Issues of energy and sustainability are having a direct impact on the public and are capturing the interests of many. Therefore, it is no surprise that science, including the field of chemistry, is becoming more connected with society. To address this connection, this project integrates important elements of renewable energy and sustainable chemistry across the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. The project creates a curriculum that is more interdisciplinary with respect to both teaching and research and also introduces topics that are timely and essential in preparing undergraduate students. The project is completing its objectives through three key areas: (i) developing new courses in renewable energy and sustainability; (ii) integrating photovoltaics across the undergraduate curriculum; and (iii) illustrating the role of biochemistry in renewable energy and sustainability. This project is an important contribution to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational practices, as issues of energy and sustainability represent some of the most technologically challenging problems of the 21st century. This project develops a far-reaching energy and sustainable chemistry curriculum that complements the traditional curriculum and better prepares our future graduates for success in addressing global issues. Furthermore, as chemistry is essential in preparing a broadly educated society, this project serves additional groups such as environmental science and non-science majors. Finally, the project can be used as a model for implementation at other institutions, based on the design of the exercises derived from successful investigations in the science and educational literature.
Issues of energy and sustainability are having a direct impact on the public and are capturing the interests of many. As result, it is no surprise that science, including the field of chemistry, will become more connected with society in the future. To address this connection, this project integrated important elements of renewable energy and sustainable chemistry across the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. The project created a curriculum which is more interdisciplinary with respect to both teaching and research and which introduces topics that are timely, yet essential in preparing undergraduate students. The project completed its objectives through three key areas: (i) development of new courses in renewable energy and sustainability; (ii) integrating photovoltaics across the undergraduate curriculum; and (iii) illustrating the role of biochemistry in renewable energy and sustainability. A variety of laboratory and course materials have been created and disseminated broadly including a published textbook for one of the courses in this project. This project is an important contribution to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational practices, as issues of energy and sustainability represent some of the most technologically challenging problems of the 21st century. This project has developed a far-reaching energy and sustainable chemistry curriculum that complements the traditional curriculum and better prepares our future graduates for success in addressing global problems. Furthermore, as chemistry is essential in preparing a broadly educated society, this project has served additional groups such as environmental science and nonscience majors. Finally, the project can be used as a model for implementation at other institutions, based on the design of the exercises which are derived from successful investigations in the science and educational literature.
