With the growing demand of energy and an ever-heightened awareness of environmental protection on a worldwide scale, every industry plays a role in developing and implementing solutions that reduce, prevent, or mitigate serious threats to our planet. It has become critical for electrical energy to be developed from sources that do not pollute the atmosphere or rely on the depletion of natural resources. Renewable sources, such as solar, wind, and geothermal, are essential for a sustainable future. How to improve the efficiency of existing electrical generation, transmission, and distribution systems is equally important. Demand for research and development in clean and renewable energy is growing quickly. Nearly every industry is focusing its efforts on developing and investing in clean and renewable energy options, creating exciting career opportunities where you can make a difference in the future of our environment. This option is part of the electrical engineering BS program.
Advanced Electives in Clean and Renewable Energy
The clean and renewable energy option includes advanced elective courses designed to provide a depth of understanding in clean and renewable energy systems. Electives include Clean and Renewable Energy Systems and Sources, Energy Conversion, Electric Power Transmission and Distribution, and Advances.
Minors and Immersions in Environmental Studies and Sustainability
You may choose to enhance your understanding of current complex environmental issues and/or gain a deeper understanding of how you can bring about positive environmental change via a minor or immersion. The following minors and immersions complement the clean and renewable energy option:
- Climate Change: An Interdisciplinary Problem Immersion
- Environmental Science Minor
- Environmental Studies Minor
- Environmental Studies Immersion
- Geographic Information Systems Minor
- Geographic Information Systems Immersion
- Public Policy Minor
- Public Policy Immersion
- Sustainable Product Development Minor
Multidisciplinary Senior Design
Multidisciplinary Senior Design is a two-course sequence in the final year of study. It's a capstone learning experience that integrates engineering theory, principles, and processes within a collaborative team environment. Multidisciplinary student teams follow an engineering design process, which includes assessing customer needs, developing engineering specifications, generating and evaluating concepts, choosing an approach, completing systems and subsystems designs, and implementing the design to the extent feasible, for example by building and testing a prototype or implementing a chosen set of improvements to a process. You'll apply the knowledge you have learned in the classroom and from your co-op experiences to this design project. Students in the clean and renewable energy option are expected to work on a design project that focuses on developing, solving, or advancing an aspect of clean energy.