting new technology

-   Development of Data: Measurements of quantities of materials moving
    between industries.

-   Linking data with economics

-   Employment issues

-   Educating engineers about the consequences of their design choices
    and procedures. Convey both economic and environmental constraints.

-   Ability of engineers to use effective LCA modeling, and
    sustainability indicators.

How does MUSES initiate something that's a significant impact in the
long-term. Translating the results of research into practical
applications? GPRA goals/measures. For example, CMU eio-lca website.

Utilization of materials is still poor. Too much leaves the economic
system and is disposed, e.g., 50% of aluminum.

The need to include the producers, the private sector for collaborative
work. Partnerships that can enhance translating results. MUSES RFP might
reflect this as a goal. Five year grant is helpful in addressing
partnerships.

**Scales:** geographical, social (individual, neighborhood community,
cities, regions, national global), material (nano through to
infrastructure through to global flow).

-   "Broader supply chain management" what are long term implications of
    the materials supply chain with respect to jobs, wealth creation,
    and environmental impact.

-   Bring consumer preference into the understanding of technology
    research needs.

-   Understand the perception of public, risk specifically, into the
    development of new technologies.

-   Who are the audiences for MUSES? Everybody, but tailored messages
    for different audiences: students, voters, consumers, etc.

-   How can we make policy makers understand concretely what issues are
    involved?

-   NSF needs to catalyze the different disciplines, and to bring the
    public audiences to MUSES. NSF needs to find a format to help us
    communicate our results to the intended audiences.

-   NSF can help facilitate the networking to support MUSES -- get
    people together.

-   Build the community... through MUSES -- define the areas and bring
    the people together ... then influence policy and activities. NSF
    needs to catalyze not just the researchers, but also the audiences.
    Mass customization of MUSES education to policy makers and
    educations.

-   Integrating MFA into policy and economics.

-   Where is are connections between MFA and labor markets?

-   How do we bring externalities into the business models?

-   Sustainability is not co-terminus with national boundaries and how
    they are applied across boundries.

-   We need to have a serious discussion about strategic commodieties?
    What is necessary for a national economy to have?

-   Water could be used to synthesize MUSES -- education can be achieved
    through case studies.

-   We can't create enough lesson plans to reach world, but how to
    achieve mass-customization.

-   Due to societal part of MUSES, it can encourage policy relevant
    research, but the NSF community must help to bring that message to
    the policy makers and to close the loop back to higher education as
    to what is learned.

-   Increased industry participation would be useful, but perhaps better
    as industry groups with a more long-term view.

*[Needs of research community:]{.underline}*

-   Better methods, tools, databases, education materials to be used
    outside of MUSES.

-   How to integrate different projects in MUSES?

-   How to make MUSES results available to the public?

-   How to check quality of MUSES data?

-   Can we link MUSES results to the cyber infrastructure to disseminate
    data?

-   How good are the data that govt. generate? Allow others to validate
    our results...

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-   Risk perception of consumers is brought into technological
    development through MUSES.

-   Constraints:

    -   Process manufacturing time is low.

    -   Lack of control in product EoL.

-   Use MUSES as vehicle to tell policy makers why research is
    important.

-   Do not allow "analysis to paralysis"

\-\-- Delcie break \-\--

-   MUSES has different elements:

    -   How to affect policy, industrial sector, international sector,
        education? Unique position to impact in societally relevant
        maner.

-   MUSES develops complex, interdisciplinary can impact society...
    unique opportunity to bring in consumer preference into the
    technological.

-   MUSES unifies academic stovepipes

-   Materials Flows basic and complementary to traditional science.

-   Copmrehensive framework for sustainable design and app. of materials

-   Early warning system for economic disruption due to availability of
    strategic materials.

-   Multi-Prong communication strategy -- mass customization education.

-   MFA and nano, security, terrorism, hydrogen, and agricultural
    education... **early warning system...** for economy and
    environment.

-   Knocks down the silos between disciplines to create a holistic
    approach to current events.

-   MUSES has unique interdisciplinary nature -- making it policy
    relevant. The policy influence... how do you have influence?

    -   Influence CA, then CA influence the nation?

    -   Involving industry can do the same... create a conduit...

    -   NSF should encourage provide the conduit.

-   Consumer Preference and Risk into the technological discussion