2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Addressing the Sustainable Engineering Skills Gap through Engineering Curricula

Presented at Teaching Tools: Problem Solving and Hands-On Teaching (NEE)

Sustainable Engineering has become a major focus to not only conserve energy and resources but also reduce the production costs of realized products. The concept of Sustainable Manufacturing encourages the manufacturing of products using processes that minimize the overall negative impact through the conservation of energy and resources. One of the challenges in Sustainable Manufacturing is that many currently available processes are not economically sound compared to other traditional processes. However, this dynamic is changing very rapidly. The other significant challenge is the shortage of skilled workers in this area. This pressing need has highlighted the clear Skills Gap in the workforce. This paper reviews Sustainable Engineering outlining the career options and learning objectives that need to be addressed. A case study-based discussion will be provided on how Mechatronics and Renewable Energy curricula could be used as potential options to address the multi-/interdisciplinary skills gap. These curricula could be applied at multiple levels of engineering education, including high school, 2-year programs, and higher education. Thus, they present a broad modular approach that could address several areas of need in the Sustainable Engineering field.

Authors

Dr. Ashish D. Borgaonkar http://orcid.org/https://0000-0003-3375-889X New Jersey Institute of Technology [biography]

Dr. Ashish Borgaonkar works as an Assistant Professor of Engineering Education at the New Jersey Institute of Technology's (NJIT) Newark College of Engineering (NCE) located in Newark, New Jersey. He has developed and taught several engineering courses primarily in first-year engineering, civil and environmental engineering, and general engineering. He has won several awards for excellence in instruction; most recently the Saul K. Fenster Award for Innovation in Engineering Education. His research focuses on increasing diversity in STEM education and the STEM workforce. He has received multiple grants to run workforce development training programs as well as undergraduate research experience programs to train underrepresented minority and first-generation students. He is the Founding Director of NJIT's Grand Challenges Scholars Program. He also has worked on several research projects, programs, and initiatives to help students bridge the gap between high school and college as well as to prepare students for the rigors of mathematics. He is also involved in various engineering education initiatives focusing on the integration of novel technologies into the engineering classroom, and excellence in instruction. His additional research interests include water, and wastewater treatment, stormwater management and pollution control, civil engineering infrastructure, and transportation engineering.
Dr. Samuel C. Lieber, P.E. New Jersey Institute of Technology [biography]

Samuel C. Lieber, PhD, PE is an Assistant Professor of Advanced Manufacturing in the Engineering Technology Department and Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). Dr. Lieberâ€™s applied research i
Dr. Mohsen Azizi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8178-2520 New Jersey Institute of Technology [biography]

Mohsen Azizi is an assistant professor in the School of Applied Engineering and Technology at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). He received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, in 2005 and 2010, respectively. From 2010 to 2013, he was an R&D engineer at Aviya Tech Inc. and Pratt & Whitney Canada Inc., Longueuil, Canada, where he designed and developed control and fault diagnosis systems for jet engines. His research has been focused on decentralized control and fault diagnosis techniques in microgrids, renewable energy systems, mechatronics, and aerospace.

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