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Abstract: This paper discusses a framework for incorporating sustainable design/thinking as a new civil engineering course and experiences
from the pilot offering. Important areas are outlined to aid all engineers in understanding sustainability in context with traditional engineering
principles. Green-building rating systems were used to introduce the concepts of sustainability in buildings and infrastructure, highlighted by
presentations from green-building professionals. By providing a better understanding of sustainability through education, civil engineers can
provide proactive solutions to a growing global infrastructure. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000048. © 2011 American Society of
Civil Engineers.
CE Database subject headings: Engineering education; Sustainable development; Curricula; Teaching methods.
Author keywords: Engineering education; Sustainable development; Curricula; Teaching methods.
Introduction homework, projects, and feedback as a case study to help other civil
engineering programs implement sustainability offerings.
Society requires that new projects be sustainable while also adher- What is LEED? What does “green” mean? What is sustainable?
ing to basic engineering principles such as structural design, Everyone wants sustainability, but what do they really want?
economics, safety, and constructability. However, the design Although this question is not as common today as it was a few years
requirements for engineering professionals are changing more ago, not everyone is familiar with sustainability, especially civil
rapidly than universities are adapting to this new paradigm in engineers. These questions posed by the professional engineering
construction. The ever-changing nature of sustainability presents community in Kansas City allowed the Civil Engineering
challenges to design engineers especially when asked to incorpo- Department at the University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC)
rate new relatively unproven technologies into traditional design to develop Green Building and Sustainable Infrastructure, a
methodologies. graduate-level course piloted in the spring of 2009 and first offered
Although the topics of sustainability appear throughout many in the fall of 2009. Enrollment for the course was capped at 30,
journals, conferences, and university campuses and some schools UMKC’s largest for a civil engineering graduate course.
offer degrees in sustainability, information on the role of civil Kansas City has the greatest number of civil engineers (per
engineers in sustainability and green building is lacking. Before capita) in the United States. It is the fourth largest engineering
developing the course described in this paper, a review of existing community in the country, with regional and national headquarters
civil engineering and non–civil engineering curricula was per- of many engineering firms. Consequently, one of the urban mis-
formed. Most of the available engineering education literature sions for UMKC is providing continuing education to the engineer-
related to sustainability focused on integrating aspects of sustain- ing community. The relative porosity of UMKC faculty with local
ability into existing courses or only provided global-scale sugges- engineers allows rapid adjustments to better meet the needs of the
tions on aspects of sustainability that should be presented to community. Courses in green building and sustainability were
needs identified through both informal discussions and a request
students (Chau 2007; Anastas and Lankey 2002). Environmental
made by the engineering advisory board to the Civil Engineering
issues are most commonly integrated into environmental engineer-
Department. The community was excited about being greener, but
ing courses, whereas social aspects are integrated into a service-
it was also reluctant to the unknown and to change. So, the green-
learning course such as a senior capstone course (Riley et al.
building course focused on the role of civil engineers in the context
2007; Grimberg et al. 2008). Sustainability is often integrated of sustainable design in addition to discussing technologies to
through case studies presented as potential ideas for capstone proj- become more sustainable.
ects. The current literature provided many suggestions for topics The basic core competencies of the profession were set in the
related to sustainability but was not helpful in providing case post–World War II environment of producing engineers for the cold
studies of sustainability courses specifically for civil engineers. war. Although the current requirements produce competent,
Consequently, this paper provides actual examples of topics, well-rounded, traditional civil engineers, there is the need, more
1
than ever, to produce graduates who understand how green building
Assistant Professor, Civil and Mechanical Engineering Dept., Univ. of and sustainability fit into traditional engineering roles. How do
Missouri–Kansas City, Kansas City, MO 64110. E-mail: kevernj@umkc civil engineers balance the original core education components of
.edu
structural analysis, soil mechanics, water and wastewater design,
Note. This manuscript was submitted on March 15, 2010; approved on
August 27, 2010; published online on September 2, 2010. Discussion per- transportation, and construction with the need to be green?
iod open until September 1, 2011; separate discussions must be submitted Unfortunately for civil engineers, this means being uncomfortable,
for individual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Professional being flexible, evaluating new technologies, working with other
Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, Vol. 137, No. 2, April 1, professions, and returning to being ingenious and thinking. Green
2011. ©ASCE, ISSN 1052-3928/2011/2-107–112/$25.00. Building and Sustainable Infrastructure took the excitement and
JOURNAL OF PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND PRACTICE © ASCE / APRIL 2011 / 107
bureaucracy surrounding building and design codes, means that modified for civil engineering project considerations.
the next generation of sustainable designs will require decisions
from competent, knowledgeable engineers. Sustainable design
involves considering all phases of a project life cycle from plan- Course Outline and Objectives
ning, design, construction, operation and maintenance, and reha-
bilitation and replacement. The best decision for one step may Course Objectives
not be the best for another. Depending on the project and location, The course was designed to introduce the students to a wide variety
importance will shift between the economic, environmental, and of available techniques, technologies, systems, initiatives, and up-
societal impacts. Considering the triple bottom line often introdu- coming policies. Within the context of the Accreditation Board for
ces competing interests with competing information that must be Engineering and Technology (ABET) course-specific outcomes,
synthesized by educated engineers. Being sustainable is challeng- the important topics within sustainability align with many of the
ing, but engineers can make informed, safe decisions through learning outcomes (ABET 2010; Kelley 2008). The following is
education and understanding. a simplified list of ABET learning outcomes that align with the
current concepts of sustainability for civil engineers and were di-
rectly addressed in Green Building and Sustainable Infrastructure.
Being Ingenious and Breaking Down Silos 1. Ability to apply the knowledge of mathematics, science, and
engineering;
Green building and sustainability stress often require integrating 2. Ability to design a system, component, or process to meet
different areas early on and throughout a project to achieve success. desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic,
Relatively new and untested green technologies often require even environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, man-
more coordination. The inspiration and engineering context of the ufacturability, and sustainability;
course was based on the principles outlined in the National 3. Ability to function on multidisciplinary teams;
Concrete Pavement Technology Center (CP tech center) document 4. Ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems;
Building Sustainable Pavements with Concrete (Van Dam and 5. Understanding of professional and ethical responsibility;
Taylor 2009). The following principles were presented initially 6. Ability to communicate effectively;
and throughout the semester as a road map for sustainable 7. Broad education necessary to understand the impact of engi-
engineering: neering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and
1. Get smart—In the past, civil engineers provided many different societal context;
services on a single project, from surveying and soil testing to 8. Recognition of the need for and ability to engage in life-long
structural design and construction inspection. Lately, engineers learning;
have become specialists and have lost perception and under- 9. Knowledge of contemporary issues; and
standing of how decisions affect the bigger project. Sustainable 10. Ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering
technologies are changing rapidly, and the only way to keep tools necessary for engineering practice.
abreast of technology is through continued education. Because the course was not specifically listed as writing inten-
2. Design to serve the community—The ultimate goal for engi- sive, technical communication was fostered through reviews,
neers is to improve conditions for the greater community. The reports, projects, and presentations throughout the semester.
greater community is both human and nature, and decisions
must consider the impacts to both. Course Outline
3. Choose what you use—Select the best material for the client, The course covered 14 weeks. The class was taught one evening per
project, and environment, considering now and the future. Use week for 3 h. Green rating systems for buildings and infrastructure
local materials, and recycle old ones into the new project when were covered over 6 weeks, with most of that time focused on
possible. In many cases, selecting a more expensive yet long- LEED for new construction. Table 1 is a summary of the course
lasting product will be cheaper and greener over the project’s outline.
life cycle.
4. Less is more—Fewer materials used in a project result in lower
emissions. Optimize systems whenever possible, and build Using LEED as a Platform to Introduce Green
according to what society requires. Building
5. Minimize impacts to the community—Projects can affect the
community in a variety of negative ways. Think holistically The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in
about noise, safety, delays, emissions, and energy consump- Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green rating system
tion. A better design results in a better project for everyone. has become ubiquitous in the commercial-building market.
6. Take care of what you have—Longevity is the key to sustain- In the United States, commercial building typically progresses
ability. In most cases, maintaining an existing item now is bet- with an owner hiring an architect and the architect hiring engineers
ter for the environment than buying a new green product. when required. So, for most traditional projects, the engineer’s
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10 Low-impact development
for Construction Engineering.” Because sustainability is a rapidly
11 Storm-water BMPs
changing area, the assignments and projects were designed to iden-
12 Urban heat island tify state-of-the-practice technologies and allow students to select
13 Life-cycle analysis areas of interest for more investigation and presentation to the other
14 Life-cycle inventory students. LEED and associated technologies occupied approxi-
mately one-third of the course. One additional class period was de-
involvement is compartmentalized to fulfill duties only on a limited voted to other green rating systems including other available LEED
scope. This traditional approach creates numerous change orders, products, Green Globes, Energy Star, the National Association of
overruns, and in many cases, less than optimal results. However, Home Builders’ green home-building guidelines, Greenroads, and
LEED and other green-building rating systems require team inte- the Federal Highway Administration’s Green Highways Partner-
gration to help minimize problems and allow new technologies to ship. The course then transitioned to urban sustainability issues
be successful. Now the civil engineer may be involved with the of storm-water management and urban heat island (UHI) mitiga-
architect, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, landscape archi- tion. The storm-water portion included the history of storm-water
tect, suppliers, and contractors. Because LEED also encourages the problems and the progression to current legislation. Then the
course covered low-impact development and technologies to re-
use of new materials, the team can be creative, allowing the engi-
duce storm-water runoff. Following urban issues was a class period
neers to solve problems. For many engineers, the idea of working in
discussing the causes of UHI, calculations, and mitigation strate-
an interdisciplinary team to creatively solve a problem is a new and
gies. One class period was devoted to discussing unsustainable
exciting concept.
practices leading to federal hazardous waste legislation, using
LEED is the most widespread green-building rating system in
examples such as Love Canal and Times Beach. The lecture on
the country and was used to introduce the concept of rating systems
unsustainable practices also included air pollution, global warming,
to the students. Although point-based ratings systems have the
and greenhouse gas reduction programs. Discussion of the previous
weakness of projects only trying to achieve enough points for a
state of environmental practices and on-going legislation helped
particular rating level instead of purely considering sustainable
show how widespread small changes incorporated in sustainable
options, the principles supporting the particular points have merit
development are now possible because the major problems and
and help define green building. During the first one-third of the
practices of the past have been addressed. The final portion of
semester, LEED credit areas helped introduce site selection, water,
the course discussed the basics of environmental inventory and
materials, energy efficiency, and air quality. The LEED sections
life-cycle assessment (LCA). This section introduced the students
were supported by using Haselbach’s The Engineering Guide to
to the popular LCA tools available from the National Institute of
LEED—New Construction (2008). The textbook provides credit
Standards and Technology (NIST)—the Building for Environmen-
explanations and examples from an engineer’s perspective. To help
tal and Economic Sustainability (BEES) program—and those from
provide context for the material and structure to a 3-h class, experts
the Athena Institute for Green Globes and the pilot for LEED
were invited to speak to the class about LEED areas in addition to
(NIST 2007; Athena Institute 2010). Although LEED for new con-
those that the civil engineer is responsible for.
struction was used to introduce green building, the course quickly
The first half of each LEED class covered credit areas, calcu-
covered many other related topics.
lations, and point rankings. During the second half of each LEED
class, a speaker who is knowledgeable in the particular LEED sec- Class Activities and Homework
tion presented. The presentations covered projects and technologies
related to the credit area and were made relevant by using stories The course started by splitting the students into three groups to
and pictures of the projects. A summary of the invited presenters is work on a triple bottom line project. Before any course introduc-
shown in Table 2. The presenters were instructed to base their tion, the groups were separated and asked to design a doghouse.
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