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: 12:00 – 1:00 (ET), Friday Location: MEEM 208 (MTU)
11:00 – 12:00 (CT), Friday 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 may include current research to define the science of sustainability, international issues related to sustainable development, corporate leadership, and societal issues. Registered students will complete a term project focusing on sustainability issues. Students/faculty from Southern University – Baton Rouge will participate via videoconferencing.
· 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).
Participation/Attendance: 50%
Mid-Semester Project Update: 20%
Project Presentation: 30%
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 continue work on the Second Life Sustainable Futures Island project started in Fall 2007. Deliverables will include: i) mid-semester project update, 1-2 pages in length (brief background, project goals/timeline, and initial findings), ii) project presentation to the class (problem definition, approach, results, discussion, conclusions, and opportunities for future work).
Paper Presentations and Discussions: Interdisciplinary groups at both MTU and SUBR will lead paper presentation and discussion seminars. Groups are required to choose 1-2 papers (or a book chapter) written in the last 2-3 years, which present principles, methods, or models directed at achieving sustainability. The materials must be chosen by the second week (Jan. 25) of colloquium and approved by the course assistants. The presentations will include a 10-15 minute summary of the paper followed by 3-4 minute presentations on the various viewpoints within the group. The assigned groups are as follows:
Group 1 Group
2
Meredith Ballard, CEE Valerie Fuchs, CEE
Lauren Fry, CEE Santosh Ghimire, CEE
Michael Brodeur-Campbell, ChE Justin Carlson, ChE
Rod Barton, ChE Kari Brown, MEEM
Christopher Cooney, MEEM Karl Haapala, MEEM
Genevieve Borg, SS Nicholas Johnson, SS
Group 3 Group
4
Crystal Payment, CEE Heather Wright, CEE
Peter Holman, ChE Fredline Ilorme, CEE
Keong Aik Lau, ChE Jill Jensen, ChE
Margot Hutchins, MEEM Cho Hui Lim, ChE
Tim Jenkins, MEEM Mohit Law, MEEM
Andrew Kozich, SS Julio Rivera, MEEM
Group 5 Group
6
Melanie Kueber, CEE Jeremy Rickli, MEEM
George Lane, SS Millicent Addo, SS
Antoinette Christophe, SS
Perspectives on the Science of Sustainability: There will be three weeks of presentation and discussion on the science of sustainability. Students will all participate in one of three groups. Each group will be responsible for developing a model of sustainability that captures its perspective and can be utilized to represent the perspective in a broader model of sustainability. The group will present the model for feedback from the other two groups. The three groups are as follows:
Environment/Ecosystems (Leaders: Valerie Fuchs and Lauren Fry – MTU)
Industry/Economy (Leaders: Peter Holman and Christopher Cooney – MTU)
Society (Leaders: ? – SUBR)
|
Date |
Topic |
Responsible Party |
|
January 18 |
Organizational Day |
Karl Haapala and Jill
Jensen |
|
January 25 |
Paper Presentation
& Discussion |
Group 1 |
|
February 1 |
Paper Presentation
& Discussion |
Group 2 |
|
February 8 |
No
Class – MTU Winter Carnival |
|
|
February 15 |
Paper Presentation
& Discussion |
Group 3 |
|
February 22 |
Paper Presentation
& Discussion |
Group 4 |
|
February 29 |
Paper Presentation
& Discussion |
Group 5 |
|
March 7 |
Paper Presentation
& Discussion |
Group 6 |
|
March 14 |
No
Class – MTU Spring Break |
|
|
March 21 |
Presentation (No
Class @ SUBR – Spring Break) **Mid-Semester Project
Update Due** |
Karl Haapala |
|
March 28 |
Presentation |
Julio Rivera |
|
April 4 |
Science of
Sustainability: Environment/Ecosystem Perspective |
MTU environmental
students |
|
April 11 |
Science of
Sustainability: Societal Perspective |
SUBR policy students, Jeremy,
and Melanie |
|
April 18 |
Science of
Sustainability: Industry/Economy
Perspective |
MTU industrial
students |
|
April 25 |
**Final Project
Presentation: Second-Life Sustainable |
Michael Brodeur-Campbell |