Sustainable Engineering ME - Curriculum

This is a high level survey course that reviews the product lifecycle from various perspectives and highlights the leverage over material, process, and environmental impacts available at the design phase. Tools and strategies for reducing the environmental impacts associated with the sourcing, manufacture, use, and retirement of products will be reviewed and evaluated. (This course is restricted to students in ISEE-MS, SUSTAIN-MS, ENGMGT-ME, MECE-MS, MECE-ME, SUSPRD-MN, MIE-PHD or those with at least 4th year standing in ISEE-BS or ISEEDU-BS.) Lecture 3 (Fall).

The engineering of a system is focused on the identification of value and the value chain, requirements management and engineering, understanding the limitations of current systems, the development of the overall concept, and continually improving the robustness of the defined solution. EOS I & II is a 2-semester course sequence focused on the creation of systems that generate value for both the customer and the enterprise. Through systematic analysis and synthesis methods, novel solutions to problems are proposed and selected. This first course in the sequence focuses on the definition of the system requirements by systematic analysis of the existing problems, issues and solutions, to create an improved vision for a new system. Based on this new vision, new high-level solutions will be identified and selected for (hypothetical) further development. The focus is to learn systems engineering through a focus on an actual artifact (This course is restricted to students in the ISEE BS/MS, ISEE BS/ME, ISEE-MS, SUSTAIN-MS, PRODDEV-MS, MFLEAD-MS, ENGMGT-ME, or MIE-PHD programs or those with 5th year standing in ISEE-BS or ISEEDU-BS.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).

This course provides an overview of renewable energy system design. Energy resource assessment, system components, and feasibility analysis will be covered. Possible topics to be covered include photovoltaics, wind turbines, solar thermal, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal. Students will be responsible for a final design project. (Prerequisites: MECE-310 or equivalent course or graduate standing in MECE-MS or MECE-ME or SUSTAIN-MS or SUSTAIN-ME.) Lecture 3 (Fall).

This course introduces students to the challenges posed when trying to determine the total lifecycle impacts associated with a product or a process design. Various costing models and their inherent assumptions will be reviewed and critiqued. The inability of traditional costing models to account for important environmental and social externalities will be highlighted. The Lifecycle Assessment approach for quantifying environmental and social externalities will be reviewed and specific LCA techniques (Streamlined Lifecycle Assessment, SimaPro) will be covered. (This course is restricted to students in ISEE-MS, SUSTAIN-MS, ENGMGT-ME, MECE-MS, MECE-ME, SUSPRD-MN, MIE-PHD or those with at least 4th year standing in ISEE-BS or ISEEDU-BS.) Lecture 3 (Spring).

Students must investigate a discipline-related topic in a field related to industrial and systems engineering, engineering management, sustainable engineering, product development, or manufacturing leadership. The general intent of the engineering capstone is to demonstrate the students' knowledge of the integrative aspects of a particular area. The capstone should draw upon skills and knowledge acquired in the program. (This course is restricted to students in ISEE-MS, ENGMGT-ME, SUSTAIN-MS, PRODDEV-MS, MFLEAD-MS or the ISEE BS/MS programs.) Lecture 3 (Fall, Spring).