Transdisciplinary Approaches for Teaching and Assessing Sustainable Design

Sustainable design can be defined as incorporating larger environmental, resource, and social issues into decisions of the conceptualization, design, manufacture, operation, and end-of-life of products and systems. These larger issues include, for example, environmental concerns, energy independence, economic viability, and social impact. This paper argues for the need for transdisciplinary approaches for teaching and assessing sustainable design for undergraduate engineering curricula. These transdisciplinary approaches are discussed in the context of application to traditional senior- and freshman-level ('capstone' and 'cornerstone') design projects and incorporation into innovative technology programs that provide outreach and seamless pathways for recruiting engineering students and developing a sustainable workforce. The teaching and assessment of sustainable design concepts and approaches should be driven by social and industrial needs while addressing forward-looking issues including the design and development of innovative products and service systems that use dramatically less energy, the reduction of energy intensity in manufacturing, and the provision of energy using 'green' technologies. The sections of this paper cover transdisciplinary design; sustainable design projects for undergraduate education; and pathways for a sustainable engineering and technology workforce.