Teaching Life-Cycle Perspectives: Sustainable Transportation Fuels Unit for High-School and Undergraduate Engineering Students
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 137, Issue 2
Abstract
Classroom units were developed for high-school environmental science and college industrial ecology classes to introduce life-cycle perspectives and systems analysis of transportation fuel/vehicle systems. The units at both levels emphasize the need to consider energy and environmental issues related to the nation’s transportation sector that extend well beyond the gasoline pump and vehicle emissions. The units include several lessons to introduce environmental issues, understand the fuel and vehicle technologies (high-school level only), and conceptually and quantitatively evaluate differences among the expected future fuels through a life-cycle assessment. The quantitative assessment of the high-school students shows that the units helped students to significantly raise their energy knowledge and change their attitudes. Anecdotal information from the students indicates that the increased awareness about the seriousness of energy issues has caused them to be more conservative and conscientious about their energy consumption behaviors. The evaluation of the class in the 2009–2010 academic year (AY09) was excellent, suggesting that the addition of the life-cycle assessment activities described in this paper were well received by the students.
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Acknowledgments
This work was sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Grant Nos. NSFDUE-0428127 and NSFDGE-0338216. The findings and opinions presented here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the funding agency.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 137 • Issue 2 • April 2011
Pages: 55 - 63
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 18, 2010
Accepted: Oct 8, 2010
Published online: Jan 24, 2011
Published in print: Apr 1, 2011
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