Blevins, M. D., & Burian, S. J. (2012, June), Analysis of the Sustainability Culture in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Programs  Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--20949

\bibitem{asee_peer_20949}
  Blevins, M. D., \& Burian, S. J. (2012, June), \emph{Analysis of the Sustainability Culture in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Programs}
  Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, San Antonio, Texas.
  10.18260/1-2--20949

Maria Dawn Blevins and Steven J. Burian.  "Analysis of the Sustainability Culture in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Programs".  2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas, 2012, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2012.  https://peer.asee.org/20949 Internet.  26 Dec, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_20949}
  Maria Dawn Blevins and Steven J. Burian.
  "Analysis of the Sustainability Culture in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Programs".
  \emph{2012 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, San Antonio, Texas, 2012, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2012.
  https://peer.asee.org/20949 Internet.  26 Dec, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_20949
author = "Maria Dawn Blevins and Steven J. Burian"
title = "Analysis of the Sustainability Culture in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Programs"
booktitle = "2012 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2012"
month = "June"
address = "San Antonio, Texas"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/20949}
number = {10.18260/1-2--20949}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -         Analysis of the Relationship between Sustainability Culture and Curriculum in Civil                      Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Programs       In current discourses regarding sustainability, global climate change, and otherenvironmental issues, a common assumption is that humans will be able to engineer themselvesout of environmental predicaments. However, even though the discipline of engineering has beencharged with creating solutions to global environmental problems, the culture of engineering is notcurrently, singularly focused on or equipped for innovating solutions to sustainability challenges.Some “green” focused engineers are working on designing new technologies with an emphasis onsustainable engineering and design, however they are currently a minority. If technologicaladvances in infrastructure, energy production, fossil fuel reduction, and waste are going to be partof society’s solution to sustainability and global climate change, engineers are going to have tochange the way they identify themselves as active participants and develop new skillsets in solvingthis multi-disciplinary problem. Because new engineers are socialized to the profession throughtheir education in an engineering department, examining the culture of an engineering departmentwill identify in what ways students are being socialized into their role as sustainable designers.Additionally, due to the differing perceptions of civil and mechanical engineers, the researchersbelieve there is value in comparing and contrasting the cultures of both a civil engineeringdepartment and a mechanical engineering department.       In this project the researchers are examining the organizational culture of the University of____ Mechanical and Civil Engineering programs to see if the identification of environmentally orsustainability focused engineering is part of the current organizational structure. From thisstandpoint the objective in this paper is to build a more comprehensive view of the sustainabilitycurriculum and sustainability culture of the students and faculty in these departments. Exploringhow students and faculty currently identify themselves and what the role of engineers is regardingsustainability and global climate change at this school at this time will provide interestinginformation both to scholars interested in identity and to scholars interested in how differentdisciplines are reacting to sustainability and global climate change. By understanding the culture ofthese departments at this time, meaningful curriculum could be developed to help place moreemphasis on the importance of sustainability in the discipline of mechanical and civil engineering.       The foundation of this study is based on interviews of students and professors in the field ofmechanical and civil engineering, participant observation of classes and faculty meetings,document analysis, and student surveys. The paper will present synthesis of the data intorelationships among curriculum and culture in the two programs. Special attention will be given tohighlighting the impact of student attitudes and values towards sustainability, their perception ofcivil and mechanical engineering as sustainability related, and how that influenced their selectionof civil and mechanical engineering as their major and ultimately their retention in the programs.
AU  - Maria Dawn Blevins
AU  - Steven J. Burian
CY  - San Antonio, Texas
DA  - 2012/06/10
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Analysis of the Sustainability Culture in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Programs
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/20949
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--20949
ER  -