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Exploratory Study of Sustainability Courses in Collegiate Level Engineering Programs

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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

Aerospace Division Technical Session: Sustainability and the Workspace

Page Count

12

DOI

10.18260/1-2--41829

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/41829

Download Count

189

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Paper Authors

biography

Shantanu Gupta Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI)

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Shantanu Gupta is a PhD candidate in the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology at Purdue University with Dr. Mary E. Johnson. He earned his B.E in Mechanical Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University, India, and M.S in Aviation and Aerospace Management from Purdue University, West Lafayette. Mr. Gupta is currently working with Dr. Johnson on the PEGASAS Project 33 – Augmented Weather Information Project (AWIP) as research assistant.

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biography

Mary Johnson Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI)

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Professor, and Associate Head for Graduate Studies and Research, at Purdue University School of Aviation and Transportation Technology in West Lafayette, Indiana. She earned her BS, MS, and PhD in Industrial Engineering from The University of Texas at Arlington. She has aerospace industry and university academic experience. Her research focuses on data driven analysis and process improvement in sustainability, process automation, and general aviation.

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Abstract

The aerospace and aviation industries have committed to becoming more sustainable. The challenge is to continue carbon neutral growth past 2020 and to reduce CO2e by 50% by 2050, based on 2005 levels. This challenge has been affirmed through agreements in industry organizations such as IATA, A4A, ATAG, CAAFI, and many other similar organizations around the globe. Boeing and GE are just two aerospace companies that recognize improving aircraft technology as one way to contribute their knowledge, skills, and abilities to achieving the global industry goal of reaching the 50% reduction by 2050. To achieve these dramatic reductions, it will take global industry-wide efforts concentrating on aircraft technology, operational improvements, sustainable fuels, and market-based measures. There is a need to develop courses that address these issues to prepare students for challenges that have the potential to dominate the leading edge of research and implementation for the next 25 or more years. In this paper, the researchers aim to explore inclusion of sustainability courses offered in United States engineering degree programs with reports submitted to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and have received platinum ratings. The goal is to identify courses that are focused on or inclusive of sustainability at undergraduate and graduate level in engineering programs. Through the analysis, researchers aim to provide insights about patterns in sustainability education across highly rated universities in sustainability. The study may be used to compare sustainability education in aerospace engineering with other engineering programs which may be helpful for educators, business professionals, and students in identifying programs where sustainability is important. In addition, the study may reflect those education areas where sustainability is not included and there is an opportunity to develop related courses.

Gupta, S., & Johnson, M. (2022, August), Exploratory Study of Sustainability Courses in Collegiate Level Engineering Programs Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41829

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