A Unique Interdisciplinary Course for Everybody
Offered in Spring 2002 at Northern Illinois University
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MEE 200 Energy and
the Environment This is a course essential for every person and
the whole society, |
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Course Vision and
Objectives:
As we, especially in a developed and sophisticated
society, are entering the twenty-first century, it is essential for every person
and the society to expend ‘awareness of Energy,’ which is the cause for
all progress (“living”), and its ‘impact on the Environment’ (all
existing matter and organisms around and including “us”). The
students should fully understand, appreciate and be intrigued with
universality of energy and matter, and philosophy of the fundamental Laws of
Nature and their impact on the Environment and the Society we
live in.
As consumers of energy or decision-making citizens in matters related to energy (virtually all matters!) and its effects on the environment and society, our graduates, the-soon-to-be engineers and economists, journalists and politicians, lawyers, educators, etc., should have an appropriate understanding and knowledge of the issues related to energy and the environment. Energy consumption has been growing exponentially, virtually reflecting the society's state of development, while at the same time impacting our environment in many important and sensitive ways. In addition to classical technical, socioeconomic, and political perspectives, our non-engineering (and engineering) students have to understand the philosophy and physics behind the fundamental concepts in order to be aware of reality and relativity associated with these important concepts. These vital issues are essential for every person, and particularly for an educated person.
This course is designed and offered as a general
education course, rather than an engineering or physics course, because the
subject of energy is examined not only from scientific and technical, but also
socioeconomic and political perspectives. As such, there is more emphasis on
the various aspects of the impact on environment and society, and less on the
technical and math skills or problem solving.
Course Instructor and Presentation:
Course instructor is Dr. M. Kostic, an Associate
Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Northern Illinois
University < www.kostic.niu.edu
>. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, and then worked in
industry for some time. Professor Kostic's teaching and research interests are
Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer and related Fluid/Thermal/Energy
sciences; with emphases on new technologies, experimental methods, creativity,
design, and computer applications.
The course presentation will use advantages of new
and information technologies, including interactive multimedia and Internet
resources, to effectively present technical concepts to interdisciplinary
students in an appealing and easy-to-understand form – “an eye and mind
opener.” The course will consist of lectures, discussions of current
events, and use of the World Wide Web to access current information and other
invaluable recourses. The course presentation with relevant examples will
illustrate underlying philosophy, developments and applications, as well as the
hype, challenges and opportunities related to the “Energy and Environment.”
We take our present level of energy use for granted
and have become accustomed to lifestyles of abundant and inexpensive energy
sources. Yet, a remarkable view of our Planet Earth from the space has
created a vivid image that the world we inhabit is beautiful, but fragile and
finite in size. This implicates important limits on our choices for the
continued growth of energy use and its impact on the environment as well as our
endeavors and lifestyle we decide to pursue as an individual or the whole
society. The choices we support or make to meet our energy needs in the future
will have an important impact on our and our children’s lives for the centuries
to come.
Go to Course Catalog Description *** Go to Home page
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