Class focuses on sustainability
By David Brunner
Staff
Writer
Will children 20 years from now have enough food
to eat? How long will the Earth's current oil and coal supplies last?
Are there more efficient ways to run a car? What is the limit to the
Earth's human population?
These are all questions that will be asked and
answered in a new course offered next spring — "Engineering Environmental
Sustainability," CE 497E, a civil engineering course that will confront
questions of the Earth's health and capacity. The course is now open
for enrollment.
Robert Nies, professor of engineering, will be
teaching the course in the spring and said the class is important to
every student at Purdue who wants to be a leader because the course's
content affects all human beings.
"Sustainability means being able to live right
now, but not affecting how we or our children will live in the future,"
Nies said. "And we humans have a bad track record for that."
Keith Gossman, a junior in the Schools of Engineering
and president of Sustainable Purdue, said the idea for the class was
unprecedented and imperfect at first.
"The initial idea for the course had no outline,"
Gossman said. "We took a list of 75 or so supporters to Professor Nies
who then helped us to put it into action … the course is now a
tech elective for engineering students."
Organizers stress, however, that just because CE
497E is an engineering course, other non-engineering majors are not
excluded from enrollment.
"I'd really like to see cross-school enrollment,"
Nies said. "All students are welcome if they have a basic understanding
of algebra and an interest in the political, social and scientific effects
humans have on the earth."
Even some students who are not able to enroll but
want to benefit from the class are welcome, and some plan to attend.
Courtney Cowser, a senior in the Schools of Engineering
who has worked closely with Nies and Gossman, said she plans on attending
the class even though she will not be on the roster.
"I have a conflict in my schedule next semester
so I will not be able to take the class, but I will try and skip a lecture
or two just to visit and take in some info that CE 497E has to offer,"
Cowser said. "I am very excited that we are finally including sustainability
engineering in our education here at Purdue."
Cowser also said the class should be enjoyable
for students because of the way Nies will teach it.
"You can see his eyes light up when you mention
it to him," Cowser said. "He is one of the few professors that could
take that kind of attitude into the classroom."
Gossman is also looking forward to the class he
helped to design.
"The class will not fulfill a requirement for me
but I am taking it anyway," Gossman said. "Nies is very knowledgeable
about the topic and is a leader among professors."
Nies is more modest and said the sheer importance
and appeal of the topic is what makes it worthwhile.
"Sustainability says a lot about our society,"
Nies said. "We are living on borrowed time, and developing an environmentally
sustainable society truly is meaningful to all of us."
Students interested in registering for the course,
in spring semester 2002, are encouraged to e-mail Nies at nies@ecn.purdue.edu.
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