NLI: Design and Development: A Framework for the Professional Formation of Sustainability-Minded Engineers

About This Grant

There is growing recognition in industry and academia that engineers must not only solve problems in their disciplines, but do so in ways that support environmental sustainability. While many engineering programs offer courses related to sustainability, such courses are often designed at the junior or senior level and isolated from other engineering topics in the core curriculum. A strategic, distributed, and coordinated approach is needed to adequately prepare students to be future leaders in engineering a more sustainable world, and the implementation of such an approach requires broader institutional change. In support of the goals of the Research in the Formation of Engineers program (RFE) program and its collaboration with the Lemelson Foundation, this project will develop an understanding of the processes and impacts of changes in curricula and programming at the University of Pennsylvania that are designed to develop sustainability-minded engineers. We use a new framework, Whole Student Mapping, to investigate and reshape elements of the student experience, with a particular focus on curricular offerings and the built environment. The funding for this project will support the purchase of new equipment that will enable students to learn sustainable design and manufacturing, the modification of existing core courses, the creation of new electives, and the development of a new graduate program in energy and sustainability engineering, as well as research on the impacts of those interventions. We aim to develop a model for other departments and universities across the country to train future leaders in sustainable engineering. This project will integrate sustainability throughout core courses and electives in the Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics (MEAM) and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) departments, with plans to expand content to other engineering departments at Penn as well as other universities. This effort will create modular sustainable fabrication demonstrations and activities that can be incorporated into existing courses. This project will also revise two undergraduate minors that enable students to demonstrate proficiency in important sustainability topics, including by introducing new undergraduate courses. Finally, we will develop a new Master of Science in Engineering degree program in Energy and Sustainability Engineering (MESE). Both minors and the MESE degree will be available to students from any engineering discipline and have the potential to be replicated at other universities. These results will add to the body of knowledge in the scholarship of teaching and learning. The project supports domestic industry growth, reshoring efforts, and U.S. industrial competitiveness by equipping engineers with expertise in sustainable design, materials science, and energy-efficient manufacturing. It will also drive economic development by preparing students to launch ventures addressing global sustainability challenges, leveraging Penn's entrepreneurial resources like Venture Lab and the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program. The project will contribute to workforce development by preparing engineers for leadership roles in industry, academia, and policymaking, thus responding to the growing demand for sustainability-focused professionals. The impacts of our work will be measured through partnership with an independent evaluator and will be disseminated through conference presentations, journal publications, and the Engineering for One Planet network. This project is funded by the Division of Engineering Education & Centers with additional support provided by The Lemelson Foundation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.