10/8/2009
To fulfill the demands of the global workforce, there exists a growing need for education and training in the areas of Energy and Sustainability Engineering (EaSE). Beginning in January 2010, the College of Engineering will offer a Graduate Option Program in EaSE*, designed to provide the components of breadth and depth for students who are enrolled in a departmental masters or PhD program, where they build a core competence in a discipline.
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To fulfill the demands of the global workforce, there exists a growing need for education and training in the areas of Energy and Sustainability Engineering (EaSE). Beginning in January 2010, the College of Engineering will offer a Graduate Option Program in EaSE*, designed to provide the components of breadth and depth for students who are enrolled in a departmental masters or PhD program, where they build a core competence in a discipline.
“An effective preparation for the student is to acquire a rigorous background in a core engineering discipline, combined with an interdisciplinary understanding of the energy and sustainability challenges and a deeper understanding of a chosen sub-topic,” explained Victoria Coverstone, associate dean for graduate and professional programs in the College of Engineering at Illinois. “The purposeful mixture of core, breadth, and depth will allow the graduate to tackle problems that are faced in research, planning, development, and implementation of advanced technologies, as well as the interface between technology and society.”
Energy engineering refers to the development of technologies for energy harvesting, conversion, transmission and use that are highly efficient and sustainable in future generations. Sustainability engineering refers to the development of technologies that provide the necessities for civil society and the infrastructure for commerce in efficient and renewable ways that minimize adverse impact on the earth system.
“The EaSE initiative is a significant step in breaking down barriers to interdisciplinary work on the challenge of transitioning to a sustainable energy future," remarked Clifford Singer, a professor of nuclear, radiological, and plasma engineering and co-director of the Energy and Sustainability Engineering initiative. The topics of energy and sustainability are highly interrelated; a leading example is bioenergy, which has major implications concerning land, water, atmosphere, and sustainability.
The College of Engineering initiative in Energy and Sustainability Engineering (EaSE) has four goals:
• To promote interdisciplinary research that joins the fields of science, engineering, environment and policy.
• To provide education and training for the global workforce.
• To engage industrial partners in the research and educational missions of the university.
• To link efforts within the College to complementary programs on campus.
“The new EaSE Graduate Option Program is the result of a rich dialogue between all the departments in engineering, earth sciences, chemistry, and architecture/urban planning over the past 15 months,” according to John Abelson, a professor of materials science and engineering and co-director of the Energy and Sustainability Engineering initiative. “During the next year, we will enthusiastically promote the writing of interdisciplinary research proposals, taking advantage of the new initiatives from the federal government.”
Participation in EaSE will not delay a student’s progress towards the degree or add to the total course load. The option is based on courses that are currently offered by the College of Engineering and by other schools at Illinois. To gain interdisciplinary understanding, all students will enroll in a team-taught core course consisting of ENG 471, Seminar in EaSE, and ENG 571, Theory and Methods in EaSE. The core course consists of a series of modules. The seminar speakers are faculty experts in each of the EaSE areas of specialization; there will also be guest lecturers from industry and other universities.
EaSE is currently accepting applications for the Spring 2010 semester. For additional information about the EaSE graduate option, visit: http://ease.illinois.edu.
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Contact: Jodi Gritten-Dorsett, CSE / EaSE Office, 217/333-3247, grittend@illinois.edu.
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