Renewable Energy and Engaged Interdisciplinary Learning for Sustainability (REELS)

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Two courses pertaining to renewable energies and sustainability engineering are being developed and taught jointly by the School of Engineering and the Departments of Politics and Sociology. One, Sustainability and Social Change, is an interdisciplinary course that explores the politics of sustainability and the process of technological innovation and the development of new renewable energy sources. The course will be cross-listed between the Politics and Sociology Departments. The second course to be affected is the current electrical engineering Renewable Energy course for which a renewable energy sources laboratory will be developed. A combination of laboratories, community projects, and case studies are creating an environment that cultivates innovation and inclusiveness, builds quantitative skills, and expands topical knowledge about renewable energies,and social justice issues related to sustainable development.Engineering students are learning broader social impacts and how to analyze issues of equity and inclusion. Social science students are improving scientific reasoning, applied engineering, and quantitative analysis skills. Students, faculty and community partners explore strategies to link social technologies with material innovations. The partnership connecting sociology with engineering is attracting more women and underrepresented minorities to careers in science and engineering.