Energy and Environment: A multidisciplinary approach towards solving world's energy crisis

Toshihiro Tanaka (Graduate School of Engineering)

Cource Objective
   The objective of this course is to explore the opportunities and identifying the obstacles to effective, practical solutions to address the critical issue of the global demand on energy and its impact on the environment world-wide. As such, this course will take a multidisciplinary approach, providing students with both depth and breadth of knowledge about energy issue to understand the nature of the global challenge and to think of ways to meet the challenge,

Requirement / Prerequisite
   There are no prerequisite to this course, but the students are expected to be inquisitive, open-minded as well as eager to engage in critical thinking.

Course Content
   The course will be comprised of lectures and group presentations by students. The lectures will cover broadly three approaches: "scientific" technological solution-based approach provided by specialists on engineering, science and information technology; social approach examining people's attitudes and awareness; and international political approach.

Class Plan
   1. Introduction
   2. Energy and environment: Material Science perspective
   3. Applied Physics Approaches to Energy and Environment Problems
   4. Biofuel production in engineered microorganisms: biotechnology solution for energy crisis
   5. What is bio-energy for you? outline of three energy sources in our body
   6. Can nuclear power plants be a solution to energy and environmental problems?
   7. Green Communications Systems
   8. Energy and computing
   9. Global Politics and the Energy Crisis: A Public Policy Concern
   10. Environmental Issue and Human Behavior
   11. Group discussion
   12-15 Group presentation

Textbooks
   References will be introduced throughout the course.

Grading Policy
   Class participation 60%
   Presentation 40%