Sustainable Development promises to be the dominant economic, environmental and social issue of the 21st century. My project was to design and pilot a model curriculum for an Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Engineering course module. I overhauled previous course materials to take full advantage of new online and e-learning technologies to facilitate a successful learning experience for students from seven undergraduate colleges programs at Cornell University. While not a conventional engineering course; it introduces students, engineering and otherwise, to sustainable development issues that are critical to our common future. A lesson plan was created for one of twelve modules of the Sustainable Development course. It included an overview, research in, and goals of Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Engineering. Eco-Industrial Parks were the primary focus of the lesson assignment. I investigated dozens of existing eco-industrial parks in Europe, Canada and the United States to gather information on creating a realistic assignment for the lesson plan. Kalunborg Park in Denmark and Cleantek Park in Singapore offered excellent material on operating Eco-Industrial Parks. I researched dozens of journal articles on Sustainable Development and Industrial Ecology. Indigo Development was consulted as a leader and environmental 'think tank' that has pioneered research in Sustainable Development and Eco-Industrial Parks. T.E. Graedel and B.R. Allenby's Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Engineering text was a critical resource for the curriculum development. Videos from Yale University's Center for Industrial Ecology were viewed. The lesson was taught to 350 students with good results. The students comprehended the material and the completed the tasks required.
In conclusion, the Sustainable Development course was updated to include a lesson plan for Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Engineering. The course benefits from having a model for future lesson curriculum development. Student responses to the included assignment allow me to reflect on my design project and make additional modifications for the ongoing process of creating lesson curriculum.