Minor in Renewable Energy

 

This minor is being offered starting fall semester of 2009. The registration code for it is REGN.

 

1. Program Structure and Courses

 

Students seeking the interdisciplinary minor in Renewable Energy must complete at least 21 hours of course work selected as follows.

(a) Four courses form the required core (i) PHYS 3400, (ii) GEPL 2200/ EEES 2200, (iii) CHEM 3810 and (iv) a minimum of 3 hours of internship PHYS 4940. Engineering students can substitute up to three registered credit hours of approved coops in a renewable energy related area for up to three hours of PHYS 4940 provided the coop is accompanied by certain additional requirements listed below (see description of PHYS 4940).

(b) The student must select one course from either ECON 3240 or PSC 4340. 

(c) The remaining 6 hours of course work should be selected from courses on the approved list.

 

 

Courses A, B and C are required:

 Course A

  1. Course Number:  PHYS 3400
  2. Credits: 3
  3. Prerequisites: PHYS 2140 or PHYS 2080; and CHEM 1240; OR equivalents to these. A grade of C+ or above in all prerequisites is needed.
  4. Title: Physical Principles of Energy Sources for Humans
  5. Description: Quantitative analyses of the ways that humans generate energy for societal and individual needs.  Past, present and future energy sources will be examined on scientifically established principles and data.
  6. Status: New course approved by Physics and Astronomy (P&A)
  7. Contact Person: Sanjay V. Khare, x2292,  sanjay.khare@utoledo.edu

 

Course B

  1. Course Number:  GEPL 2200/EEES 2200
  2. Credits: 3
  3. Prerequisites: None
  4. Title: Climate Change
  5. Description: An overview of the understanding of climate change and role of human activities, including atmospheric processes, greenhouse effect, carbon cycling, physical evidence, impacts, and proposed global actions in response. 
  6. Status: Already in the UT catalog
  7. Contact Person: Patrick L. Lawrence, x4128,  patrick.lawrence@utoledo.edu

 

Course C

  1. Course Number:  CHEM 3810
  2. Credits: 3
  3. Prerequisites: CHEM 1240, CHEM 1290, PHYS 3400
  4. Title: Chemistry of Sustainable Energy Resources
  5. Description: This course will discuss the chemistry of primary sustainable energy resources including storage devices such as fuel cells and batteries.
  6. Status: New course is under consideration by Chemistry Curriculum Committee.
  7. Contact Person: Dean Giolando x1511, Dean.Giolando@utoledo.edu

 

 

 

 

The student must select one of the courses D and E:

 

Course D

  1. Course Number:  PSC 4340
  2. Credits: 3
  3. Prerequisites: None
  4. Title: Environmental Policy
  5. Description: Besides standard American environmental issues it examines nuclear energy, solar, and wind. Some international issues like global warming.
  6. Status: Already in the UT catalog.
  7. Contact Person: David Davis, x2360, DDavis@utnet.utoledo.edu

 

Course E

  1. Course Number:  ECON 3240
  2. Credits: 3
  3. Prerequisites: None
  4. Title: Environmental Economics
  5. Description: Economic analysis of the causes of environmental problems; Examination of various economic policies for addressing current environmental issues such as pollution control policies and optimal use of resources.
  6. Status: Already in the UT catalog.
  7. contact Person: Kevin Egan x4148,  kevin.egan@utoledo.edu

 

A minimum of 3 hours of internship is required as offered through PHYS 4940.

 

Course F

1        Course Number:  PHYS 4940

2        Credits: 1-4

3        Prerequisites: PHYS 3400

4        Title: Internship in Renewable Energy

5        Description:  Experiential learning in an adviser-approved business, industry, non-profit, or academic organization.  Maximum of three hours may count toward minor.  Credit hours 1-4; may be repeated once for credit. Please see detailed instructions about this course at the end of this document.

6        Status: New course approved by P&A

7        Contact Person: Sanjay Khare, x2292,  sanjay.khare@utoledo.edu

 

The student must select two of the following courses as electives for the minor:

 

Course G 

1        Course Number:  PHYS 4400

2        Credits:  3

3        Prerequisites:  PHYS 2140 or PHYS 2080; and CHEM 1240; OR equivalents for these.

4        Title: Principles and Varieties of Solar Energy

5        Description: Types and extent of solar energy used in human society including photosynthesis, photovoltaic, solar thermal, and concentrating solar electric; scope of the necessary energy storage and long distance electricity transmission. 

6        Status: New course approved by P& A.

7        Contact Person: A. D. Compaan, x 4787, alvin.compan@utoledo.edu

 

 Course H

1.      Course Number: MIME 4410

2.      Credits: 3

3.      Prerequisites: PHYS 2080 or higher.

4.      Title: Alternative Energy

5.      Description: This course focuses on the technical aspects of sustainable energy technologies, such as wind, solar, biomass, ocean waves/tides, geothermal, and hydropower; it also covers issues and applications related to storage, transportation, distribution, industrial usage, and buildings. The course investigates the progress, challenges, and opportunities of each technology to be both technically feasible and economically viable. Lectures are complemented by experiments in the energy laboratory.

6.      Status: Course approved. It was first offered in fall 2008 with an enrollment of 16.

7.      Contact Person: Sorin Cioc, x8228, Sorin.Cioc@utoledo.edu, Abdy Afjeh, x8210, Abdollah.Afjeh@utoledo.edu

 

Course I

  1. Course Number: CHEE/BIOE 4980
  2. Credits: 3
  3. Prerequisites: CHEM 1230 and MATH 1850 or equivalents.
  4. Title: Biofuels
  5. Description: This class introduces the two primary pathways from biomass to fuels: bio-chemical and thermo-chemical. All aspects of the biochemical route are discussed from biomass production and pre-treatment to fermentation and final fuel purification. Thermo-chemical routes discussed include pyrolysis and combustion followed by steam reforming to produce hydrogen for direct use or a synthesis gas for conversion to liquid fuels. The technical and economic challenges of the two routes are highlighted.
  6. Status: Course approved.
  7. Contact Person: Glenn Lipscomb, x8088, Glenn.Lipscomb@utoledo.edu and Arun Nadarajah, x8031, Arunan.Nadarajah@utoledo.edu

 

Course J

  1. Course Number: CHEE 4980
  2. Credits: 3
  3. Pre-requisites: CHEM 1230 and MATH 1850 or equivalents.
  4. Title: Fuel Cells and the Hydrogen Economy
  5. Description: This class introduces the basic concepts of fuel cell technology. Types of fuel cells and their construction are reviewed as well as applications. Processes to produce hydrogen for hydrogen powered fuel cells are discussed. The technical and economic challenges for the hydrogen economy are highlighted.
  6. Status: Course approved.
  7. Contact Person: Glenn Lipscomb, x8088, Glenn.Lipscomb@utoledo.edu

 

 

 

PHYS 4940:  Internship in Renewable Energy

 

Catalog Course description: Experiential learning in an adviser-approved business, industry, non-profit, or academic organization. A maximum of three hours may count toward the minor.  Credit hours 1-4; may be repeated once for credit.

 

Syllabus:

The internship may be paid or volunteer employment in an approved business, industry, governmental agency, or non-profit institution.  It may include participation in a university research lab.  It may be completed in the summer or on a part-time or full-time basis during the school year.  The student must register for PHYS 4940 during the period of service.  There is a special exception for engineering students enrolled in a coop program. See below.

 

The following requirements apply:

 

      1.   The internship will be earned at a rate of 1 hour of credit for a minimum of 40 hours of   service with a maximum of 4 credit hours earned for a 16 week semester.

2.   The internship must be approved in advance by the internship coordinator for PHYS    

      4940.

3.  At the end of the internship, the on-site supervisor of the internship experience must

     supply a one-page letter to the internship coordinator confirming that the student has

     completed the appropriate number of hours of work or service.

4.  At the end of the internship, the students must write a report, typically 2 to 4 pages

     explaining what they did for the internship, what the experience taught them technically   

     and professionally, and how this experience did (or did not) help them to achieve their

     career objectives.

 

Exception for engineering students doing a coop in a renewable energy area: Such students may use 1 to 3 credits of their registered engineering coop experience to fulfill the requirements for PHYS 4940 provided they satisfy requirements 2, 3 and 4 listed above. This can only be done after prior written permission from the course coordinator of PHYS 4940 is obtained.

Letter from the coop supervisor can be used for fulfilling requirement 3. All 120 hours may be fulfilled by a single semester of coop experience in a renewable energy area. However 3 registered credits of coop will be necessary to substitute completely the PHYS 4940 credits. Students need not register separately for PHYS 4940 for the credits from the coop that will be used for the MRE. Any coop experience that lies outside the renewable energy area may not be used to substitute for PHYS 4940 credits. If less than 3 credits are applied from the coop experience towards the MRE then the remaining credits have to be obtained by registering for PHYS 4940, through the regular process.

 

Note: If the coop is not in a renewable energy area the above exception does not apply. These students should follow the regular syllabus for this course.