Educating for a Sustainable Future

1
Educating for a Sustainable Future
Environmental Engineering Body of Knowledge

• The EE BOK Working Group
• Debbie Reinhart, PhD, PE, BCEE
• University of Central Florida

2
Working Group Charge

• The Body of Knowledge Development Working Group
  is charged with defining the BOK needed to enter
  the practice of environmental engineering at the
  professional level in the 21st century taking
  into account other issues, including, but not
  limited to, the impact on the profession, on
  environmental engineering academic programs
  (undergraduate and graduate), and on
  accreditation of environmental engineering
  programs at the basic and advanced levels.

3
What is the BOK?

• Civil Engineering the knowledge, skills, and
  attitudes necessary to become a licensed
  professional civil engineer
• National Academy of Engineering Study proper
  preparation for demands the field will place upon
  engineers in a global economy
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  domains, knowledge areas, and sub-knowledge areas
  needed for program of study
• Environmental Engineers?

4
EE BOK Issues

• How should the BOK be defined?
• What level of achievement is desired?
• How is the BOK achieved (with a BS, a MS, and/or
  through experience)?
• What defines entry into the professional
  environmental engineering field?
• How is its fulfillment assessed (a BS degree, a
  MS degree, a Professional Engineering License,
  Board Certification)?

5
Challenges

• Environmental engineering encompasses a broad
  range of disciplines
• Environmental engineers may have undergraduate
  degrees from the sciences, chemical engineering,
  mechanical engineering, or other fields
• Transportability
• Many environmental engineers do not or can not
  take the professional engineering exam

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BS or Beyond?

• Traditionally, EEs received advanced degrees
• ASCE Policy 465
• NSPE Professional Policy 168
• NCEES additional 30 credits beyond BS to obtain
  PE
• NAE Engineer of 2020 BS engineering is the new
  BA
• It is evident that the exploding body of science
  and engineering knowledge cannot be accommodated
  within the context of the traditional four year
  baccalaureate degree.
• Most professional degrees require education
  beyond BS (JD, MD, CPA)

7
The EE BOK

• Must recognize our roots in
• Hydraulic engineering
• Sanitary engineering
• Water microbiology
• Water/wastewater treatment engineering
• Air quality engineering
• Sanitary engineering

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The EE BOK

• Must ensure that those entering the environmental
  engineering profession have the science and
  technical knowledge, problem solving skills, and
  business acumen to meet future challenges.
• Unified opinion on what environmental engineers
  are and what they need to know

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Dr. Asit Biswas Social, Technical Impact Factors
on Society

• Globalization
• Free trade
• Energy security
• Technical developments

• Urbanization/ ruralization dynamics
• Immigration
• Information and communication revolution

Major impact on environmental management!
10

• The technology of today will have little
  relevance in the future.
• In 2020, our students today will be in mid
  career.
• How do we prepare them for this future?

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The Environmental Body of Knowledge

• ABET A-K outcomes?
• Relevant project experiences?
• Specialized knowledge (water, wastewater, air,
  solid waste, hazardous waste)?
• Action terms must be defined (levels of
  knowledge Bloom Taxonomy?)

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BOK Goals and Outcomes

• Knowledge about results of environmental
  measures and their impact on society and policy,
  interpreted from the perspective of risk,
  statistics and economics?
• Knowledge about innovations and impact of use on
  resources and environmental health and how to use
  innovations to accomplish goals?
• Ability to conceive and direct complex projects
  requiring highly integrated view of engineering
  systems at multiple scales within a framework of
  sustainability?
• Action terms must be defined (levels of
  knowledge Bloom Taxonomy?)

13
Working Group Composition

• Practitioner Members (including consulting and
  government)
• Academic Members
• ASCE BOK Committee Member
• ABET Representative

14
EE BOK Process

• Establish procedures, schedule
• Brainstorm outcomes
• Group outcomes
• Identify subgroups to flesh out outcomes
• Define achievement level
• Time of achievement
• Consensus on outcomes
• Draft BOK
• Public presentations and input
• Finalize BOK

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Schedule

• May 2006 BOKDWG scope approved by AAEE
  BOT, leaders identified
• May 2006 BOKDWG formed
• January 2007 First face-to-face meeting
• July 2007 Second face-to-face meeting
• Sept 07 - March 08 External Input
• March 2008 Third face-to-face meeting
• May 2008 Draft EE BOK completed
• May Sept 2008 External Input
• September 2008 Final EE BOK published

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Conclusions

• The EE BOK should serve as an inspiration to
  those studying, teaching, and practicing
  environmental engineering
• Translation into curriculum will be critical to
  success