Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kurt Paterson, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

Michigan Technological University (MichiganTech). This paper details the course objectives and design, the educational modelsinfluencing its form, and some preliminary outcomes.Learning PreferencesThere are several methods to assess learning preferences1. One method applicable toscience and engineering students is the Index of Learning Styles2. This forty-fourquestion assessment is easily administered via a web-based questionnaire3. In this methodlearning preferences are determined with results along a spectrum of four learningpairings: sensing-intuitive, global-sequential, active-reflective, and verbal-visual. No twostudents learn exactly alike. Learning style is simply a preferred way of learning – oftenthe way(s) that knowledge “sticks” most

Conference Session

Sustainable Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Martha Garcia-Saenz, Purdue University-North Central; Maria Consuelo Garcia Alvarez, Universidad La Gran Colombia

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

thanthose who only contacted the co-op. During this service-learning project, it was beneficial forstudents to receive feedback directly from users because it allowed then to connect withcustomers and accomplish the technology-transfer.After the final presentation, students had the opportunity to reflect on their experiences. Belloware some of their comments:• “I am glad to be an engineer because I can apply my creative talent and skills to serve the community”.• “I never imagined that as a student, I could develop a real project like this one”.• “It’s incredible that solar energy can have many applications and give economic solutions to the low-income families”.• “Because we started studying the more expensive water heater system, I never

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

documentation, with the over-arching goal ofestablishing a better system for comprehensively tracking improvement items.Systematic tracking of improvements is structured to occur at both the individual classlevel as well as allowing meaningful aggregation at the curriculum level, reflective of theentire program.The objective of this paper is to highlight the usefulness of the thread (outcome linkagebetween specific course goals and sub-areas) as a framework for assessment. This paperdescribes the process used to develop threads and provides an example course goal andoutcome thread for the environmental engineering curriculum within the Department ofCivil and Environmental Engineering. In addition, the paper addressees the subsequentchanges that have

Conference Session

Sustainable Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

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

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

reflection of their own use and disposalof products enlightens them further to the intricacies of technology and the environment.Life cycles of technology development, launch, and replacement highlight the rapid growth anddissemination of technology products. While strides in technology have scaled down the size ofproducts, it has also shortened time to obsolescence. For example, desktop computers havebenefited from the developments in circuitry miniaturization that have significantly reduced the Page 11.673.3materials requirements for significant increases in memory and speed. However, computers areeffectively a disposable item and are typically

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michelle Jarvie, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

described discussions as: gets you involved and talking about the topics which helps me to learnbetter.While student NN explained about discussions: It makes the information sink in well through the use of real-lifeapplicationThese statements both reflect increased student learning through the discussionsthemselves. Thus, the students found both the preparatory assignments and thediscussions as tools that increased their understanding of the course material.Student leadership of the discussion groups resulted in no complaints. In fact,only one student commented negatively on the discussion group format, in thewords of Student H: Discussions should be better formatted. Sometimes it is hard to talk about certain

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kurt Paterson, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

.Among the students, there is a rough balance between the big-picture global learners(52% of the students) and the orderly step-by-step sequential learners (48%). Nearly twotimes as many students learn best through sensory input (65%) versus intuition (35%).The preference in the visual-verbal pairing is more skewed, nearly five times the numberof students have a preference for visual learning (83%) versus verbal learning (17%).Lastly, for every student who learns best by reflecting on material (13%), there are almostseven who prefer active learning (87%). These results are similar to past ILS studies ofenvironmental engineering students5. Clearly, a lecture-based course would not be idealfor these students. These results are not a call to

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

. The work load can be overwhelming for even the most committed group of volunteers.- Project progress tends not to be steady, as members may put project work on hold for academic or work obligations.Improvements that could be made include addressing the above drawbacks. Additionally, aproject evaluation process should be developed. Although student reflection was encouragedthrough journaling and group discussions, a formal process for student reflection could beincorporated. Finally, a language requirement would improve communication between the teamand the partner community, thereby enhancing the exchange of information and the collaborativerelationship.At UCSB where a service-learning program is not available for engineering students

Conference Session

Sustainable Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Oerther, University of Cincinnati; Cinnamon Carlarne, University of Cincinnati; Eric Maurer, University of Cincinnati; Regina Lamendella, University of Cincinnati; Sarah Pumphrey, University of Cincinnati

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

moreevenly distributed among diverse disciplines. Unfortunately, we are unaware of any suchprogram currently.ConclusionsA one-year-long learning exercise was undertaken wherein a student team tackled the complexproblem of recovering phosphorus from sewage and using the recovered phosphorus as afertilizer. The student team consisted of undergraduate and graduate engineering students aswell as seniors in environmental studies. The major hurdle to the success of this course was aresult of the diverse backgrounds of the students and may be reflective of an underlying need forimproved interdisciplinary training. Although the faculty members participating in the coursewere capable of providing a highly interdisciplinary environment for learning, it

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Lynch, U.S. Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

major. Two of the major motivators were job market concernsand the image of the engineering discipline. Given that enrollments do not reflect jobopportunities, the role that image has on enrollments in the environmental engineering major isworth exploring.9The general image that something presents to the public is in part the picture that comes to mindframed by its definition. The environmental engineering discipline does not have a uniformlyaccepted definition. In one sense an argument could be made that this permits maximumflexibility in describing the profession to others. In another sense, as long as the inclusion of theterm “environmental” remains popular for advertisement purposes, the lack of a commondefinition “allows everyone who works

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Curricula

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Oerther, University of Cincinnati; Cathy Maltbie, University of Cincinnati; Baikun Li, Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg; Jin Li, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Amy Pruden, Colorado State University; Peter Stroot, University of South Florida

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

Engineering applications. With the assistance of the instructor, students are selectingone article from the peer reviewed literature for an oral presentation in class. To facilitatelearning, each article presentation is followed by a group discussion and students are required tomaintain a journal of their thoughts and reflections on the articles.3. Targeting a broader base of Engineering majors: At CSU, the course materials originallydeveloped at UC have been significantly expanded to target a broader base of Engineeringdisciplines. While all Engineering majors have been welcomed to enroll in the course, it hasbeen specifically advertised to Civil, Environmental, Chemical, and Biomedical Engineeringmajors. The intention is to modify the nature of the

Conference Session

Sustainable Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angela Bielefeldt, University of Colorado-Boulder; Diana Shannon, University of Colorado-Denver; Jay Shah, University of Colorado-Boulder; R. Scott Summers, University of Colorado-Boulder; Jim Ruttenber, University of Colorado

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

information systems (GIS). Key topics include: participatorycommunity development; community assessment (self-assessment and GIS); public health;epidemiology; and tropical medicine. Team projects related to a real engineering project in adeveloping community are being retained as a large component of the course. A significantassessment component will be executed with the revised course.AcknowledgmentsThis material is partially based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation underGrant No. 0431947. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed inthis material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NationalScience Foundation.Bibliography1. ABET. 2004. Criteria for Accrediting

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

broader influence of this course onthe environmental engineering curriculum has not been fully assessed. However, immediatebenefits include allowance for more design in the biochemical treatment and hazardous wastetreatment courses. In addition, by revisiting many of these topics (Table 5) in subsequentcourses, students experience a period of growth and reflection followed by a period of learning ata higher level in the cognitive domain. Because the course is somewhat new (developed in 2003) our assessment reveals thatrevisions are required. For example, following the spring 2005 semester, course outcome (j)received an assessment score of amber (scale: green, amber, or red) because many students feltlost at the beginning of the lab period

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Research

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tom Langen, Clarkson University; Stefan Grimberg, Clarkson University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

’ (e.g. sports leagues,barbecues), the Clarkson REU Site Program has included some formal activities for community-building and increasing awareness of the larger community. The first weekend of the program isspent at an outdoor retreat center in the Adirondack Mountains, where students participate inactivities designed to build trust and multicultural awareness, and cause them to reflect on the Page 11.266.5leadership and collaborative skills needed to conduct research as part of a research team. Later inthe program, participants are taken on three field trips to view efforts at environmentalsustainability in the field, for example large scale

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Division Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lashun King, Tennessee State University; Thomas Byl, U.S. Geological Survey; Roger Painter, Tennessee State University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

benzene concentrations.Close agreement is indicated between the two approaches. Page 11.1083.8 ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNINGThe objectives of TSU’s efforts to assess the effectiveness of this approach to teaching are twofold: 1. To provide faculty and other research participants with quantifiable information to facilitate continuous improvement of the program. 2. To drive student learning towards the goal of providing students with the ability to use engineering tools in engineering practice as reflected by ABET2000 criterion (k) (an ability to

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

. Thefollowing weeks were spent refining the details of the design, building and subsequently testingand debugging the prototype. As the semester came to a close, design teams conducted the finalevaluations and demonstrations of their system design concept prototypes. Among issues toconsider, they reflected upon the design process and discussed how it impacts people in generalas well as any specific questions regarding their design. As Milestone 3, teams made final projectpresentations and submitted design documentation in the form of a written report. For those students who enjoyed this course experience, they could choose to continue theirinvolvement in similar projects by joining the Rensselaer chapter of Engineers for a SustainableWorld.Evaluation

Conference Session

Capstone Courses II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

C. Stewart Slater, Rowan University; Mariano Savelski, Rowan University; Robert Hesketh, Rowan University

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

that solvent used in the process.A weighted index was established to measure which solvent would be more applicable for a Page 11.671.6particular process. Each metric was scaled and summed to generate an overall index dependentupon amount of solvent used in the process. To accomplish this, each parameter was normalizedfrom 0-1 so that the lower numbers reflect greener material for a given category. These valueswere then summed by a weighting factor to stress the category of greatest concern. Toaccomplish this, each category (i.e. Ingestion toxicity, biodegradation, aquatic toxicity, etc.) wasinitially weighed on a log scale with a log base

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

engineering has always been innovation, especially in the design of newproducts and processes that are optimized to reflect performance and price ideals. Althoughengineering designers have focused on performance and price criteria for over a century, thegrowing recognition that the world’s resources are finite while its population continues toincrease have led to a new criterion – sustainability – that now must be incorporated into thedesign process often as an objective, but always as a constraint.1 Mihelcic, et al2 have definedsustainability as “the design of human and industrial systems to ensure that mankind’s use ofnatural resources and cycles do not lead to diminished quality of life due either to losses in futureeconomic opportunities or to