Climate change is one of the most significant challenges in human history. In recent years, it has become clear that our way of life is not 100% sustainable and that something needs to change. This course will introduce you to sustainability and the science behind it. We will cover a wide range of topics, including: climate change; electricity generation and its decarbonization; water scarcity and water harvesting; and the role of materials and their environmental impact. By the end of this course, you will have learned about the science underpinning these applications, including heat transfer, thermodynamics, mechanics, and materials science. More importantly, we hope you will walk away able to talk about sustainability and feeling inspired to create the changes necessary to make society more sustainable and save the world!

Climate change is one of the most significant challenges in human history. In recent years, it has become clear that our way of life is not 100% sustainable and that something needs to change. This course will introduce you to sustainability and the science behind it. We will cover a wide range of topics, including: climate change; electricity generation and its decarbonization; water scarcity and water harvesting; and the role of materials and their environmental impact, especially plastics. By the end of this course, you will have learned about the science underpinning these applications, including heat transfer, thermodynamics, mechanics, and materials science. More importantly, we hope you will walk away able to talk about sustainability and feeling inspired to create the changes necessary to make society more sustainable and save the world!

Come join graduate members of The Rohsenow-Kendall Heat Transfer Laboratory to learn about how you can help solve the climate crisis and ensure the 4 billion people around the world that face water scarcity have water to drink! We will be walking through the basics of thermodynamics and heat transfer as they are applied to solving some of today's most pressing problems. From helping produce the food you eat, to the water you drink, to providing electricity to charge your cell phone, thermal sciences play an essential role in the world around us. We would love to get you started!