2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

To introduce sustainability concepts earlier in the curriculum, the [Name] Department of Chemical Engineering at [University] developed sustainability-focused learning modules for three sophomore-level core courses: Introduction to Chemical Engineering, Fluid Mechanics, and Thermodynamics. Each module included a lesson plan, interactive classroom activity, and sample homework problems centered on a real-world application of sustainability directly connected to course material. The overall goal was to integrate selected sustainability into the courses in a manner that is concise, engaging, and complemented existing course content. This paper describes the implementation and outcomes of these sustainability lesson plans. Interested students may take more advanced sustainability electives later in the curriculum.
Pre- and post-surveys were administered to sophomore-level students to assess learning and shifts in attitudes toward sustainability in engineering. Instructors also provided feedback on the ease of implementation, perceived student engagement, and alignment with existing course material. Quantitative and qualitative results from the student surveys showed that the modules increased student awareness and interest in sustainability, however, some students displayed signs of eco-anxiety. Instructor feedback indicated the lesson plans were easy to implement and beneficial for connecting course content to sustainability issues. All of the instructors adapted the lesson plans to enhance student learning, demonstrating the flexibility and scalability of the plans.
Overall, the study demonstrates an effective approach to integrating sustainability topics into sophomore-level chemical engineering courses. The lessons learned in this study provide valuable insights for other programs planning to implement the sustainability lesson plans.