CIVE 688Engineering Sustainability

Sustainability is the grand challenge of our time especially with the UN SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) 2030 Agenda. This course addresses the basics of sustainability and its practical application in engineering to confront the main challenges of our planet, including climate change, resource depletion, social justice, environmental and health protection. The goal of the course is to introduce students to systems thinking and sustainable design principles with a focus on the effect of human activities and engineering projects on natural systems and societies. The course teaches students to use the four pillars of sustainability (human, economic, social, environmental) as a holistic approach for engineering practices. It also provides the necessary scientific tools for sustainability assessment of products and systems. Students will be also introduced to the current challenges, active debates, and unresolved research questions in sustainability.