Conference Session

Capstone Courses II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Borchers, Kettering University; David Rinard, Steelcase, Inc.; Trevor Harding, Kettering University; Terri Lynch-Caris, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

research interests include wear phenomenon in orthopeadic implants, ethical development in engineering undergraduates, and pedagogical innovations in environmental education. Currently, Trevor serves on the ERM Division Board of Directors and on the Kettering University Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Advisory Board.Terri Lynch-Caris, Kettering University Dr. Terri Lynch-Caris, Ph.D., P.E., is an Assistant Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Kettering University. She serves as the Co-PI for the NSF project titled “Development of a Course in Environmentally Conscious Design and Manufacturing for Undergraduates” and will team-teach the course once developed. Her

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Research

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Simeon Komisar, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Lupita Montoya, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

environment where they canbe exposed to the body of knowledge on effective teams.” The material covered in the PD1portion of the course consists primarily of skills-based learning meant to foster effectiveteamwork abilities. Skills and topics covered include: collaboration, effective communicationand feedback, conflict management, team development, and ethical decision-making. Thecoursework and assignments help students gain topical knowledge, analyze and apply basicconcepts, and expand written and oral communication skills. Instructors for the PD1 portion ofthe course work in close contact with the instructor in charge of the engineering portion of thecourse. Instructors work together to coordinate activities within each portion and confer witheach

Conference Session

Sustainable Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Deanna Matthews, Carnegie Mellon University; Robert Heard, Carnegie Mellon University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

the EnvironmentTechnology and the Environment provides an overview of major environmental issues andconcerns associated with modern technology. This course examines technological innovationsand their impacts bringing together concepts from science, math, natural systems, governmentand policy, ethics, and individual behavior. The topics covered build from small scale (materiallevel) to large scale (systems level) as the semester progresses. This path allows students torecognize that the various stages involved with bringing technology to market (and phasing itout) each have impacts to be considered. The course builds on existing knowledge and choicesof everyday life, while plugging gaps and correcting factual misconceptions where necessary

Conference Session

Sustainable Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Pines, University of Hartford; Brian Gallant, University of Hartford

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

the villagers to see some of the same faces year after year that will improve the long-term success of the projects. Furthermore, the experience gained by one class in implementing their design can used to improve the design of the next year’s class.• The sophomore design course is already linked to an ethics course. Therefore, there is already a course in place that can help to facilitate further discussion of the ethical implications of how the project will help or may even hinder the development of a community.• The pedagogical technique of “just in time learning” could be used in the sophomore class to teach the students the technical subjects needed for them to complete their design. It is hoped that a “tast

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Vaccari, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

theyears that the course has been offered is shown in Table 2. Table 2. Syllabus for Environmental Biology 1. Why study biology? Engineering vs. Science. Studying. Complexity. Ethics. Hierarchy, evolution, taxonomy, interactions. 2. Biochemistry - Basic organic structures, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids 3. The Cell - structure and function, mitosis, meiosis Metabolism - enzyme kinetics, glycolysis, fermentation, respiration, photosynthesis. 4. Genetics - Heredity, Mendel, DNA replication, protein synthesis, mutations, DNA repair, Polymerase Chain Reaction 5. Plant and Animal Taxonomy - including the fungi Human Physiology - 11 systems and reproduction and development 6. Microbiology

Conference Session

Sustainable Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angela Bielefeldt, University of Colorado-Boulder

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

higher self-reported improvement in the ability to work on multi-disciplinary teams and understanding ofprofessional and ethical responsibility. The students who worked on the EWB independent studyprojects reported less gain in the “ability to design and conduct experiments”, with the exceptionof the student with who also wrote funding proposals and conducted significant laboratoryexperiments. Other responses, such as presentation skills, reflected differences in the specificexpectations of the experience (REU students were required to give an oral presentation at theend of the summer; independent study students generally write a final report but do not orallypresent their research findings).Table 4. ABET outcomes of the undergraduate student

Conference Session

Sustainable Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eric Beckman, University of Pittsburgh; Gena Kovalcik, University of Pittsburgh; Mary Besterfield-Sacre, University of Pittsburgh; Robert Ries, University of Pittsburgh; Kim Needy, University of Pittsburgh; Laura Schaefer, University of Pittsburgh; Larry Shuman, University of Pittsburgh

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

experience and studying the ethical behavior of engineers. He holds the Ph.D. in Operations Research from the John Hopkins, and the BSEE from the University of Cincinnati. Page 11.331.2© American Society for Engineering Education, 2006 Combining Graduate Studies, Research and International Experiences in SustainabilityAbstractA new challenge facing engineering educators is how to train graduate students to routinelyinclude sustainability as important design criteria. Equally important is the need for engineeringstudents to both broaden their perspective and learn to function collaboratively in cross

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kevin Bower, The Citadel; Kenneth Brannan, The Citadel; William Davis, The Citadel

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

Division of ASEE, and a New Faculty Fellow at the 2004 Frontiers in Education Conference. Dr. Bower is currently pursuing research in ethical and moral development in the engineering profession and how that relates to student learning.Kenneth Brannan, The Citadel Ken Brannan is Professor and Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Citadel. He was Chair of the Freshman Programs Division during 2001-2002 and served as President of the Southeastern Section in 1998-1999. He earned B.C.E and M.S. degrees from Auburn University and the Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. His professional interests include freshman engineering education and wastewater treatment.William Davis, The Citadel

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nicholas Scambilis, Sinclair Community College; Jennifer Wise, Sinclair Community College

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

needs, 4.1 Apply Quality tools to the profession. 4.2 Apply Quality tools to the profession.5. Safety: • apply general safety precautions and demonstrate knowledge of safety and workplace hazards, 5.1 Demonstrate knowledge of safety and workplace hazards.6. Lifelong Learning and Professionalism: • recognize the need to continuously pursue learning opportunities in order to remain technically competent, • understand professional and ethical responsibilities as defined by applicable professional organizations. 6.1 Understand professional and ethical responsibilities.7. Application and Design: • apply an understanding of the design of systems, components and processes applicable to program objectives, 7.1 Apply

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William Epolito, U.S. Military Academy; Michael Butkus, U.S. Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

Toxins Microbially Catalyzed Pollution (e.g. Acid Mine Drainage) Extreme Environments Microbes in Agriculture = in-depth coverage of topic and = general overview of topic Page 11.467.6 Many of the critical thinking skills described in Blooms taxonomy can be accomplishedvia laboratory experiences.8,9 And, ABET accredited programs are required to include labexperiences. The objectives of lab experiences include:8,10 instrumentation, experiment, dataanalysis, design, learning from failure, creativity, communications, teamwork, and ethics. Table4 presents laboratory exercises that could be used to support topics in each of

Conference Session

Sustainable Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vered Doctori Blass, University of California-Santa Barbara; Mary Hong Loan Dinh, University of California-Santa Barbara

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

in2000 to help developing areas worldwide with their engineering needs, while involving andtraining internationally responsible engineering students. EWB–USA projects involve the designand construction of water, waste-water, sanitation, energy, and shelter systems. These projectsare initiated by, and completed with, contributions from the host community, which is trained tooperate the systems independently without external assistance. The projects are conducted bygroups of students under the supervision of faculty and professional engineering mentors. Byinvolving students in every step of the process, the program maximizes their learning andawareness of the social, economic, environmental, political, ethical, and cultural impacts ofengineering

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bruce Berdanier, Ohio Northern University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

localized human populations taking into account their uniquecultural history and socio-economic interactions with nature and their environment whilesubverting, contesting, and reforming the current engineering practices that transform the earththrough an overarching focus on development1.”Background for Haiti “Each society carries what we refer to as an “environmental imaginary,” a way of imagining nature, including visions of those forms of social and individual practice which are ethically proper and morally right with regard to nature2.”Haiti, which is the western one third of Hispaniola Island (Figure 1), is generally recognized asthe poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with approximately 80% of the population livingin