2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Empowering Change: The Role of Student Changemakers in Advancing Sustainability within Engineering Education

Presented at Environmental Engineering Division (ENVIRON) Technical Session 2 - Engineering for One Planet (EOP)

Over the last decade, we have seen an increase in the number of engineering programs that integrate sustainability. However, employer demand for green skills continues to outpace the supply. Furthermore, most engineering students are unable to access the educational experiences that will prepare them for sustainability-focused careers. Engineering for One Planet (EOP) is one of the initiatives working to address this gap by using a multi-pronged approach to support and accelerate the integration of social and environmental sustainability into engineering education. Supported by The Lemelson Foundation, EOP provides a framework of student learning outcomes, teaching guides, grant funding in collaboration with partners like ASEE, and support for the EOP Network (EOPN), an impact-driven network of diverse stakeholders committed to integrating environmental and social sustainability into engineering. EOP’s efforts have proven successful in fueling hundreds of courses across disciplines to integrate sustainability. While the EOP initiative has intentionally engaged students through a number of avenues, faculty champions have been at the center of curricular change efforts. Thus, the approach has not yet tapped the full potential of student changemakers to advocate for and support curricular change.

This paper draws upon primary research conducted during a workshop at the Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) conference in 2023 to understand students’ motivations and capacity to support curricular change efforts and students’ innovative approaches and priorities for curricular change. The paper also integrates the autoethnographies of student participants of the Engineering for One Planet Network (EOPN). The ESW workshop findings underscore students' passion for climate action and sustainability and their desire to support curricular change. The autoethnographies of EOPN student participants provide a first-hand perspective of students’ experiences, benefits, and challenges on their journey toward becoming changemakers. This paper advocates for the active involvement of students in curricular change and highlights the potentially powerful role of peer networks and student-led initiatives in promoting sustainability within engineering education. By leveraging student changemakers’ enthusiasm and innovative thinking, we can collectively work toward a more sustainable future in engineering education and practice.

Authors

Victoria Matthew Broadening Impacts [biography]

Victoria is the Network Manager for the Engineering for One Planet Network, an action network committed to transforming engineering education so all engineers are equipped with the understanding, knowl- edge, and skills to ensure their work contributes to a healthy world for lifetimes to come. Victoria is also a Principal Consultant at Broadening Impacts, an organization that partners with researchers to get their knowledge out into the world. Prior to that Victoria led VentureWell’s Community of Practice and social learning initiatives, their collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Frontier Set, a network of 31 post-secondary institutions working to close the student opportunity gap, and the NSF funded Pathways to Innovation program, a network of 50 post-secondary institutions working to embed innovation and entrepreneurship into undergraduate engineering.
Dr. Andrew Schulz http://orcid.org/https:// 0000-0001-8007-5157 Georgia Institute of Technology [biography]

Andrew Schulz is a postdoctoral researcher at Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany working in the fields of bioinspiration of materials and mechanics for sustainability and wildlife conservation. Andrew received his Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Mechanical Engineering in 2022 and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics from Oklahoma State University in 2018.
Reese Emily Simancek [biography]

Reese Simancek is a Mechanical Engineering major at the University of Miami who is looking to help the world through more sustainable technology.
Emma Telepo Michigan State University [biography]

Emma Telepo is a junior at Michigan State University studying mechanical engineering, with minors in business and environmental & sustainability studies. Emma is committed to advancing modern technology and innovation, and aims to integrate the principles of sustainability into her work.
Jo Machesky Yale University [biography]

Jo Machesky recently finished their Ph.D. in 2024 in the department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University focusing on understanding emerging sources of air pollution. In June 2024, they will join the EPA as an interdisciplinary physical scientist within the Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling focusing on measuring gas-phase organic air pollutants.
Hadley Willman California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo [biography]

Hadley Willman is the Assistant Director at the Initiative for Climate Leadership and Resilience at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and Conference Manager at Engineers for a Sustainable World. She is the Creator and former Director of the University Climate Ambassador program at the U.S. Green Chamber of Commerce. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Management and Protection from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Her professional background is primarily based in sustainability literacy and engagement via sustainability research, curriculum development, and conference management.
Dr. Abdulmalik Bamidele Ismail The University of Alabama [biography]

Abdulmalik Bamidele Ismail finished their Ph.D. in 2024 in the Department of Civil Engineering leading and managing national projects on building energy efficiency and construction decarbonization funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.

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