Lucas J. Daniel Series in Sustainable Systems

About the Lucas J. Daniel Series in Sustainable Systems

The focus of ID’s annual event in memory of ID alum Lucas J. Daniel (1974–2017) is to drive discourse in sustainability and systems design, areas Lucas was passionate about.
The Lucas J. Daniel Series in Sustainable Systems was endowed in 2018 by family, friends, colleagues, and classmates of Lucas J. Daniel. Lucas was a 2005 ID graduate and spent 11 years at Chicago design and innovation consultancy gravitytank. There he built a food experience design practice that applied holistic, systems-level thinking to food innovation. At the time of his passing, Lucas was senior director, strategic innovation at Salesforce, Inc., where he managed innovation teams and advised customers within the Ignite Business Unit Group.
Today, the Lucas J. Daniel Series in Sustainable Systems hosts speakers who can address topics that would benefit from systems thinking and systems design. Featured speakers give lectures or join a public conversation with ID faculty and/or other discussants, presenting their perspective on a systemic issue.
Past speakers in the Lucas J. Daniel Series include:
2022 Lucas J. Daniel Lecture in Sustainable Systems
Erika Allen
Erika Allen, co-founder and CEO of the Urban Growers Collective, discusses food systems, food waste, circular economies, and community participatory research in her talk, which will be followed by a discussion with ID Associate Professor of Environmental Management and Sustainability Weslynne Ashton.