MECH 481A4 - Green Engineering: Materials and Environment

As decarbonization and sustainability become a global emphasis, it is important to gain knowledge in green engineering for career development in both academia and industry. This course will introduce the principles of green engineering with an emphasis in the context of materials since the design of anything essentially requires the use of materials. This course explores human dependence on materials and its environmental consequences and provides perspective, background, methods, and data for thinking about and designing with materials to minimize the environmental impact. Students will learn eco-attributes of materials and the relationship between materials engineering and environment. The course will combine regular lectures, case studies, open discussions, and computer-aided materials and processing selections (via Ansys Granta EduPack) to cover life cycle assessment, cost modeling, eco-selection and eco-design. The students will be trained to perform environmental-impact-oriented material selection.