Center Works with Faculties to Integrate Sustainable Engineering Education

In green building as well as many other areas, engineers are at the forefront of sustainability, responsible for figuring out how to use resources more efficiently and produce less waste, while satisfying an ever-increasing demand for goods and services. This is the premise of the new Center for Sustainable Engineering, which is working to incorporate “green thinking” into engineering programs worldwide.

A three way partnership among Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Texas (Austin) and Arizona State University, the Center is conducting a benchmarking assessment of existing programs and courses, and recently hosted its first two workshops for engineering teachers across the U.S.

Among the highlights was a breakout session on green building, which focused on topics such as how to teach engineers to design buildings for lower energy consumption or so that walls and support structures can be re-used once the initial buildings reach the end of their useful lives.

“The idea is to get the nation’s 1,500 engineering programs to think in terms of sustainability,” said Cliff Davidson, the Center’s lead investigator and a professor in the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. “We need to challenge traditional notions of what engineers and developers think buildings and infrastructure should look like and how they should perform.”

The 60 workshop participants were chosen based on a competitive application process, and are now required to submit peer reviewed education materials, which will be made available to educators around the world through the Center’s web site.

The next two workshops will be held in Austin, Texas, on July 15-17 and July 18-20, 2007. For more information, please visit the Center for Sustainable Engineering at www.csengin.org.