NEW LOCATION: 7775 Walton Pkwy, 3rd Floor, New Albany, OH 43054

FRI 3/22/24, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Be ready to interact with our featured speaker, Neil Drobny, and your fellow participants.

Please arrive at 11:30 am. Eat. Mingle. Make new friends.

Neil Drobny, PhD, will discuss a new sustainability initiative that he introduced at Western Michigan University — the Bronco Challenge for Sustainable Impact. Students work in teams of their own choosing on a year-long project that they design.

Key features of the program, striking a high note of innovation:

1. Projects must target a problem or issue embedded in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
2. Teams must be interdisciplinary.
3. Students work for money, not grades (1^st place team gets $10,000)
4. Prizes are funded by corporate sponsors.

With the Challenge now about to wrap up its 2^nd year, Neil will discuss why students commit to participating in the Challenge (besides the money) and why corporate sponsors are willing to commit scarce philanthropic dollars tp it. He will also highlight the international recognition that the Challenge has brought to Western. Learn more here.

***************

Neil Drobny went to college eager to study what we now call Sustainability. Unfortunately, however, Neil soon learned there were no such courses. Advisors suggested he study computers and space technology. He did not take that advice and majored in Environmental Engineering.

Neil’s first job was at a US Navy laboratory that provided logistic support for Operation Deep Freeze. Neil’s work involved environmental research pertinent to operating in the Antarctic. On one trip to the Antarctic, Neil walked around the world at the geographic South Pole on a warm summer day in January (minus 40 degrees F).

During Neil’s accomplished career, he spent considerable time at Battelle, ERM (Environmental Resource Management), and The Ohio State University. While at Ohio State for 16 years, he developed and taught courses in sustainable business practices in the Fisher College of Business, and played a key role in development of a university-wide major in Sustainability.

In 2020, Neil and his wife Betty moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan where they live on a lake.

Neil earned his Bachelors and Masters Degrees at Dartmouth College and his PhD at Ohio State.

***************

Like all TIGER Events, this one is FREE.

Timeline:

11:30 am – Lunch / Socializing

11:50 am – Introduce yourself to our crowd (your “15 Seconds of Fame”)

12:05 pm – Hand-off to our speaker, Neil Drobny

1:00 pm – Wrap / More Socializing

This event has passed so registration is closed.