Inspiring Future Generations

Professors Brian Thorn and Andres Carrano, faculty in the industrial and systems engineering department, travelled to Caracas, Venezuela, with a group of students to develop ecologically friendly and cost-effective solar ovens and fabricate ultraviolet tubes used to disinfect drinking water. The trip was a part of a Kate Gleason College of Engineering Multidisciplinary Senior Design project sponsored by the EPA P3: People, Prosperity, and the Planet Program.

For centuries, the core of every college and university has been the interactions among faculty and students where learning and ideas take root and new generations of thought leaders and change agents emerge.

We are preparing the next generation of sustainability leaders through a rich array of graduate and undergraduate programs and options in sustainability.

Dozens of faculty and hundreds of students collaborate in classrooms and labs across the campus. Solutions to the issues of sustainability are approached from myriad perspectives that include engineering, science, management, policy, and technology.

The educational opportunities in sustainability range from doctoral programs to undergraduate minors or concentrations (a group of courses in sustainability). The newest addition to our portfolio of academic programs in sustainability is the Ph.D. in sustainability. One of the world’s first such programs, it features educational and research opportunities integrating environmentally conscious product design and manufacturing, industrial ecology, technology and public policy, environmental science and management, and sustainable business practice.

Academic initiatives under consideration include ecological information technology; sustainable systems; sustainable architecture; and environment, sustainability, and society.

Sustainability-related Programs and Options

James Winebrake, professor and chair of the Department of Science, Technology, and Society/Public Policy, is an expert in transportation and energy policy and currently works with a host of national and international organizations to reduce emissions and overall air pollution from transportation sources. He co-directs the Laboratory for Environmental Computing and Decision Making and is leading two multi-year, multi-university research projects, funded by the National Science Foundation, designed to improve computer modeling in transit planning and policy decision-making. He is also a member of two National Research Council committees related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and is part of an International Maritime Organization expert group studying emissions regulations for global shipping.

These programs all utilize an interdisciplinary approach; capitalizing on the breadth of RIT’s academic program portfolio in science, engineering, math, technology, business, and the social sciences.

Ph.D programs

Sustainability
Computing and Information Sciences (environmental informatics focus)
Microsystems Engineering (alternative energy or energy efficiency)

Master’s programs

Business Administration (environmentally sustainable management concentration)
Environmental, Health and Safety Management
Environmental Science
Facility Management
Packaging Science (sustainable packaging track)
Science, Technology, and Public Policy (environmental policy concentration)
Sustainable Engineering (MEng)
Sustainable Engineering (MS)
Sustainable Systems (pending NYS approval)

Bachelor’s programs*

Chemical Engineering (alternative energy and environmental tracks)
Chemistry (environmental chemistry option)
Civil Engineering Technology
Electrical Engineering (clean and renewable energy option)
Electrical Engineering Technology (power systems concentration)
Environmental Sustainability, Health and Safety**
Environmental Science**
International Studies (science, technology, and society track)
Mechanical Engineering (energy and environment option)
Packaging Science (sustainable packaging track)
Polymer Chemistry (sustainable/renewable materials focus)
Public Policy** (environmental policy concentration)

Undergraduate minors and concentrations