Climate Solutions Technologies
This course for upper division students in science and engineering disciplines covers energy and climate and specific technologies that can be implemented to reduce global warming. Topics include renewable energy (wind and solar), carbon management technologies including Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage, and Negative Emissions Technologies. The technologies will be described and compared from an upper level chemical engineering perspective that includes fundamental concepts in thermodynamics and separations. We will also cover carbon economics and policies and life-cycle analysis. The course will be framed from a systems-thinking perspective. Throughout the course we will focus on key aspects of communicating climate science.
Topics
- Students in this class will gain experience in applying principles of systems thinking, engineering design and analysis to specific technologies that are relevant for mitigating climate change in the immediate future. After taking this course, students should be able to discuss and explain to peers the role of CO2 in the earth’s climate, the greenhouse effect, the carbon cycle and how it relates to the fate of greenhouse gases on many time scales, and the role of fossil fuel combustion in the energy landscape and in CO2 emissions. Students will gain knowledge about the most current technologies available for producing energy renewably, managing carbon, and reducing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Students will gain a basic understanding of economics relative to climate policies, and of climate solutions currently being discussed by policymakers; they will gain an understanding of how these individual solutions fit into a global scheme. Students will appreciate the critical role that communication plays in the path to implementation of solutions and will be comfortable engaging in a discussion about climate solutions with technical and non-technical peers.
Official catalogue course objectives and student learning outcomes
Prerequisites & course information
{'preRequisiteCourse': '1030171', 'concurrentPrerequisit': False}; {'preRequisiteCourse': '1145002', 'concurrentPrerequisit': False}; {'preRequisiteCourse': '1184911', 'concurrentPrerequisit': False}; {'preRequisiteCourse': '1184921', 'concurrentPrerequisit': False}; {'preRequisiteCourse': '1144962', 'concurrentPrerequisit': False}; {'preRequisiteCourse': '1144961', 'concurrentPrerequisit': False}; {'preRequisiteCourse': '1028921', 'concurrentPrerequisit': False}; {'preRequisiteCourse': '1145001', 'concurrentPrerequisit': False}; {'preRequisiteCourse': '1028901', 'concurrentPrerequisit': False}; {'preRequisiteCourse': '1030181', 'concurrentPrerequisit': False}
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027