2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Due to the pressing global challenges of climate change, resource depletion, and environmental degradation, there is a growing need for sustainable engineering education. In response to student interest and employer requests, an Introduction to Sustainable Engineering course has been developed in the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Arkansas. The class has been structured as a three credit-hour elective for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. The course has been taught for two semesters, and it has been approved to count toward the university-level minor in Sustainability. As an introductory course, it exposes students to a broad range of topics in the field and prepares them for subsequent sustainability courses. An emphasis is placed on real-world applications across the three pillars of sustainability through interdisciplinary collaboration, industry speakers, and case studies. Key components of the course include foundational sustainability principles, corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting, decarbonization, sustainability in materials, life cycle assessment (LCA), renewable energy, and sustainable engineering design principles. In addition, students participate in three lab components—two experiments and one demonstration—exploring alternative energy sources including the production of H2 fuel, solar power, and polymer pyrolysis to fuel oil. Student learning is assessed through reflection papers at the end of each unit, two lab reports, and a group project at the end of the semester. A new course in LCA will be taught in the department in Spring 2024 to supplement the sustainability curriculum.

The Introduction to Sustainable Engineering course was offered first in Spring 2022 and again in Fall 2023. At the beginning of the Fall 2023 course, a pre-assessment was administered to the students to establish a baseline of knowledge. At the conclusion of the semester, a post-assessment measured student growth in their understanding of sustainability concepts. Students completing the course should be able to explain the principles and concepts that underlie sustainability, including environmental, social, and economic aspects. Furthermore, the students should be able to develop sustainable solutions to real-world problems involving the chemical industry and chemical engineering applications. This paper describes the course outline, assessment mechanism, lab components, and results from the pre- and post-assessments. Lessons learned and future improvements for the course are also discussed.