2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The pressing demands of climate change require innovative and multidisciplinary approaches to training and equipping a new generation of engineers and physicists to be ready to solve this global challenge, and transitioning to this new sustainable economy will take time. It is imperative that academic institutions design appropriate curricula that prepare students to tackle the complex energy-related problems faced by society, as students need to understand existing technologies, such as cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP), which reduces energy consumption, and it can be integrated with renewable energy sources. Weatherization of buildings, which consume more than 40% of the energy in the United States, is necessary to reduce energy consumption and strive to achieve net zero buildings; however, many mechanical engineering programs are not offering HVAC as a required or an elective course. In general, the courses should enable students to solve problems in the production, processing, storage, distribution, and efficient utilization of sustainable energy systems. Curricula should include such topics as: energy storage technologies, e.g., batteries, super capacitors, green hydrogen-generation; power transmission, including superconductivity and grid stabilization; electrochemistry and membrane technologies that are needed for innovative new power generation technologies such as, fuel cells (FC) and salinity gradient energy (SGE) generation. The paper also provides evidence that topics such as Gibbs free energy, chemical potential and exergy analysis are going to be extremely important to be covered in mechanical engineering courses, as these new technologies will require a more fundamental, broader-based education, even at the undergraduate level.