The undergraduate certificate in Sustainable Process Design equips students to assess and evaluate the sustainability and circularity of processes involved in the production and utilization of energy carriers, materials, and chemical products. Students employ engineering calculations and analysis methods to quantify economic and environmental impacts of competing processes. Process modeling tools are applied to complex problems that represent grand challenges for society, such as mitigating the accumulation of plastic waste, the production of abundant clean energy, and the efficient utilization of scarce minerals. Through elective courses, students tailor their training to deepen their analysis of electrochemical, polymeric, and energy systems and with cross-disciplinary approaches to considering sustainability in existing and proposed processes.
Requirements
Certificate Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| CHEN 3660 | Energy Fundamentals | 3 |
| CHEN 3670 | Sustainable Design (Required) | 3 |
| Choose one of the following: | 3 | |
| Polymer Engineering | ||
| Polymer Chemistry | ||
| Solar Cells and Optical Devices for Sustainable Buildings | ||
| Electrochemical Engineering | ||
| Choose one of the following: | 3 | |
| Polymer Chemistry | ||
| Polymer Engineering | ||
| Solar Cells and Optical Devices for Sustainable Buildings | ||
| Electrochemical Engineering | ||
| Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Sustainability Principles for Engineers | ||
| Contaminant Fate and Transport | ||
| Water Security, Sanitation & Hygiene | ||
| Environmental Chemistry 1 | ||
| Environmental Chemistry 2 | ||
| Air Chemistry and Pollution | ||
| Sustainable Energy from a Chemistry Perspective | ||
| Environmental Water and Soil Chemistry | ||
| Chemistry of Solar Energy | ||
| Principles of Energy Systems and Devices | ||
| Introduction to Human Dimensions of Environmental Studies | ||
| Intermediate Environmental Problem Analysis: Topical Cornerstones | ||
| Sustainable Economies | ||
| Intermediate Environmental Problem Analysis: Topical Cornerstones | ||
| Our Changing Environment: El Nino, Ozone, and Climate | ||
| Policy Implications of Climate Controversies | ||
| Food and Society | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 12 | |
Learning Outcomes
By the completion of the program, students will be able to:
- Describe major energy sources, storage mechanisms, and transformations, articulating tradeoffs in costs and efficiency across different technologies.
- Evaluate economic and environmental impacts for competing routes to the manufacture and use of energy carriers, materials, and chemicals.
- Utilize common software tools and relevant algorithms to quantitatively assess key sustainability metrics for a process.
- Identify key technological limitations and specific opportunities for addressing modern sustainability challenges.