Peter Nicholas Bailey
Adjunct Faculty
BA in Philosophy, University of Illinois at Chicago; Certificate in Leadership & Organization, Rutgers University; Masters of Science in Sustainable Design, University of Michigan
Research includes how ethics and design modalities can spawn innovation by imagining wastes as techno-cultural nutrients. With a particular interest in how this informs business models, Peter’s research focuses on the transition from a linear to a circular economy. In partnership with a local nonprofit, NextCycle recently funded their feasibility study for upcycling organic byproducts from the beverage industry into nutritional ingredients suitable for human consumption. In other research, sponsorship from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), included hybrid micro-grid renewable energy optimization for a rural village in Ghana. Results of the needs assessment inspired the architectural concept for delivering electricity through a centralized multifunctional community pavilion. A companion literature review evaluated why many attempts to electrify Sub-Saharan Africa underperform or are abandoned, in part, from applying highly technical solutions to low and middle-income countries. Peter is passionate and committed to evolving concepts in ethics and design as an engine for sustainable development.
Professional Experience
As an entrepreneur, sustainability scientist and leadership coach, Peter Bailey has had experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors. He began his career in sustainability at the City of Ann Arbor, before matriculating into the first Sustainable Systems (M.S.) cohort at The University of Michigan. Over the following decades, Peter’s career has taken him all over the country and back to the Midwest to start a craft distillery, having already worked as a sustainability professional in the commercial furniture and flooring industries. He has founded a number of small businesses and is currently developing a business model for organics upcycling.Â