Minor in Energy and Sustainability

The Energy and Sustainability (ENSU) Minor offered by Penn Engineering provides students with a broad coverage of technical and societal issues confronting the world and in-depth treatment of selected topics in technical areas relevant to energy and sustainability. The ENSU Minor will be guided by a faculty Oversight Committee, headed by Professor John Vohs, who will also serve as the Faculty Advisor for this program.

To apply for the ENSU Minor, complete the Minor Application form (available on the Forms Page), meet with Professor Vohs (email him for an appointment), obtain signatures, and submit the completed form to RAS, 109 Towne.

Requirements for the Minor

Students participating in the minor are expected to have taken at least one semester of introductory chemistry, introductory mathematics and introductory physics, and will take a minimum of 6 courses toward the minor.

Fundamental Engineering Science: 1-2 CU

Students will be required to satisfy the basic engineering science course requirement by taking two courses from the list below, one in engineering thermodynamics and one in basic principles of solid state physics.  In cases when one or more courses from the list are required for the student’s major, only one required course can be used toward the ENSU Minor. (For example, an MSE major can only count either MSE 260 or MSE 221 toward the minor since both are required for the major, but a BE major can count both toward the minor.)

1 CU in engineering thermodynamics:

  • CBE 231 Thermodynamics of Fluids OR CBE 230 Material and Energy Balances of Chemical Processes*
  • MEAM 203 Thermodynamics
  • MSE 260  Energetics of Macro and Nanoscale Materials

*Of the two CBE courses, CBE 231 is preferred

1 CU in basic principles in solid state physics:

  • MSE 221  Quantum Physics of Materials
  • ESE 321 Physics & Models of Semiconductor Devices*

*ESE 218 taken prior to Fall 2014 will satisfy this requirement

Energy and Sustainability Systems and Technology: 1 CU

  • ENGR 250 Energy Systems, Resources and Technology

Energy and Sustainability Policy, Regulation, and Societal Impact: 1 CU

Students will take one course in the Technology, Business and Society category, choosing from:

  • EAS 301 Climate Policy and Technology
  • EAS 306 Electricity Systems and Markets
  • EAS 401 Energy and its Impacts
  • EAS 402 Renewable Energy and its Impacts
  • EAS 403 Energy Systems and Policy

Energy and Sustainability Electives: 2-3 CU

  • CBE 375 Engineering and the Environment
  • CBE 543 Sustainable Development of Water Resource Systems
  • CBE 544 Computational Science of Energy & Chemical Transformations
  • CBE 545 Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage
  • CBE 546 Fundamentals of Industrial Catalytic Processes
  • ENGR 503 Engineering in Oil, Gas, and Coal, from Production to End Use
  • ESE 521 The Physics of Solid State Energy Devices
  • MEAM 503 Direct Energy Conversion: From Macro to Nano
  • MSE 455/555 Electrochemical Engineering of Materials
  • MSE 545 Energy Storage and Technology
  • MEAM 502 Energy Engineering