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Developing an Integrated Environmental Engineering Curriculum

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

Environmental Engineering Division Technical Session 2

Page Count

15

DOI

10.18260/1-2--40808

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/40808

Download Count

468

Paper Authors

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Craig Woolard Montana State University - Bozeman

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Catherine Kirkland Montana State University - Bozeman

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Assistant Professor, Environmental Engineering
Montana State University
Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE)
Energy Research Institute (ERI)
Montana Engineering Education Research Center (MEERC)

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Kathryn Plymesser Montana State University - Bozeman

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Dr. Plymesser hold a B.S. (Case Western Reserve University ’01) and Ph.D. (MSU ’14) degrees in Civil Engineering. She began her academic career at Montana State University – Billings with a teaching and research tenure-track appointment. Dr. Plymesser joined the Civil Engineering Department at Montana State University in 2016. Her research is focused in ecohydraulics and fish passage with a particular fondness for the application of hydraulic and fluid dynamic models to answer research questions in natural settings. She has worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) both in Bozeman and at the Region 5 Headquarters in Amherst, MA on fish passage research projects and practical applications and assessments that culminated in the creation of a passage model for American shad in Steeppass (modified Denil) fishways. Her work has been financially supported by the DOE through the Hydro Research Foundation and the USFWS. Dr. Plymesser currently teaches Engineering Mechanics, Statics and Fluid Dynamics. She has been engaging both undergraduate and graduate students in research since she began her own graduate work in 2008. Through her work with the Montana State University chapter of Engineers Without Borders she has been active in promoting student engagement and involvement.

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Adrienne Phillips Montana State University - Bozeman

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Dr. Phillips is an Associate Professor in the Civil Engineering Department at Montana State University. She teaches environmental engineering courses and is a member of a team sponsored by the NSF RED program to develop integrated and project-based courses in a new environmental engineering curriculum. She also does research on microbial biofilms.

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Susan Gallagher Montana State University - Bozeman

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Susan Gallagher is the Education and Workforce Program Manager at the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University. She currently serves as co-PI on the NSF-funded Research Experience for Teachers in Innovative Transportation Systems site grant and Project Coordinator for the Sustainable Transformation of Environmental Engineering Education for Modern Society grant, funded by the NSF Revolutionizing Engineering Departments program.

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Michelle Miley

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Associate Dean - College of Letters and Science, Associate Professor - English, Writing Center Director

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Kristen Intemann Montana State University - Bozeman

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Ellen Lauchnor Montana State University - Bozeman

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William Schell Montana State University - Bozeman

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Abstract

Many of the National Academy of Engineering’s grand challenges are related to environmental engineering. There is broad recognition that these challenges will require environmental engineers to integrate concepts from the natural and physical sciences, social sciences, business, and communications to find solutions at the individual, company, community, national and global levels. __University is in the process of revolutionizing the curriculum and culture of its environmental engineering program to prepare and inspire a new generation of engineers through a project sponsored by the Revolutionizing Engineering Departments program at the National Science Foundation. At the core of the approach is transformation of the hierarchical, topic-focused course structure into a model of team taught, integrated, and project-based learning courses grouped around the key knowledge threads of systems thinking, professionalism, and sustainability. Multi-disciplinary faculty developed specific and detailed program outcomes after review of ABET program outcomes; the Fundamentals of Engineering exam; Body of Knowledge documents from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM); the Engineering for One Planet report sponsored by the Lemelson Foundation; and the KEEN Framework on the Entrepreneurial Mindset. The resulting outcomes were organized into competency strands and competency domains. Currently, outcomes spanning the spectrum of content are being crafted into integrated and project-based courses in each year of the undergraduate curriculum. This paper reviews the lessons learned from the process of developing knowledge threads, competency strands and domains, and specific program outcomes with a multidisciplinary group of faculty, as well as the challenges of developing integrated and project-based courses within an established undergraduate curriculum.

Woolard, C., & Kirkland, C., & Plymesser, K., & Phillips, A., & Gallagher, S., & Miley, M., & Intemann, K., & Lauchnor, E., & Schell, W. (2022, August), Developing an Integrated Environmental Engineering Curriculum Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40808

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