Summer Session

ESM 121: Better Planet By Design

Undergraduate 3 credits

SBC: DIV; STAS

The course explores past and current engineering progress to promote sustainability for humans on our only planet. The lectures will blend introductory concepts of environmental science, engineering, social sciences, economics, and health together to understand how sustainability is an integral part across all these disciplines. The course will explore intergenerational sustainability as a pivotal approach for the survival of human societies. An emphasis will be placed on interpreting graphs and data to understand how historically underrepresented groups have suffered negative health and economic consequences due to unsustainable planning of infrastructure. This course will illustrate concepts of novel and sustainable technologies for improving water systems, air quality, and waste. We will reflect on personal and cultural presumptions to understand the limitations of technological approaches as political, social, and economic barriers are often more significant than the engineering challenges. This course is suitable for engineering, science, humanities, and social science majors. .