2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Capstone or senior design is a mandatory course during the senior year of any undergraduate engineering discipline. The students apply their cumulative knowledge gathered over the other technical courses taken during the study. While the capstone projects are designed to check the students’ overall scientific understanding of the subject matter, often the sustainability component of the project is overlooked. Every day, large scale projects are being implemented to construct and repair US infrastructures where the environment friendly and long-lasting materials inclusion is increasing. In addition, civil engineers can contribute to cut down carbon emission using new and sustainable methods of construction. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has also put emphasis on the sustainable future without degrading the quality and availability of natural resources. To keep it mind, the sustainability component was included in the Capstone Project during Spring 2021 and Spring 2022 semester. The purpose of the current study is to document the sustainability element of the capstone project. In the Spring 2021 semester, students determined the carbon footprint of an exit ramp built on a major highway. The team calculated the amount of carbon-dioxide (CO2) generated from the construction and the savings from cutting down the commute time related emission. In the end, the number of years were reported to reach the breakeven point. In the Spring 2022, the capstone team determined the feasibility of different alternative materials i.e. recycled asphalt pavement for road construction and compared the Green House Gas (GHG) emissions from various alternatives. It was found that, the usage of recycled materials would considerably lower the GHG emissions compared to concrete road construction. Outcome of this study will assist the instructors to design their capstone class including the sustainability section.