Experiences While Incorporating Sustainability Engineering into the Industrial Engineering Curricula

Heidi A. Taboada; Jose F. Espiritu; Abril Vazquez; Olivia C. Moreno

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Conference: 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Vancouver, BC
Publication Date: June 26, 2011
Start Date: June 26, 2011
End Date: June 29, 2011
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: IE Technical Session II
Tagged Division: Industrial Engineering
Page Count: 7
Page Numbers: 22.680.1 - 22.680.7
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--17961
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/17961
Download Count: 465

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Paper Authors

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Heidi A. Taboada University of Texas, El Paso

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Dr. Heidi A. Taboada is currently an Assistant Professor in the department of Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering at The University of Texas, El Paso. Her research strengths involve the development of practical methods for the solution of multiple objective optimization problems, the design of new biologically inspired algorithms, sustainability engineering, and engineering education. Her research work has been published in several recognized journals such as IIE Transactions, IEEE Transactions on Reliability, and Reliability Engineering & Systems Safety, among others.

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Jose F. Espiritu University of Texas, El Paso

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Dr. Jose F. Espiritu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering at the University of Texas, El Paso. He is interested in interdisciplinary research that focuses in the understanding of the energy and sustainability challenges and alternative energy issues through innovative solutions for consumers and industry. His research work has been published in several recognized journals such as Electric Power Systems Research, The Engineering Economist, Journal of Risk and Reliability, among others.

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Abril Vazquez University of Texas, El Paso

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Abril Vazquez is a Master of Science candidate in the Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering department at the University of Texas, El Paso. Her research interests are in the areas of Sustainability Engineering, Engineering Education, Life Cycle Assessment, and Supply Chain.

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Olivia C. Moreno University of Texas, El Paso

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Olivia C. Moreno is currently a Master of Science candidate in the Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering department at the University of Texas, El Paso. Her research interests include sustainability engineering/education, life cycle assessment, energy systems optimization, and energy management.

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Abstract

Experiences While Incorporating Sustainability Engineering into the Industrial Engineering CurriculaAccording to The Engineer of 2020 (National Academy of Engineering, 2004), to maintain thenation’s economic competitiveness and improve the quality of life for people around the world,engineering educators and curriculum developers must anticipate dramatic changes inengineering practice and adapt their programs accordingly. Current environmental issues havecaused society to realize that industries and individuals must have sustainable systems to meetthe needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their ownneeds (Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). Therefore,one of the main goals of the present paper is to show how sustainability engineering curriculumhas been included into the Industrial Engineering curricula to respond to current demands toproduce environmentally conscious engineers capable of understanding sustainable practices andtheir implications. For the authors, creating a special topics class for the new course within theindustrial engineering department seemed very appropriate since industrial engineering hasalways focused in the optimization of resources, thus there is a natural connection between thesustainability definition and what industrial engineers have always practiced.The main objective of this paper is to present the approach used to integrate sustainabilityengineering content into the engineering curriculum at our University. The approach involvesoffering a multidisciplinary class in sustainability engineering which was offered to junior orsenior engineering students as a technical elective class with no prerequisites. The class wasdivided in four main modules which are Life Cycle Assessment, Energy Management, Designfor Sustainability, and Ethical Consumerism.A team teaching approach was used to teach the class with faculty members from thedepartments of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems EngineeringDepartment. In the class, students were required to work in teams to solve two different projects.The first project was mainly related to life cycle assessment (LCA) in which students were askedto perform an LCA for a particular product and provide an analysis of their results. The secondproject involved a presentation to expand one of the main modules of the class. Finally, thecourse was evaluated using student questionnaires and exit interviews. Moreover, one additionalsurvey was sent to the students six months after they took the class to collect data and assessstudent learning.

Citation
Format

Taboada, H. A., & Espiritu, J. F., & Vazquez, A., & Moreno, O. C. (2011, June), Experiences While Incorporating Sustainability Engineering into the Industrial Engineering Curricula Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--17961

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -         Experiences While Incorporating Sustainability Engineering into                     the Industrial Engineering CurriculaAccording to The Engineer of 2020 (National Academy of Engineering, 2004), to maintain thenation’s economic competitiveness and improve the quality of life for people around the world,engineering educators and curriculum developers must anticipate dramatic changes inengineering practice and adapt their programs accordingly. Current environmental issues havecaused society to realize that industries and individuals must have sustainable systems to meetthe needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their ownneeds (Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). Therefore,one of the main goals of the present paper is to show how sustainability engineering curriculumhas been included into the Industrial Engineering curricula to respond to current demands toproduce environmentally conscious engineers capable of understanding sustainable practices andtheir implications. For the authors, creating a special topics class for the new course within theindustrial engineering department seemed very appropriate since industrial engineering hasalways focused in the optimization of resources, thus there is a natural connection between thesustainability definition and what industrial engineers have always practiced.The main objective of this paper is to present the approach used to integrate sustainabilityengineering content into the engineering curriculum at our University. The approach involvesoffering a multidisciplinary class in sustainability engineering which was offered to junior orsenior engineering students as a technical elective class with no prerequisites. The class wasdivided in four main modules which are Life Cycle Assessment, Energy Management, Designfor Sustainability, and Ethical Consumerism.A team teaching approach was used to teach the class with faculty members from thedepartments of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems EngineeringDepartment. In the class, students were required to work in teams to solve two different projects.The first project was mainly related to life cycle assessment (LCA) in which students were askedto perform an LCA for a particular product and provide an analysis of their results. The secondproject involved a presentation to expand one of the main modules of the class. Finally, thecourse was evaluated using student questionnaires and exit interviews. Moreover, one additionalsurvey was sent to the students six months after they took the class to collect data and assessstudent learning.
AU  - Heidi A. Taboada
AU  - Jose F. Espiritu
AU  - Abril Vazquez
AU  - Olivia C. Moreno
CY  - Vancouver, BC
DA  - 2011/06/26
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Experiences While Incorporating Sustainability Engineering into the Industrial Engineering Curricula
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/17961
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--17961
ER  -