MCP Student Wins Prestigious Schmidt-MacArthur Fellowship
CED News
By Mark Lam
17 March 2016
Bo Chung (M.C.P '17) and his mentor Malo Hutson, Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning, are one of eighteen teams selected by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation for the fourth Schmidt MacArthur Fellowship. This fellowship is an international program on the circular economy for postgraduate design, engineering and business students. This unique program is the only fellowship in the world to engage both the student and their academic mentor as a partnership of learning and knowledge sharing.
Chung is a graduate student in the Department of City and Regional Planning. His research interests lie in the areas of sustainability in the urban environment and urban design. The seed of his innovation project for the Schmidt MacArthur Fellowship is innovative building materials for informal settlements, but he hopes that through the program he can expand on this vision.
"The circular economy is not a new concept. However there seems to be a lack of this philosophy within the built environment. I hope to utilize the knowledge that I will gain from this Fellowship to promote the circular economy within housing and equity issues in the urban setting. Reuse of gray water, innovative building materials and design; the possibilities are limitless. As the world's population becomes more urbanized, the need for us to adapt our way of life is more pressing than ever," says Chung.
He will receive support for his project from City and Regional Planning Professor, Malo Hutson. The team, as part of their Fellowship, will attend a week long summer school at the University of Liverpool in London. The Fellowship also extends an online support program, a cash stipend and the opportunity to link up with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's wider program of activities and networks.
“I’m thrilled to be a part of the Schmidt MacArthur Fellowship program. It is a wonderful opportunity for me to not only work with my graduate student Bo Chung, but for us to team up with other designers, businesses, and engineering leaders from institutions world-wide to promote the circular economy. Bo Chung’s project on promoting the circular economy through housing and equity work is not only relevant, but essential for us to adapt to climate change while addressing growing inequality,” says Professor Hutson.
About the Foundation and Program:
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was created in 2010 to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The Foundation’s work focuses on four areas: insight and analysis, business and government, education and training, and communication. With its Knowledge Partner, McKinsey & Company, the Foundation collaborates with its Global Partners,(businesses, governments and cities, to develop circular business initiatives and build capacity. The Foundation is creating a global teaching and learning platform on the circular economy as well, encompassing work with leading universities, schools and colleges.
The Schmidt MacArthur Fellowship, launched in 2013, is an international program for postgraduate students and their academic mentors from design, engineering and business on the circular economy. The Fellowship is open to postgraduate students from a global network of fourteen Partner Universities including UC Berkeley.
About the UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design :
UC Berkeley is one of twelve international partner universities invited by the Schmidt Family and Ellen MacArthur Foundations to participate in this program. In 2013, Antony Kim (M.S. Arch '15) and his mentor Galen Cranz, Professor of Architecture, were selected for the inaugural Schmidt MacArthur Fellowship where they researched lighting for a circular economy.