Western News-Joshua Pearce Brings Open Source Sustainable Technology to the Front

By adding entrepreneurship, Western is advocating grassroots innovation this fall, strengthening its expertise in open source and sustainable technology research.

Joshua Pierce, the new John M. Thompson chair of Information Technology and Innovation, has a great passion for the development of solar energy and the creation of sustainable and shareable technologies, which is a major part of his research project in the West. It will be the focus.

Pierce came to the west from Michigan Technological University. There he spent the last 10 years as a professor of engineering. Appointment of Pearces in the Western includes duties at the Thompson Center for Engineering Leadership and Innovation and Ivey Business School. He also engages in many research projects in the electrical and computer engineering departments.

Western News caught up with Pearce and discussed his role, research and passion for sustainable technology.

Western News: What attracted you to Western?

Joshua Pierce

Joshua Pearce: I’ve always known about the wonders of the West. When I first got married, my wife Jen was doing surgical training here. What attracted me was the Thompson chair of information technology and innovation. It gives me the opportunity, and truly a mission, to help the West dominate the future of open source innovation. Free and open source technology is technology whose design is publicly available, and anyone can research, modify, distribute, create, or sell designs, software, or hardware based on that design. The technology source that is the design from which it is made comes with a license that can be modified and requires sharing of improvements based on the design. Open source technology gives people the freedom to control technology while sharing knowledge and facilitating commerce through open exchange of designs.

This is also a great way to develop technology. As a result, the vast majority of large companies are now contributing to open source projects. This is clearly the main trend today, with 90% of Fortune Global 500 using it. 90% of all supercomputers, cloud servers, 82% of smartphones and 62% of embedded systems run on open source operating systems. Over 70% of Internet of Things (IoT) devices also use open source software. Digital manufacturing technologies such as 3D printers are now making open sources a reality in the real world. My own work on free and open source hardware is about 15 years behind the software counterpart, demonstrating exponential growth. Creating successful business ventures with open source technology is the future, but it’s not as simple as traditional business models. It requires a little extra cleverness, and that’s where the fun part is.

I’m really impressed that Western faculty are open to collaboration and enthusiastic about new ideas, as well as staff and managers who are truly helpful and interested in our collective success. Received. I can’t wait to see the students. I’ve been blessed with teaching really great students in the past, but it would be unbelievable to have a lab group of very sharp Western students.

WN: Tell us a little more about the two roles you play in Ivey Business School and Thompson Center for Engineering Leadership and Innovation.

JP: From my point of view, I think it’s a way to leverage open source technology to integrate engineering and business and get things done quickly. My reputation in this area is that all work is open and anyone can use it for free, so it’s very easy to create a collaboration. This is good not only for academics but also for business. Imagine a campus where anyone with a product idea can prototype and take honest shots to see if it’s worth pursuing in some form of enterprise. Please give me. We will be able to do that here in Western. It will be a lot of fun, and I’m excited to be part of it.

“Technology development continues to push us towards a more sustainable state.” – Piercing

WN: Your field of study focuses on sustainable open source technologies. Why did you lead you to this particular academic interest?

JP: Looking around the world’s problems, we find that low-cost renewable energy is the answer to many problems. That’s why I got my PhD in engineering for low-cost solar power (solar panels). In my opinion, it’s the best opportunity to continue to enjoy an energy-intensive lifestyle without destroying the planet and to make it enjoyable for everyone in the world.

Later I came to open source technology. I started using an open source 3D printer called RepRap. This printer is a self-replicating rapid prototyper that manufactures its own parts and manufactures its own custom lab equipment. It worked very well (using open source technology, you can generally reduce the cost of your laboratory equipment by about 90%) and ended up jumping on both feet. I wrote a book called Open Source Labs to explain how other scientists and engineers can use it. He founded Hardware X, Elsevier’s flagship scientific instrument journal, where all technologies must be open source.

WN: When it comes to sustainability and reducing carbon dioxide emissions, innovation can be a double-edged sword. How can we keep technology working better in terms of sustainability?

JP: Fortunately, at least in the two areas I’m focusing on, distributed recycling and the development of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and photovoltaic (PV) technologies make us more sustainable. I’m heading towards it. I have done careful life cycle analysis (LCA) on both technologies. With DRAM, you can literally recycle your waste into high-value products in your home, either within the community or in the most radical way, reducing almost all embodied energy / emissions of transportation. increase. According to my research, this is not only great for the environment, but it also has enormous economic implications. It’s true that there are 3D printing failures, but I hope my current research in this area using AI and computer vision will solve that problem as well.

For PV, we are finishing the LCA of a new type of float voltex flexible solar cell that floats on the surface of the water. Water cools the PV, which makes it more efficient and prevents the water from evaporating. This is a great help to save water. Best of all, the new design I’m working on eliminates almost all of the traditional racking components, further significantly reducing footprint. In addition, we are considering agricultural power generation, which increases agricultural production in addition to all green power and high economic production per acre when PV and traditional agriculture are co-located. If the long-term outdoor tests I planned at the Western Field Station work as expected, I get the most environmentally friendly form of solar power to date. This is already a fairly deep shade of green.

WN: You co-authored a book titled “To Catch the Sun” with Ronnie Graffman. What is the story behind this book?

JP: Lonny is the founder of Appropedia.org, the largest wiki-based website specializing in joint solutions in sustainability, poverty reduction and international development. We have been friends and colleagues for a long time and decided to write a book together to accelerate the adoption of solar energy. To Catch the Sun is a collection of inspiring stories about how communities get together to harness their unique solar energy and show how to do it.

Photovoltaic technology, which converts sunlight directly into electricity, has so far been cheaper and is now the cheapest way to obtain electricity. If you are a little more convenient, you can further reduce costs by building your own system, and will guide you on the exact way to do it to catch the sun. It’s full of interesting stories from people around the world meeting their energy needs with a small solar system. Best of all, sticking to our open source principles is a free open access ebook.

I’m happy to report that I’ve abandoned the Kickstarter goal for anyone who wants a hard copy. This book will be published in at least Spanish. We aim to translate in several more languages, and all revenue from sales supports the Appropedia Foundation to ensure that the information is freely available and up-to-date.

WN: Do you have any tips for students taking your course?

JP: Bring your passion! All my courses are project-based, with no wasted time, exams or fluff. The goal of the project is to improve the world in a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely (SMART) way, with a focus on improving technical skills in the field. When you come to my class excited about the project, we will do our best to get along and help you succeed.

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The Chair of John M. Thompson was founded with investments from John, BESc66, LLD94, the former Prime Minister of the Western (2008-2012) and Melinda, BA64, Thompson, and funding from the Western. Thompson was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of IBM Canada in 1986 and later served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of IBM Corporation. He was also a non-executive chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Banking Corporation of Finance from 2003 to 2011.

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