Core Classes

Details for the Green Engineering core courses are provided below:

ENGR 3124 - Introduction to Green Engineering (3 credits)

  • This course is designed to introduce engineering students to global environmental issues that engineers must be aware of to be responsible citizens and environmentally conscious engineers. We will examine ways in which human and engineering activities impact the environment, and student’s working in teams will investigate and prepare a term paper on critical environmental issues in their particular engineering discipline.
  • This course is a discussion-based course with heavy reliance on the textbook, course home page, web-based resources, and homework. Because of the excellent textbook, many classes will begin with a 5 to 10-minute quiz on the previously assigned reading material. The quizzes will be structured to determine whether the students have read the assigned reading and also form an outline of the topics to be covered during the class discussion. After class, notes on the assigned readings will be posted on the course home page for students to review the main principles again.
  • Learning Objectives:
    • List and discuss the major global environmental problems, their causes and potential solutions.
    • Discuss how the engineering profession can take a proactive role in minimizing environmental problems.
    • List the principal environmental issues facing your particular engineering discipline and discuss how these issues can or are being addressed by professionals in your discipline.
    • Utilize spreadsheets and simple simulation/programming techniques to analyze environmental problems and alternative solutions.
    • Discuss the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork in the solution of environmental and environmentally conscious design and manufacturing problems.

ENGR 3134 - Environmental Life Cycle Analysis and Materials Selection (3 credits)

  • It is strongly recommended that ENGR 3124 is taken before this course.
  • This course is designed to introduce engineering students to the concepts of product/process life cycles and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). We will examine ways to quantify, analyze, and evaluate the impacts of human engineering activities on the environment. We will also focus on the design and materials selection phase of the product/process life cycle as this phase have a significant effect on the environmental impact for anything designed.
  • This course will utilize a wide range of resources to provide interdisciplinary case studies and examples as a means to better understanding the concepts presented. Students will be required to investigate and analyze various materials and products related to their discipline or interests to solidify their understanding of the course material.
  • Learning Objectives:
    • Identify the 4 phases of the life cycle of a product, process, or system
    • Understand the critical role of materials selection in the design
    • Describe why Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a critical skill for engineers in terms of technical, economical, societal, environmental, and political impacts
    • List major environmental impact categories and explain potential endpoints
    • Identify the 4 steps for completing a life cycle analysis
    • Draw an LCA system boundary and identify key inputs and outputs
    • Understand the limitations of LCA and discuss why this type of analysis is valuable in spite of the shortcomings
    • Find sources of environmental impact data and critically analyze the quality of that data
    • Perform a simple LCA on a product, process, or system using a spreadsheet or commercial software
    • Understand the concept and issues with “weighting” in LCA analysis and interpretation
    • Make basic recommendations, based on materials selection and LCA analysis, to minimize the environmental impact of a product, process, or system
    • Understand how product design and LCA are can be used together to minimize environmental impact