This case is based on the controversy that surrounded harvesting of the Pacific yew from 1989 to 1997 to develop paclitaxel (Taxol), a revolutionary anti-cancer drug. The case was designed to expose students to basic conservation biology concepts by examining competing needs among scientists and other stakeholders in a real-life science-and-society scenario. Developed for a undergraduate introductory biology course for non-majors, the case could also be used in an environmental science course or in a course on the impact of science and technology on society.

Carrier systems involve the design, operation, and management of transportation networks, assets, personnel, freight, and passengers. A number of different carrier systems are contrasted while models and tools for analyzing, optimizing, planning, managing, and controlling these systems are presented.

This video lesson aims to motivate students about chemistry and to raise their awareness about how chemistry helps in solving certain environmental problems. In this lesson, the air pollution problem created by cars and other vehicles is presented. The lesson will highlight causes of this problem, harmful products from it and possible solutions. There will also be discussion of ways to convert the pollutants produced by burning oil in vehicles into more friendly products.

Two lessons and their associated activities explore cellular respiration and population growth in yeasts. Yeast cells are readily obtained and behave predictably, so they are very appropriate to use in middle school classrooms. In the first lesson, students are introduced to yeast respiration through its role in the production of bread and alcoholic beverages. A discussion of the effects of alcohol on the human body is used both as an attention-getting device, and as a means to convey important information at an impressionable age. In the associated activity, students set up a simple way to indirectly observe and quantify the amount of respiration occurring in yeast-molasses cultures. Based on questions that arise from this activity, in the second lesson students work in small groups as they design and execute their own experiments to determine how environmental factors affect yeast population growth.

In this case study, students are introduced to concepts and techniques in modern biotechnology, as well as the possible implications of this emerging science, by considering the possibility of in vitro cultured meat. Intended for use in a college-level meat science, food science, or human nutrition course, the case could also be used in courses in environmental science, agribusiness, agriculture law and policy, animal philosophy/well-being, and high school AP food science.

For Institute students in all departments interested in the behavior of chemicals in the environment (see ESD listings for other subjects). Emphasis on man-made chemicals, their movement through water, air, soil, and their eventual fate. Physical transport, as well as chemical and biological sources and sinks, are discussed. Linkages to health effects, sources and control, and policy aspects.

This course addresses the challenges of defining a relationship between exposure to environmental chemicals and human disease. Course topics include epidemiological approaches to understanding disease causation; biostatistical methods; evaluation of human exposure to chemicals, and their internal distribution, metabolism, reactions with cellular components, and biological effects; and qualitative and quantitative health risk assessment methods used in the U.S. as bases for regulatory decision-making. Throughout the term, students consider case studies of local and national interest.

To increase students' awareness of possible invisible pollutants in drinking water sources, students perform an exciting lab requiring them to think about how solutions and mixtures exist even in unsuspecting places such as ink. They use alcohol and chromatography paper to separate the components of black and colored marker ink. Students witness first-hand how components of a solution can be separated, even when those individual components are not visible in solution.

Introduces the concepts, techniques, and devices used to measure engineering properties of materials. Emphasis on measurement of load-deformation characteristics and failure modes of both natural and fabricated materials. Weekly experiments include data collection, data analysis, and interpretation and presentation of results.

This graduate seminar examines the roles that civil society actors play in international, national, and local environmental governance. We will consider theories pertaining to civil society development, social movement mobilization, and relations between state and non-state actors. During the course of the semester, particular attention will be given to the legitimacy and accountability of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Case studies of civil society response to specific environmental issues will be used to illustrate theoretical issues and assess the impacts that these actors have on environmental policy and planning.

Engineers design methods of removing particulate matter from industrial sources to minimize negative effects of air pollution. In this activity, students will undertake a similar engineering challenge as they design and build a filter to remove pepper from an air stream without blocking more than 50% of the air.

Students learn about a special branch of engineering called bioremediation, which is the use of living organisms to aid in the clean-up of pollutant spills. Students learn all about bioremediation and see examples of its importance. In the associated activity, students conduct an experiment and see bioremediation in action!

In a multi-week experiment, students monitor the core temperatures of two compost piles, one control and one tended, to see how air and water affect microbial activity. They daily aerate and wet the "treated" pile and collect 4-6 weeks' worth of daily temperature readings. Once the experiment is concluded, students plot and analyze their data to compare the behavior of the two piles. They find that the treated pile becomes hotter, an indication that more microbes are active and releasing heat. Through this activity, students see that microbes play a role in composting and how composting can be used as a carbon management process.

Students explore the concept of biodegradability by building and observing model landfills to test the decomposition of samples of everyday garbage items. They collect and record experiment observations over five days, seeing for themselves what happens to trash when it is thrown "away" in a landfill environment. This shows them the difference between biodegradable and non-biodegradable and serves to introduce them to the idea of composting. Students also learn about the role of engineering in solid waste management.

Topics in surface modeling: b-splines, non-uniform rational b-splines, physically based deformable surfaces, sweeps and generalized cylinders, offsets, blending and filleting surfaces. Non-linear solvers and intersection problems. Solid modeling: constructive solid geometry, boundary representation, non-manifold and mixed-dimension boundary representation models, octrees. Robustness of geometric computations. Interval methods. Finite and boundary element discretization methods for continuum mechanics problems. Scientific visualization. Variational geometry. Tolerances. Inspection methods. Feature representation and recognition. Shape interrogation for design, analysis, and manufacturing. Involves analytical and programming assignments.

This course covers concepts of computation used in analysis of engineering systems. It includes the following topics: data structures, relational database representations of engineering data, algorithms for the solution and optimization of engineering system designs (greedy, dynamic programming, branch and bound, graph algorithms, nonlinear optimization), and introduction to complexity analysis. Object-oriented, efficient implementations of algorithms are emphasized.

Students learn the meaning of preservation and conservation and identify themselves and others as preservationists or conservationists in relation to specific environmental issues. They use Venn diagrams to clarify the similarities and differences in viewpoints. They see how an environmental point-of-view affects the approach to an engineering problem.

This role-playing case on climate change policy is designed to engage student groups in parallel discussions on policy instruments and packages for controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, student groups discuss cap-and-trade and carbon tax policies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Each group has four students representing one of the following characters: climate scientist, economist, political sociologist, and the staff expert on science related policy. Students study the policies from a holistic perspective and explore related social, economic and environmental issues. In the end, each group drafts a statement for the senator that includes choices and recommendations based on these different views. This case is appropriate for introductory environmental studies and environmental economics courses once students have been introduced to the basic technical and scientific information on climate change.

In this case study, students hear arguments on both sides of a debate over wildlife management and must integrate ethical and scientific perspectives to formulate their own opinions. The case as written is most appropriate for an environmental ethics or policy course, but could also be used in an introductory or interdisciplinary environmental studies course.

Survey of information technology covering database modeling, design, and implementation with an emphasis on relational databases and SQL. Internet technologies: http, html, XML, SOAP, security. Brief introduction to components and middleware. Introduction to design and implementation of multi-tier architectures, benchmarks, and performance. Data networking protocols and technologies. Students complete project that covers requirements/design, data model, database implementation, web site, and system architecture.