Instructors: Dr. John W. Sutherland (MTU) Dr. Hassan Mahadallah (SUBR)
Office: 1011 ME-EM Bldg. Higgins Hall
Phone: 906-487-3395 225-771-3210
Email: jwsuther (at) mtu.edu mahadallah (at) yahoo.com
Web: www.me.mtu.edu/~jwsuther/colloquium
Assistants: Karl Haapala (ME-EM) Jill Jensen (ChemE)
krhaapal (at) mtu.edu jijensen (at) mtu.edu
Time: 4:30 - 5:30 pm, Tuesday Location: MEEM 208 (MTU), TBD (SUBR)
This course will explore interdisciplinary issues related to
sustainability. Class periods will consist primarily of student-led discussions
on various technical and professional topics. Topics will include current
research to define the science of sustainability, international issues related
to sustainable development, corporate leadership, and societal issues, as
selected by course participants. Students will complete a term project to
address a sustainability problem. Students/faculty from Southern University –
· Promote awareness of state of the art research in sustainability.
· Promote consideration of immediate and broader impacts of sustainability research.
· Develop skills needed to be an effective professional (e.g., critically review published papers and make public presentations).
Attendance: Attendance is compulsory for registered students and all IGERT Trainees and Associates. Participating students will aid in selecting/presenting discussion topics, papers, and speakers.
Project: Students registered for credit will lead a project to address a sustainability issue on campus at MTU or SUBR. Deliverables will include: i) project proposal (brief background, project goals/timeline, and initial findings), ii) periodic project updates to the class, and iii) report (executive summary, introduction, problem definition, approach, results, discussion, conclusions, and opportunities for future work).
Prior Efforts: The project will build on past efforts such as SS5400 (K. Bradoff's course), which produced a report on "Developing sustainability indicators for the Michigan Tech Campus," and the campus carbon footprint project.
Participation/Attendance 50%
Project Proposal 10%
Project Presentation 20%
Project Report 20%
|
Date |
Topic |
Responsible Party |
|
Sept. 4 |
Project discussion |
Course instructors |
|
Sept. 10 |
Optional lecture: Energy Production and Use |
David Allen, Univ. of Texas at Austin 3pm, Dow 642 |
|
Sept. 11 |
Student Research Presentation: “Sustainability challenges of sanitation coverage in developing countries” |
Environment/Ecology (Lauren Fry) |
|
Sept. 18 |
Professional Development Topic: “Professional Networking: The Art of Schmoozing” Due: Project
Proposals |
Industry/Economics (Jeremy Rickli) |
|
Sept. 25 |
Introducing New Power Tour |
Melissa Davis, General Manager New Power Tour, Inc. |
|
Oct. 2 |
Discussion of Reading “Knowledge, technology and policy transfer between developed and developing communities” |
Environment/Ecology (Valerie Fuchs) |
|
Oct. 9 |
Project Update |
All teams |
|
Oct. 16 |
Student Research Presentation “Electrical Conductivity of Carbon/Liquid Crystal Polymer
Composites for Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates” |
Industry/Economy (Rod Barton) |
|
Oct. 23 |
Project Discussion |
Team 2 and Team 3 |
|
Oct. 30 |
Student Research Presentation “Energy Savings through Water Conservation in Municipal
Water Distribution Systems” |
Environment/Ecology (Santosh Ghimire) |
|
Nov. 6 |
Discussion of Webcasts “Passive Houses” |
Industry/Economy (Adam Manty, William Marcinak) |
|
Nov. 13 |
Student Research Presentation |
Social Sciences/Policy (Antoinette Christophe - SUBR) |
|
Nov. 20 |
Thanksgiving Recess, no class |
|
|
Nov. 27 |
Professional Development Topic |
Environment/Ecology (Melanie Kueber) |
|
Dec. 4 |
Project Presentations |
|
|
Dec. 11 |
Project Presentations Due: Project Reports |
|
1) Defining the
2)
3) Developing the Science in Support of Sustainability