Dr. John W. Sutherland is Professor and Fehsenfeld Family Head of Environmental and Ecological Engineering (EEE) at Purdue University. As Head, he led the development of the EEE undergraduate degree and graduate (M.S. and Ph.D.) programs and has grown the department in terms of students, staff, and faculty into one of the largest environmental engineering programs in the U.S. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to assuming his present position in 2009, he held the Henes Chair Professorship of Mechanical Engineering and served as the Director of the Sustainable Futures Institute at Michigan Technological University.
Sutherland is one of the world’s leading authorities on the application of sustainability principles to design, manufacturing, and other industrial issues. He has contributed pioneering research and education achievements, and provided leadership to advancing the field of environmentally responsible design and manufacturing. He has served as an investigator on over 60 externally funded projects valued in excess of $30M. He has mentored over 80 students to the completion of their graduate degrees, including 23 PhD students. He has published over 300 papers in various journals and conference proceedings.
Professor Sutherland’s professional service activities have largely been associated with SME, ASME, and CIRP (College International pour la Recherche en Productique). For ASME his responsibilities have included: Assoc. Tech. Ed. J. of Mfg. Sci. and Engr. (1991-97), Chair of the Manufacturing Engineering Division (2000-01), Climate Change Task Force (2007-2009), Chair of the Research Committee on Sustainable Products and Processes (2011-2016). For SME his contributions have included Chair – Organizing Committee for the North Am. Manf. Res. Conf. (1995), Scientific Committee for the North Am. Manf. Res. Inst. of SME (1991-present), and Board of Directors of NAMRI/SME (1998-2004). For CIRP he has served as Chair of the Collaborative Working Group on "Energy and Resource Efficiency and Effectiveness" (2009-2012), and Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary of the Scientific Technical Committee on Life Cycle Engineering and Assembly (2010-present). He was the co-editor on two issues of the International Journal of Engineering Education – Educating Students in Sustainable Engineering (2005-07), and serves as the editor for the Intl. J. of Precision Engr. and Manufacturing: Green Technology, editor of the Frontiers in Mechanical Engr. – J. of Manufacturing and Production Engr., and regional editor for both the International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing and the Journal of Remanufacturing.
Sutherland is a Fellow of SME (2005), ASME (2006), and CIRP (2011). His honors and recognitions include the SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award (1992), Michigan Technological University Distinguished Teaching Award (1992), Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (1996), SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award (1999), Michigan Technological University Research Award (2000), SME Education Award (2009), ASME Dedicated Service Award (2009), Outstanding Lifetime Service Award from NAMRI/SME (2010), SAE International John Connor Environmental Award (2010), and ASME William T. Ennor Manufacturing Technology Award (2013).