Minneapolis, MN
August 23, 2022
June 26, 2022
June 29, 2022
Civil Engineering Division - Innovative Changes to the Typical Civil Engineering Coursework.
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10.18260/1-2--40926
https://peer.asee.org/40926
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Andrea Welker, PhD., PE, ENV SP, F.ASCE joined Villanova University in 1999 after obtaining her BS and MS in Civil Engineering from Drexel University, working at Gannett Fleming in Pittsburgh, PA, and obtaining her PhD in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. She is a licensed professional engineer in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and an Envision Sustainability professional. She was promoted to Professor in 2013 and assumed the role of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Engineering in 2016. In July she will join The College of New Jersey as the Dean of the School of Engineering. As Associate Dean she started the Honors program, launched the Grand Challenges Scholars Program, helped to found the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and co-led the effort to infuse sustainability throughout the engineering curriculum. Dr. Welker was one of the first researchers performing cross-disciplinary research on the geotechnical aspects of stormwater control measures (SCMs). She is currently part of a multi-state, multi-year effort supported by the William Penn Foundation to ensure plentiful, clean water in the Delaware River Watershed. In addition, she is studying the effect of modern-day stormwater management on streams.
Dr. Welker is active in the Geo-Institute of the ASCE. For many years she served as the Academic Liaison for the Delaware Valley Geo-Institute and was the inaugural chair of the Geo-Institute Continuing Education Committee. She was the founder and director of the Geo-Video student competition from 2015 to 2018. Dr. Welker has served as the Secretary and Treasurer, Freshman Director, Midterm Director, Senior Director, Program Chair, and Chair of the Civil Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education. She is currently serving as the Civil Engineering Division’s liaison to ASCE.
The Engineering for One Planet (EOP) initiative is spearheaded by The Lemelson Foundation and VentureWell. The EOP framework was developed through a collaborative process that engaged hundreds of stakeholders from industry, government, and academia. The framework aligns with ABET Criterion 3 Student Outcomes and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goal of the EOP framework is to help guide the curricular changes needed to ensure that every engineer has the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for sustainable engineering practice. The framework consists of 43 core outcomes centered around the concept of systems thinking. The framework is grouped into nine subcategories of systems thinking, communication and teamwork, environmental literacy, responsible business and economy, social responsibility, environmental impact measurement, materials choice, design, and critical thinking.
The ABET Civil Engineering Program Criteria (CEPC) requires that students be able to “include principles of sustainability in design.” Furthermore, ABET Criterion 3 Student Outcomes includes several outcomes related to sustainability. For example, Outcome 4 requires students to be able to “consider… global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.” Villanova University was awarded a grant to pilot the EOP framework. To integrate the EOP framework as rapidly as possible a faculty workshop was developed. This workshop has been delivered twice to cohorts of eight faculty each during five half-day sessions. These faculty have addressed twenty outcomes and assessed seven. At the time of writing, EOP outcomes have been included and assessed in three courses: two required undergraduate courses and one graduate level course. Assignments, group projects, and exam questions were used to assess the achievement of selected EOP outcomes.
This paper will present an introduction to the EOP framework, a summary of the approach taken to rapidly integrate the EOP framework throughout the curriculum, a description of how the EOP outcomes were included in and assessed in several civil engineering courses, and the next steps in EOP implementation in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. The goal is to provide a snapshot of where this program is in the implementation of the EOP as well as the approach taken to rapidly implement the EOP.
Welker, A., & Smith, V., & Sample-Lord, K., & Shrestha, S. (2022, August), Including Principles of Sustainability in Design by Implementing the Engineering for One Planet Framework Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40926
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