We know that sustainability is important, but how do engineers think about it? Are certain materials better from a sustainability standpoint compared to others? What kinds of tools do materials engineers use when given a design prompt for materials selection? In this module, we explore how materials selection plays a role in engineering design and how environmental considerations affect these decisions. We also show how much energy goes into a material throughout its life cycle.
Keywords: Materials selection, design, sustainability, materials life cycle, recycling
Facilities needed: Classroom
Files to Download:
- Sustainability Module
- Sustainability Lecture (PPT)
- Sustainability Lecture Notes
- Sustainability Activity Handout
- Sustainability Activity Supplemental (Ashby Plots)
- All files (zip)
Girls Learning About Materials by Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.