2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Sustainability-Focused Learning Modules for Sophomore Chemical Engineering Core Courses
Presented at Integrating Sustainability and Social Responsibility
Sustainability is an emerging field in chemical engineering education, driven by global challenges, employer requests, and strong student interest. In response, many departments are incorporating sustainable engineering content into their curricula. Similar to process safety, sustainability can be taught as stand-alone courses or embedded within existing courses. In many of the departments, sustainability courses are offered as upper-level elective and graduate courses, providing focused in-depth coverage. However, this delays students’ introduction to sustainability concepts until their junior or senior year. To provide earlier exposure, the [Name] Department of Chemical Engineering at [University] has developed sustainability-focused learning modules for three sophomore-level core courses: Introduction to Chemical Engineering, Fluid Mechanics, and Thermodynamics. Each module includes lesson plans, interactive classroom activities, and sample homework problems, many of which extend current course content and require less than fifteen minutes of class time. These modules introduce foundational sustainability principles and emphasize their practical applications in engineering. By incorporating these learning modules, departments can offer an earlier, more integrated introduction to sustainability in their undergraduate curricula.
-
Dr. Heather Walker University of Arkansas [biography]
-
Dr. Edgar C Clausen University of Arkansas [biography]
-
Dr. Tammy M Lutz-Rechtin University of Arkansas
-
Madeline Grace Mondebello University of Arkansas [biography]
The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025