Multipronged Approach for Incorporating Sustainability into an Undergraduate Civil Engineering Curriculum

Abstract

Over the past few decades, there has been growing emphasis on sustainable development and a growing need to train students to think sustainably in preparation for their careers as practicing engineers. Thinking sustainably requires the consideration of not only environmental impacts but also societal and economic impacts. Thus, teaching future engineers to think sustainably requires a multifaceted, multipronged approach. To that end, a team of faculty from the Departments of Civil, Industrial, and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington acquired funding from the National Science Foundation to implement a project entitled “Engineering Sustainable Engineers.” The project was designed to infuse undergraduate curricula in the three departments with sustainability, which was augmented by incorporating sustainability emphasis into other aspects of the undergraduate experience. Key program elements were (1) learning modules developed for courses across all levels of matriculation within the three curricula, (2) quality sustainable internships, and (3) a multidisciplinary senior design project with a sustainability focus. This paper summarizes the rationale, approaches, and results for integrating sustainability into the civil engineering undergraduate learning experience.