Towards sustainable materials
Summary
This course will address and model key sustainability issues through an engineering lens. It will examine emerging materials, hard to abate, and critical materials used to manufacture items in our economy during the transition to NetZero targets and their environmental, societal, and human impacts.
Content
Sustainability through a materials engineering lens
Addressing the impacts of materials
Life cycle analysis
Monetary and mass flows
Hard to abate materials
Critical materials
Emerging material solutions
Industrial and academic guest lectures
Best practise case studies
Keywords
Sustainability, de-carbonization, NetZero strategies, emerging materials, hard-to-abate, critical materials, life-cycle-analysis, life-cycle-costing, class debates, group case studies
Learning Prerequisites
Required courses
None
Recommended courses
MSE-341 Sustainability and materials
ME-203 Sustainable products and supply chains
ME-516 Life cycle performance of product systems
ENV-510 Life cycle assessment in energy systems
ENV-501 Material and energy flow analysis
ENV-370 Environmental system analysis and assessment
Important concepts to start the course
Sustainability
Materials science and engineering
Role of materials engineering at the forefront of resource management
Interplay between materials the environment, the economy, and society / human health
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, the student must be able to:
- Critique key sustainability concepts
- Analyze environmental and societal impacts
- Model impacts using LCA tools
- Assess / Evaluate the role of hard-to-abate and critical materials in the NetZero transition
- Produce sustainability initiatives in a case study
- Argue the environmental, societal, and human implications of materials utilization
Transversal skills
- Set objectives and design an action plan to reach those objectives.
- Communicate effectively, being understood, including across different languages and cultures.
- Give feedback (critique) in an appropriate fashion.
- Take account of the social and human dimensions of the engineering profession.
- Take responsibility for environmental impacts of her/ his actions and decisions.
- Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking
- Make an oral presentation.
- Write a scientific or technical report.
- Access and evaluate appropriate sources of information.
Teaching methods
Ex cathedra and invited speakers
Group sessions with exercises and debates
Group project and presentation
Expected student activities
Group sessions with exercises and debates
Short presentations in-class by students
Group project case study research and use of modelling tools
Group project report and presentation
Assessment methods
50% group project written report
20% group project presentation
10% debate short presentation
20% open book exam
In the programs
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
- Subject examined: Towards sustainable materials
- Lecture: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
- Subject examined: Towards sustainable materials
- Lecture: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
- Subject examined: Towards sustainable materials
- Lecture: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
- Subject examined: Towards sustainable materials
- Lecture: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
- Subject examined: Towards sustainable materials
- Lecture: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 1 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
Reference week
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