Assessing the Sustainability Components of Engineering Capstone Projects
- Conference
- Location
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Virtual Conference
- Publication Date
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July 26, 2021
- Start Date
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July 26, 2021
- End Date
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July 19, 2022
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Civil Engineering
- Tagged Topic
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Diversity
- Page Count
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19
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--36722
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/36722
- Download Count
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481
Paper Authors
Leslie R. Brunell Stevens Institute of Technology
Leslie Brunell, PhD, PE is a Teaching Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology. She coordinates both the civil and multidisciplinary engineering senior design projects. These projects are the culmination of the undergraduate engineering experience. Students design an innovative solution to a complex problem. She has recruited professional sponsors who mentor the civil engineering design projects. The projects expose the civil engineering students to real world design problems. The students gain first hand experience communicating professionally, developing schedules, meeting deadlines and preparing professional quality reports and presentations. Prof. Brunell is the director of the Water Resouces graduate program. She also teaches Fluid Mechanics, Surveying and Water Resources. Professor Brunell also advises Sustainability Management Master's students as they complete their capstone design.
Alex Dubro Stevens Institute of Technology
Alex Dubro is a May 2020 graduate of the Master’s program of Sustainability Management at the Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT). While at SIT, he co-founded the Stevens Sustainability Coalition (SSC), building a culture of sustainability by connecting Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) on campus; holding social events, such as potlucks; and running incubation expos and workshops to expose students to sustainability thinking. He assisted the school in achieving AASHE Gold by leveraging the SSC’s network to draft and disburse the Sustainability Literacy Assessment (SLA). Currently, he works as a sustainability consultant, providing businesses with the tools necessary to integrate sustainability into their operations. He aspires to give instructors and students a deeper meaning of sustainability by using the principles/guidelines laid out by the UN, GRI, and SASB, as well as the tools developed in ecological economics and industrial ecology.
Viraj Vasudev Rokade Stevens Institute of Technology
Abstract
Engineering capstone projects are frequently structured and organized to meet standards, such as the ASCE BOK, PMBOK, Agile, IEEE, and ABET. Just as professional engineers (PEs) have clear guidelines and instructions for delivering outcomes to clients, capstone projects consider the client’s needs and must meet rigorous academic requirements. With the increased need to integrate or address sustainability concerns in all areas of study, undergraduate- and graduate-level engineering capstone projects must have universal standards. Regardless of the type of project, clear, streamlined standards would greatly help assess the sustainability components, even if the project directly addresses sustainability, e.g. green infrastructure, solar energy. To meet the capstone requirement for the Sustainability Management Master’s program, a graduate student designed the Sustainability Components Assessment (SCA) while working with several Senior Design capstone coordinators. The student additionally conducted field research, interviews, and benchmarking against the UN SDGs, Envision, and ABET.
The SCA is a flexible, adaptive, and project-focused rubric that simultaneously guides and evaluates how successfully an engineering design or project team integrates sustainability components. In particular, it evaluates on the basis of key learning outcomes that measure research, comprehension, leadership, professionalism, and communication skills, both oral and written. The rubric is composed of the following: (1) Research & Sustainability Analysis, (2) Project Development, (3) Teamwork & Leadership, and (4) Deliverables. Each section of the rubric addresses a necessary area: 1. Research & Sustainability Analysis – Students research and analyze sustainability’s meaningfulness to the project and show how to address stakeholders’ needs and project trade-offs. 2. Project Development – Students complete the project within schedule while meeting pre-set and targeted sustainability goals. 3. Teamwork & Leadership – Students collaborate and self-reflect on strengths and weaknesses as leaders and teammates while understanding how sustainability influences decision-making. 4. Deliverables (Written & Oral Reports) – Students write about and present their research, designs, and sustainability analysis (e.g. meaningfully, concisely, scientifically).
The SCA is currently being used as a case study within a Civil Engineering Senior Design capstone course in order to find areas of strength as well as appropriate revisions. This research will lead to a more robust, comprehensive, complete, and open-source SCA that will assist professors in higher education who are required to incorporate sustainability into their capstone courses in addition to encouraging its use throughout engineering curriculums.
Brunell, L. R., & Dubro, A., & Rokade, V. V. (2021, July), Assessing the Sustainability Components of Engineering Capstone Projects Paper presented at 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. 10.18260/1-2--36722
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