The Pittsburgh IGERT Sustainable Engineering Fellowship Program includes a nine-course sequence.  This progression allows the IGERT Fellows to obtain a comprehensive understanding of current sustainability issues while gaining more advanced knowledge in their particular specialization area.

Courses will begin to be offered in the Fall of 2006!

Introduction to Sustainable Engineering:

This first course provides a common frame of reference with respect to sustainable engineering, covering topics that include life cycle analysis; environmental costing; regulatory frame­works throughout the world, with a particular emphasis on the U.S. and Latin America; global and legal issues; risk analysis; social and international implications of non-sustainable deisgn; environmental management in industry; and ethics and the responsible conduct of research. Case studies will be used to illus­trate and compare the impact of both sustainable and non-sustainable designs, and will focus on specific projects in the U.S. and Brazil.

Capstone Design Course (two semester sequence):

This two-semester, inter-disciplinary, team-based capstone course sequence requires the appli­cation of rigorous analytical thinking and research investigation techniques for a unified project problem in a technical setting.  The course requires researching a significant problem and builds upon the students’ acquired engineering knowledge.  The capstone courses will reinforce the community-building aspect of the IGERT, since students will work in teams both at Pitt and UNICAMP. In the first capstone course, Sustainability Capstone Definition, students will work in teams of 3-4 persons. Students will receive structured instruction utilizing a modular course design focusing on core topics including various aspects of sustain­ability and project management processes.  The subject matter of the various projects will inform the spe­cific technology-based content to be presented.  By the end of the first semester, students will prepare and present a detailed project proposal for work to be carried out during the second semester in Brazil.  The second capstone course, Sustainability Capstone Realization, will focus on student conducted research using both experimentation and analysis methodologies.  UNICAMP or in some cases an industry or NGO or government partner will provide field laboratory space. 

IGERT Seminar:

This seminar will introduce the economic, political, social, and cultural aspects of Latin America in general and Brazil in particular. The seminar will be directed by Kathleen DeWalt and John Frechione of Pitt’s Center for Latin American Studies.  The first half of the course will introduce students to day-to-day life in Brazil, as well as its current socio-economic situation, the influence of politics and ethnic relations, and the many aspects of Brazilian culture.  The second half will focus on disciplinary perspectives that allow students to explore regional issues from a variety of viewpoints.  The final seminars will be used for presentations on topics related to Brazilian life, such as the governmental structure, university system, or integration of technology with indigenous lifestyles and traditions.

Portuguese language instruction:

In order for the IGERT Fellows to more effectively study, research and live in Brazil for an ex­tended period of time, they will take three semesters of Brazilian Portuguese.  The first two semesters of Portuguese are existing five-credit courses that introduce the students to the practical vocabulary and grammar they will need to function in Brazil. The third semester of Brazilian Portuguese will cover technical and educational terminology through examination of Brazilian sustainable engineering case studies while further advancing the students’ knowledge and ability in Brazilian Portuguese. 

2 Elective Courses:

Students will take at least two elective courses in their specialty area (such as ChE, CE, IE or ME) in order to gain more in-depth knowledge of engineering sustainability applications.