Civil & Environmental Engr: System Focused Design Engr

Systems-thinking applied to analysis and design of engineered systems and elements, including economic, social, and environmental aspects of sustainable designs within global contexts. Includes life-cycle cost analysis, uncertainty, risk, and engineering economics. Prerequisites: STAT 1410 or STAT 2430 or STAT 2510.

Prereqs enforced by the system: STAT 1410 or 2430 or 2510; Open to Degree and PACE students

Systems-thinking applied to analysis and design of engineered systems and elements, including economic, social, and environmental aspects of sustainable designs. Includes life-cycle cost analysis, uncertainty, risk, and engineering economics. This course develops design engineering skills, using actual scenarios of local and global needs and problems, in applying principles of engineering design to achieve environmentally, economically and socially sustainable outcomes by following a system-thinking approach. The course will cover using systems/design thinking incorporating uncertainty, risk, interdependencies, and engineering economics including social and environmental life-cycle cost assessment. (Co-requisite, STAT 143 or equivalent) Course goals are to have students learn: 1. To learn how to apply design thinking, to create sustainable solutions to solve engineering problems or satisfy unmet needs. 2. To learn how to identify and understand implications of uncertainty and variability in needs, materials and products, as well as in analytical and design models and how to account for those in engineering design. 3. To learn how to characterize uncertainty and quantify risk, and how to include risk in evaluation of design alternatives. 4. To learn how to estimate capital, operating and maintenance costs, including internalized and externalized financial, social and environmental costs, for a life-cycle cost analysis. The learning objectives are to have students be able to: 1. Recognize the overall system which their design assignment is a part of and define the fundamental problem/need which must be addressed. 2. Characterize sources and types of uncertainty and variability in their design inputs, their engineering models for analysis and design, and their design outputs. 3. Characterize uncertainties and quantify risk in their engineering design. 4. Estimate internalized and externalized project costs and apply those to create a life-cycle cost analysis which covers financial, social and environmental aspects. 5. Create, evaluate, and choose design alternatives based on how well each alternative satisfies each of the three-pillars of sustainable design.

The course will have lesson and work session time, in an active-learning, project-based format. We will on some days start class with a lesson period, followed by time when students will work on assignments, at times in groups, and then may close out the class discussing outcomes from the work period. Students need to come prepared to class having done the reading or other assigned preparation, to actively participate and contribute. Fundamental to the goal of creating a learning community through this course is that each of us put special effort into creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone in the class, and everyone we encounter. Students are expected to spend 4 to 6 hours per week outside of class on preparation and assignments.

Homework and quizzes 10% Engineering economics exams 60% Team project 30%