Dr. Jesus Pagan to lead talk on plastics recycling at Sustainable Infrastructure Hub spring seminar

Dr. Jesus Pagan, the OHIO Office of Sustainability’s new Sustainable Infrastructure Hub coordinator, will lead a demonstration and discussion of plastics recycling research at this semester’s third and final Sustainability Hub Seminar on Monday, April 19 at 5 p.m.

He will be joined by Dr. Andrew Weems, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and with the assistance of their students the pair will utilize various lab cameras to virtually demonstrate how certain plastics can be recycled. The live seminar will be available on Microsoft Teams here, and after the seminar a recording will be available on Facebook @OHIOsustainable.

Pagan is an associate professor in the Department of Engineering Technology and Management in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology and has been a close collaborator with the Office of Sustainability for several years.  His predecessor as hub coordinator, David Bayless, completed his term in the position after launching the Sustainability Project Laboratory and Triple Bottom Line Cost Benefit Analysis tool, initiatives that Pagan and the sustainability staff are committed to continuing.

Pagan teaches courses in metal fabrication and casting, robotics and automation, and applied mechatronics. His research interests include robotics, 3D Printing or additive manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and energy and environmental issues. He is also actively engaged in entrepreneurship and workforce development. 

Pagan was assistant director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment and worked as a project coordinator for the Center for Algal Engineering Research and Commercialization, an Ohio Third Frontier Wright Project.  He is a member of the Association of Technology Management and Applied Engineering, Epsilon Pi Tau honor society in technology, American Welding Society and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.

Prior to joining the OHIO faculty, Pagan worked as a welding engineer for robotics company OTC Daihen in Dayton and Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. He also was president and owner of Zeus Robotics, a robotics and automation company started at the Innovation Center. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in welding engineering from Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in mechanical and systems engineering from OHIO.

To learn more about Dr. Pagan and the Sustainable Infrastructure Hub themes of Buildings, Energy, Water and Waste, please join the April 19 seminar.