Transcript Slide 1

AEESP Meeting, Blacksburg VA
July 28-Aug 1, 2007
Synopsis:
Workshop on Frontiers in Environmental
Engineering Education
James (Chip ) Kilduff
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Acknowledgments
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Sponsors
 NSF, AEESP, AAEE, ASU (SoE, John Crittenden)
Planning Committee
 Michael Aitken, Patrick Brezonik (ex-officio), Michael
Butkus, Chip Kilduff, Nicholas Clesceri, Raymond Hozalski,
Loring Nies, Susan Powers
Participants
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Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
 January 8-10, 2007
60 Attendees
Academia
 Range of sizes and missions
Government (NSF, EPA)
Professional societies (AAEE, ASEE, NSPE, ASCE, AEESP)
Water and wastewater utilities
Consulting engineers
Workshop Objectives
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Identify “Body of Knowledge” outcomes
Identify ways to transform curricula
 In response to Body of Knowledge
 In response to new science and technology
 To bridge environmental literacy gap
 To improve recruitment
Identify ways to interact with practicing engineers
 As input to curriculum change
 As participants in the educational process
 As “customers”
Nomenclature
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Body of Knowledge (e.g., ASCE)
Alternative: Competencies
 Knowledge
Evaluation
 Skills
Synthesis
 Ways of thinking
Analysis
 Attitudes
Application
Understanding
 Experience
Knowledge
 Judgment
 Creativity
May be taught, encouraged, nurtured, illustrated by example, etc.
Purpose of BOK - ASCE
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ASCE recognizes that changes in how (Civil) engineering is
practiced must occur. That change is necessitated by:
 Globalization; sustainability; emerging technology; increased
complexity, interdisciplinarity
Development of an “aspirational” global vision
Develop policies to move toward realizing this vision
 ASCE Policy 465: MS degree or equivalent is a prerequisite
for licensure and professional practice
Implement such policies in part by defining the BOK, which
defines what is required to enter the practice of civil engineering
at the professional level (licensure)
 Combines education and experience
ASCE Vision
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Entrusted by society to create a sustainable world and enhance the
global quality of life, civil engineers serve competently, collaboratively,
and ethically as master:
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planners, designers, constructors, and operators of society’s
economic and social engine, the built environment;
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stewards of the natural environment and its resources;
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innovators and integrators of ideas and technology across the
public, private, and academic sectors;
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managers of risk and uncertainty caused by natural events,
accidents, and other threats; and
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leaders in discussions and decisions shaping public environmental
and infrastructure policy.
Purpose of BOK
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Provide a strong foundation for further development
A guide for curriculum development and reform
Create strong identity
 A guide for employers, future students, society
Define needs for
 BS degree
 Licensure
 Lifelong learning
A mechanism to call for specific attributes, e.g., creativity and
innovation
Enhance recruitment
Potential Pitfalls
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Is a BOK really necessary?
Should a more in depth discussion of who we are and where we
are going precede BOK development?
Much progress has been made in the absence of an explicit
BOK; it should not move us backwards
Resource constraints
 Faculty
 Faculty workload
 Support for new courses
 New evaluation criteria
Perceived risk of constraining faculty and program creativity,
independence of too prescriptive
Uniqueness of EnvEng
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Serve public welfare, health, and safety directly
Objectives: human and ecosystem health
 Prevention, improvement, remediation
Systems perspectives – interactions and interfaces
 Engineered system
“Systems of systems”
 Natural systems processes
 Human systems and processes
Multi-media and their interfaces & interactions
Complex multi-scale systems
Global perspective
Environmental ethics
Risk: environmental, reliability
BOK Attributes
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Reflect our responsibility to address grand societal challenges for
compelling intellectual and practical reasons
Prepare students for an unknown future
 Provide strong fundamentals
 Promote ability to apply principles to new problems
 Promote ability to exploit new opportunities
Must build on a body of knowledge appropriate for all engineers
May be achieved through some combination of BS degree,
advanced degrees, experience, life-long learning
Flexibility
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Allow for multiple pathways to achieve BOK
BOK should allow for future growth in the field in ways that we
can not imagine at this time
 Promote expansion into new areas
BOK should provide a good foundation allowing career
flexibility outside the field
Breadth vs Depth
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Provide an appropriate balance between breadth and depth
 In science, among engineering disciplines, and within
environmental engineering
To enable determination of impacts of solutions to engineering
problems in a variety of domains
 Economy, public livelihood, human health, ecosystems, and
function of the earth’s life support systems
Professional Practice
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BOK should address competencies beyond those required to
enter practice or pass PE exam
Professional practice one of but not the only “next step” in
professional development
Sustainability Framework
Human (Social) System
Goods & Services
Natural (Eco) System
Culture/behavior
Policies, politics, law
Industry/agriculture
Economics
Historical context
Impacts
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere
Lithosphere
Biosphere
Resource Interactions and Feedback
Social Sciences & Humanities
(Environmental Studies)
Natural Sciences
(Environmental Science)
Social Capital
Natural Capital
Financial Capital
Economics
Technological Capital
Engineering & Applied Sciences
(Environmental Engineering)
Will Focht, Oklahoma State University
Systems Perspective and Analysis
impacts
Human Systems
Culture/behavior
Policies, politics, law
Industry/agriculture
Economics
Historical context
Basic Math/Science
• Biology/Ecology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Earth Science
• Stats/prob
uses
Technical
Environmental
Engineering
Systems
Tools
• Fate and transport
• Risk / exposure
• Impacts/benefits analysis
• Industrial ecology
• Env. Chemistry
Natural Systems
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere
Lithosphere
Biosphere
Basic Engrg. Science
• Mass/energy/momentum
• Fluid mechanics
• Thermodynamics
• Computation
Beyond the Foundation
Ways of Thinking
Skills
Attitudes
systems thinking
communication
role of technology in society
problem solving
experimentation
ethics
design
computation
respect for diversity
critical analysis
teamwork
respect for democratic
critical evaluation
project mgmt
public service
information mgmt
professional service
sustainability
Importance of Creativity
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Tough Choices or Tough Times, NCEE Commission on the Skills of
the American Workforce
Education vs. Training
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Training  How to do
 Develop contextual skill for enhancing immediate
productivity
Education  How to think and create
 Develop conceptual skill for thinking beyond the prevailing
paradigm
Courtesy of Dom Grasso, J. Bordogna, NSF
Importance of a University
Education
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Provides basis for creativity
Introduces students to
 Major kinds of knowledge
 Major forms of inquiry to develop new knowledge
 Different means of analysis
Provides intellectual power
 Critical thinking
 Reasoned judgment
 Ability to engage in the great debates that define our times
Necessary for analysis and solution of complex problems
Conclusions
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Change drivers include globalization; sustainability;
emerging technology; increased complexity,
interdisciplinarity
BOK should
 Provide a sustainability framework
 Promote systems thinking
 Promote creativity
 Provide a strong technical background while
recognizing the importance of a university education