With the advent of a new energy and the environment certificate, undergraduates from the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and Pratt School of Engineering will be able to tackle sustainable-energy issues together using knowledge from their respective fields.
"One of the most important goals of the certificate, in my view, is bringing together students from Pratt and Trinity who have a common interest in energy and environment topics and getting them to work together in courses and [projects] so that each group learns how to appreciate some of the methods that are used by the other group," said Josiah Knight, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science.
The six-course certificate, run by the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences and Pratt, includes three required classes and three electives, with an emphasis on internships, said Tod Laursen, co-director of the program and Pratt's senior associate dean for education.
He added that students will choose elective courses from three categories-markets, environment and energy technology. Mandatory classes will include two introductory courses and a capstone project course.
"The senior capstone course is the culminating experience of the certificate," said Emily Klein, co-director of the program and senior associate dean at the Nicholas School. "It is a project-based course that pairs small groups of Trinity students with Pratt students, and the groups in the class all work on a common idea and design concept for a [sustainable-energy project]."
Laursen added that the team working on the project will consist of four engineering and four non-engineering students, who will manage everything from designing and producing the project to marketing it and analyzing its environmental impact.
Students who are currently in the pilot version of the capstone course are collaborating on a solar-powered generator, Klein said.
Although students currently only have one available project option, Laursen said he hopes there will be more choices in the future.
"As the certificate grows and more students [join], there will be multiple opportunities for projects," he said. "In the future we expect that students will have a choice of three or four different projects to work on and may even develop their own ideas."
Roughly equal numbers of Pratt and Trinity students-60 percent from Pratt and 40 percent from Trinity-attended information sessions for the certificate, Klein said.
Students interested in the program said they appreciate the opportunities that will come out of working with others in different fields.
Freshman Jared Dunnmon, one of the first students to sign up for the program, said he thinks the certificate is impressive in encompassing all the different angles of the sustainable energy problem.
"There are not many programs like this," he said. "It's really representative of what Duke's trying to do with integration of interdisciplinary studies."
Stephen Lewis, a junior currently enrolled in the pilot capstone course, said he would try to obtain the certificate if he could fulfill the other requirements in his senior year.
The certificate was funded by a $10-million donation announced in November from Jeffrey Gendell, Trinity '81, and his wife Martha. The gift also established the Gendell Center for Engineering, Energy and the Environment.
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