ENME489E: Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering; Design for Sustainability

Credits: 3

Semesters Offered

Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025
Testudo

Learning Objectives

  • Explore Sustainability Opportunities:
  • Investigate global and U.S. challenges and opportunities in sustainability, understanding the impact of engineering decisions.
  • Learn Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Basics:
  • Understand LCA to quantify environmental and health impacts.
  • Measure greenhouse gas emissions for materials and processes, and analyze sustainability practices across industries.
  • Apply Design for Sustainability (DfS) Principles:
  • Learn and apply DfS principles to minimize resource use and optimize product life cycles.
  • Integrate DfS into systems engineering for sustainable product design and innovation.

Topics Covered

  • Section 1:  The Big Picture of Sustainability
    • What is Sustainability? Understand the core concept and explore how the sustainability paradigm is reshaping the world.
    • The Story of Our Planet: Dive into real-world data on the depletion of non-renewable resources, ecological damage, and the risks these pose to human health and society.
    • Economics and Humanity: Analyze key figures on GDP, poverty, and lifespan to see how sustainability links to global well-being.
    • Population Dynamics: Explore the famous Ann and Paul Ehrlich equation and learn how population growth influences resource use.
    • Ecosystems Under Pressure: Concepts like Carrying Capacity, the Tragedy of the Commons, and Resilience will challenge how we think about resource management.
    • The Power of Collaboration: Learn about the "three-legged stool" approach—how government, corporations, and consumers must work together for a sustainable future.
    • Designing for a Better World: Get introduced to Design for Recyclability, Design for Disassembly, and how to create products that are part of the solution.
  • Section 2: Life Cycle Thinking
    • Understanding Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Learn how to map the environmental impact of products from start to finish.
    • Step-by-Step LCA: Master the four steps of LCA—from defining goals to interpreting results—and understand how every stage of a product's life affects the environment.
    • Case Study: Fuel Tanks: See LCA in action by assessing fuel tank manufacturing and its environmental footprint.
    • Modeling Emissions: Learn to use OpenLCA.  Build EIO-LCA model and compare them with process-based LCA to get a holistic view of environmental impact.
    • Home Energy Footprint: Calculate how much energy and CO2 an average U.S. household generates, and learn how we can change this
  • Section 3:  Design for Sustainability (DfS) Principles
    • The 12 Principles of DfS: Understand the fundamental rules of designing products with the planet in mind—focusing on material, energy, and waste reduction.
    • Real-World Applications: Apply DfS principles to real-world examples, and learn how to create sustainable products that last longer, pollute less, and cost less over time.
    • Systems Thinking in Action: See how DfS integrates with the Systems V process to create a blueprint for sustainable product design
  • Section 4
    • Engineering with Integrity: Delve into the ethical dimensions of sustainability and what it means to be an engineer working for a better future.
    • Sustainability Reporting: Learn about the importance of transparency and how companies report their sustainability efforts.
    • Industry Insights: Hear from leaders at Stanley Black & Decker, NIST, ERG, and others on how they’re pushing the boundaries of sustainable engineering.

 

Learning Outcomes

  • an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
  • an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams
  • an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
  • an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
  • an ability to communicate effectively
  • the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
  • a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
  • a knowledge of contemporary issues
  • an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice

Additional Course Information

Instructor 

Arul, Senthil

Textbook 

Not required. Class notes and reference material will be provided.

Course Structure and Evaluation:

Assignments (6 Total): You will complete six assignments designed to deepen your understanding of sustainability concepts and engineering applications.

Mid-term Exam: A comprehensive mid-term exam will assess your grasp of key principles covered in the first half of the course.

Final Assessment: For your final evaluation, you may choose between a traditional final exam or a project. The project option allows you to apply course concepts to a real-world problem or case study, offering a practical learning experience.

Class Participation (15%): Active participation is crucial and will count for up to 15% of your final grade. Each class will include a 30-minute interactive session, during which you will engage in discussions and activities. At the end of each session, you will submit your participation work via ELMS (Canvas), ensuring continuous involvement and reflection on the day’s topics.

Class/Laboratory Schedule 

  • One 2 hour and 30-minute lecture per week