Global Arc

A thorough introduction to renewable energy systems. Students will learn the physical, chemical, and engineering principles underlying renewable energy (RE) technologies: principles of operation of RE systems and technical challenges in planning and installing them; environmental and social impacts of energy technologies; challenges of integrating RE sources into existing energy systems; energy technology innovation systems; and economics of RE systems. Implications of transition to RE-dominated systems will be evaluated. The national and international policy context for RE will also be discussed.

This course examines the field of carbon capture, conversion, and storage. The course is interdisciplinary and surveys fundamental aspects of combustion, kinetics, material science, thermodynamics and electrochemistry. The class will survey the working principles of existing and emerging technologies that aim to make a critical impact on decarbonizing energy systems. Topics related to carbon capture and negative emission technologies will be discussed.

This course provides an introduction to the electricity sector drawing on engineering, economics, and regulatory policy perspectives. It introduces the engineering principles behind various power generation technologies and transmission and distribution networks; the economics of electricity markets; and the regulation of electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and retail sales. Open challenges related to the growth of distributed energy resources, the transition to low-carbon electricity sources, and the role of the electricity sector in mitigating global climate change are also discussed.

Principles and design of solar energy conversion systems. Quantity and availability of solar energy. Physics and chemistry of solar energy conversion: solar optics, optical excitation, capture of excited energy, and transport of excitations or electronic charge. Conversion methods: thermal, wind, photoelectric, photoelectrochemical, photosynthetic, biomass. Solar energy systems: low and high temperature conversion, photovoltaics. Storage of solar energy. Conversion efficiency, systems cost, and lifecycle considerations.

The course addresses basic wind turbine technology such as aerodynamics, control and structural aspects. Theory will be provided that can be used to predict the aerodynamic loads on the wind turbine blades and their impact on the structure with respect to internal loads and deflections. The influence of the stochastic loads from atmospheric turbulence will be addressed and the structural dynamics of a wind turbine and possible instabilities will also be covered. Small computer programs will be written based on the lectured theory and verified in some papers.

Human Factors 1.0 studied how humans interact with machines and technology, bringing engineering and psychology into contact in the 1950s and giving rise to theories of user-centric design. This course will cover recent theoretical advances in cognitive and social psychology, especially in human judgment and decision making, that are relevant for engineers and choice architects as they address technical and societal challenges related to sustainability. Such psychological theory (human factors 2.0) can be creatively applied to designs decision environments that help people overcome present bias, loss aversion, and status-quo bias.