N.C. A&T Receives Grant to Establish Sustainable Engineering Education

N.C. A&T Receives Grant to Establish Sustainable Engineering Education

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Sept. 16, 2024) — Researchers in the College of Engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University were awarded a $350,000 grant from the National Science Foundation and The Lemelson Foundation to integrate environmental and social sustainability into engineering curriculum. 

As a land grant institution, N.C. A&T researchers are often working on ways to improve the human condition. Steven Jiang, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) and the principal investigator (PI) of the grant, said this grant will enable students to think of the environment from the start. 

“So often we see sustainability taught as an afterthought,” said Jiang. “With this grant we want to continue to integrate environmental and social sustainability into our curriculum so our students are always thinking about how their systems and designs will impact the community.” 

Using Lemelson’s “Engineering for One Planet” framework as a guide, Jiang and other faculty will integrate ISE curriculum with competencies that are aligned to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation standards that every graduating engineer needs to acquire to design, code, build and implement solutions that are socially and environmentally sustainable. This framework aligns with the department’s strategic direction to cultivate professional industrial and systems engineers who are “Leaders, Integrators and Transformers (LIT).” 

The grant also establishes an advisory board to guide curriculum integration, drawing upon professional expertise and industry relevance. The board includes an expert in sustainability curriculum design, a practitioner from an industry partner with insights into environmental and social sustainability impacts, and a program officer from a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving both human life and the planet. This collaborative approach ensures that students emerge as next-generation innovators and engineers committed to fostering a sustainable future. 

Co-PIs of the grant are ISE faculty Paul Stanfield, Ph.D., Lauren Davis, Ph.D., Muyue Han, Ph.D., and Vernal Alford, M.S. 

“The core of ISE is systems thinking,” said Jiang. “We, by nature, are multidisciplinary so we are a great starting point to integrate our curriculum with sustainable practices. Our students have always been more receptive to the ideas of social and environmental sustainability so this will be a great opportunity for our students to continue to apply what they learn in class to make a difference in the community.”