Educating Engineers to Create a Sustainable Future

This paper was presented as the Simon W. Freese Lecture at the 2000 ASCE Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Kansas, July 24, 2000. It is obvious that an increasing global population with aspirations for a higher standard of living is significantly altering our natural systems. This affects the quality and quantity of life on earth. Technology is both partially the cause and a critical component of a future solution. Have engineering schools incorporated the topic of sustainability in meaningful ways? This paper attempts to answer this question. Findings are based on published literature and two questionnaires. The first survey went to environmental engineering faculty via the 724 Members of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. Twenty two responses were received. The second questionnaire was sent to 600 U.S. based environmental professionals employed by Environmental Resources Management (ERM) as representatives of recent graduates. The paper concludes that the faculty believes that teaching principles of sustainability is important, even though many are generally ill informed, and that graduates should have a basic understanding, but they don’t. Although many colleges offer courses, only a few appear to be seriously incorporating sustainability concepts.