Civil Engineering

CIV ENG 260-0 Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering
Mass and energy concepts applied to major issues facing environmental engineers: safe drinking water, surface water quality, ambient air quality, global atmosphere, managing solid and hazardous wastes.

CIV ENG 371-0 Introduction to Transportation Planning and Analysis
Analysis and design of solutions to transportation problems; introduction to selected operations research and statistical analysis techniques; use of case studies in urban transportation, intercity passenger transport, and freight movements.

CIV ENG 376-0 Transportation System Operations
Traffic flow theory; vehicle and human factors, capacity analysis, intersection performance and control; management and control of arterial streets and networks; neighborhood traffic restraint, urban transit operations. Operations concepts and theories applied to actual problems through laboratory practice.

Materials Science and Engineering

MAT SCI 318-0 Materials Selection
Methods of specifying materials and the processes for making them in the context of a given application. Service performance of materials based on their physical and chemical properties. Case studies and use of high-level databases.

MAT SCI 395-1 Energy and Materials (Spring 2008, Dunand)
materials energy content (production, processing, use and recycling), advanced materials for efficient energy capture (solar cells, nuclear materials,  hard materials for oil/gas recovery, composites for wind energy, …), energy conversion (fuel cells, light emitting diodes, thermoelectrics, engines and turbines, …) and energy storage (hydrogen storage, phase-change materials,…).  Materials enabling energy-efficient transportation and housing will be discussed. 

Mechanical Engineering

MECH ENG 346-0 Introduction to Tribology
Fundamentals of surface contact: surface topography, asperity contact, interfacial phenomena. Friction theories and wear mechanisms. Temperatures in sliding contacts. Hydrodynamic, hydrostatic, elasto-hydrodynamic, and boundary lubrication.

MECH ENG 379-0 Elements of Combustion Engineering
Introduction to combustion processes, providing an understanding of flame processes as they relate to efficiency and pollution due to propulsion and power-generating systems. Diffusion and premixed flames, problems of ignition, quenching, flammability limits, and detonation.

MECH ENG 395 Energy and Society  
Focus on the relationship between societal infrastructure and energy use.  Investigates those aspects of society which are enable the use of high fluxes of energy, just those flux rates needed for highly dense populations and concentrated efforts, such as large-scale industry.  Explore the relationship between how society organizes itself to use energy, and how energy use allows society to organize itself.

Environmental Science, Engineering and Policy

ENVR SCI 203-0 Energy and the Environment: The Automobile
Integrated study of fundamental chemistry, industrial production, energy use, and public policy, using the automobile as an example.

Humanities

PHIL 268-0 Ethics and the Environment
Topics include our relationship to the environment, the obligation to future generations, pollution and population control, food and energy production and distribution,

POLI SCI 329-0 (371-0) U.S. Environmental Politics
Political problems associated with human impact on natural environment; pollution, natural resources, public lands, land use, energy, and population.

Business

SEEK-935-0 - Environmental Management and Sustainability
Challenges arising from energy consumption and natural resource use are increasingly contributing to the complexity of the business environment. Environmental concerns shape both the policy arena in which firms form and implement their business plans and the consumer arena in which firms offer their goods and services. These interactions also affect the nature and amount of innovation that brings about novel business and technological approaches to environmental concerns. This class will focus on topics at the intersection of environmental policy, innovation, sustainability and corporate strategy, including environmental markets (such as sulfur dioxide and carbon permit markets), innovative "green technology" in transportation and in buildings, electricity restructuring, smart grid technologies and business strategies, for-profit/nonprofit partnerships, and "green" marketing and product labeling.

Law

PPTYTORT 613- Public Policy and Law: Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development 
One of the greatest challenges facing government policymakers at all levels is how to construct policies that support both economic development and preserve and enhance environmental goods such as clean air and water, and open space with diverse habitat. This seminar explores various aspects of energy, environmental and other sources of law that are or could be utilized to achieve the goal of "sustainable development." Among the topics we will consider are: (1) how federal and state energy law, including provisions to restructure the electricity industry, might support economic development and environmental values, including promotion of new clean renewable energy resources; (2) the intersection between transportation policies, infrastructure funding and environmental law, particularly the challenge of "smart growth" versus "sprawl"; (3) the legal and policy efforts to align agricultural practices and law and environmental concerns; (4) the balance struck between economic development and environmental concerns in the context of the redevelopment of "brownfields," underutilized contaminated properties in urban areas; and (5) the particular problems of balancing development and environment concerns in poorer countries experiencing high rates of population growth. There are no prerequisites for the seminar, although basic environmental law or natural resources law might be helpful.

PPTYTORT 692 - Energy and Oil Law 
Do you ever ask yourself what rules govern the price of a gallon of gasoline, the trade of the OPEC cartel, the deregulation of energy markets, or the development of renewable energy sources? This seminar will cover current issues in energy and oil markets important for the lawyer. Thematically, the course addresses various domestic and international topics related to energy and oil law drawing upon the literature in law, economics and related disciplines. On the domestic side, among the topics we will discuss are energy contracts, the transition from monopoly to de-regulated competitive electricity markets as well as regulatory intervention in renewable energy sources and fuel cells markets. On the international side, topics include investments in infrastructure development, international trade and transactions in oil and gas, recent mergers and acquisitions, arbitration of disputes, and the operation of the OPEC cartel. The intent is to bridge legal theory and practice as the course probes issues in energy and oil. The class will be structured as a discussion seminar with a paper requirement.