Development of the SMART - Rcn Modules for Integrating Sustainability Education in Engineering Curriculum

Development of the SMART-RCN Modules for integrating Sustainability Education in Engineering Curriculum

Debalina Sengupta, Yinlun Huang, Thomas F. Edgar, Cliff I. Davidson, Mario R. Eden, Mahmoud M. El-Halwagi*

* corresponding author, el-halwagi@tamu.edu

The Sustainable Manufacturing Advances in Research and Technology (SMART) project funded by NSF aims to bridge the gap between the academic knowledge discovery and industrial technology innovation for sustainable manufacturing. SMART engages a multidisciplinary team which proposes to create an interdisciplinary, international Research Coordination Network (RCN) through the joint effort among a number of leading academic laboratories, centers, non-government organizations, and major manufacturing industries.

The presentation will provide an overview of the educational component of the project with emphasis on the development of modules that are being developed for incorporation into the curriculum. These modules include life cycle assessment, green design and engineering, green chemistry, process intensification, process integration, optimization, process safety etc. among the core module elements. Extensive case studies demonstrating these concepts are also provided for classroom teaching, homework assignments and term projects. This presentation will also discuss future plans for module development and dissemination.