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Quick Facts about EME 504
Instructor:
Ekaterina Bazilevskaya, Ph.D.,
Lecturer, John A. Dutton e-Education Institute,
Pennsylvania State University
2217 Earth-Engineering Sciences Building
University Park, PA 16801
Course Authors: Ekaterina Bazilevskaya, Assistant Research Professor in the College of Agricultural Sciences, and Neyda M. Abreu, formerly an Associate Professor in the Departments of Mathematics and Geosciences, at Penn State and with the John A. Dutton Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence.
Course Structure
This course is divided into twelve modules to be completed sequentially. There are three general themes in which these modules can be subdivided.
- The first five modules are focused on the defining principles of Sustainability, including the sustainability of natural resources, Earth's systems, and global climate change. In this class, we cover how these principles can be incorporated in the way we think about science and engineering.
- The second theme deals with the application of sustainability to the systems of material flows and life cycle assessment and thermodynamics and energy balance.
- The third theme spans the range of social foundations of sustainability. We explore how complex ethical and economic, factors influence our pathway to becoming a more sustainable global society.
Overview
Students of this course will develop an encompassing understanding of the challenges of sustainability and sustainability issues. The course will enable students to not only know and react to current market situations and existing rules, but also to recognize future trends and market opportunities on the national and international level. Many sustainability fields such as sustainable energy are highly dynamic and global. The course provides students with the intellectual means to identify and judge the main drivers and complex systemic interrelations of specific sustainability fields.