Program of Study

The Program in Sustainable Energy is designed for Princeton undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing careers or graduate education in the area of sustainable energy science and technology to achieve:

1. An understanding of current energy resources, carriers, end users, technologies, and their impact on climate and environment.

2. The ability to quantitatively analyze, design, and develop innovative energy systems and technologies that support sustainable economic growth, energy security, biological diversity, and environmental harmony for life on Earth.

3. An understanding of Earth, global climate, and environmental change from the perspective of engineering, technology, economics, and policy.

The future of societies, the global economy, and the global environment depend on collaborative research into renewable energy, alternative fuels, advanced energy conversion and storage systems, technology transfer to developing countries, and prudent judgment on policies to support sustainable energy technology. Innovations and inventions require multidisciplinary approaches and entrepreneurship, as well as grounding in theory and practice, in topics that are not covered by a single department. This certificate program offers an integrated set of core and elective courses, introducing students to fundamental concepts, providing depth in specific fields of interest, gaining laboratory and site visit experiences, and setting the stage for further work in the field. Students are encouraged to expand their experience through summer internships with companies, government agencies, national and university laboratories.

  

The program is open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have a satisfactory background in engineering and science. Normally, students should have successfully completed MAT 103, MAT 104, PHY 103, and PHY 104 (or their equivalents, including AP equivalents). Students who have slightly different preparation should consult with the program director to discuss eligibility. A student planning to earn the program certificate should complete the online Student Profile at the program website as early as possible, and no later than the mid-point of the fall term of his or her junior year. Application for admission is made to the Program Committee. Upon acceptance to the program, the program director will assign a program adviser to the student to assist in planning a program of study, research, and off-campus internship.

 

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A concentrator in this program must satisfy both program and departmental requirements. The program for each student is worked out by the student and his or her departmental adviser. The program requirements are as follows:

 

1. All students must take six courses, including two core courses and four elective courses. The two core courses must be taken by choosing one from the Introduction to Energy Technology category (A1) and the other one from the Introduction to Climate Change and Geo-environmental Science category (A2), respectively. Depending on the student's interest and background, the four elective courses should be taken with at least one from a different energy subject area listed below (B1 and B2). In case the listed courses are not offered, students need to consult the program director for an alternative course. To qualify for the certificate, a minimum grade average of B- in the six program courses, independent work, and senior thesis is required. In some cases, an elective course that fulfills this certificate program requirement can also meet a regular departmental requirement.

Note: An asterisk indicates a one-time-only course or topic.

 

Core Courses(one from each category -- A1 and A2)

MAE 228 Energy Solutions for the Next Century (also CBE/EGR 228)*
MAE 328 Energy for a Greenhouse-Constrained World (also EGR/ENV 328)**

(*Students who do not have a thermodynamics background should choose MAE 228. **Students who have completed Thermodynamics (MAE 221 or CBE 246) are encouraged to take MAE 328).

 

A2. Introduction to Climate Change and Geo-environmental Science
CEE 303 Introduction to Environmental Engineering (also ENV 303/URB 303)
CEE 334 Global Environmental Issues (also ENV 334/WWS 334)
EEB 417A, 417B Ecosystems and Global Change (also ENV 417A, 417B)
GEO 197 Environmental Decision Making (also ENE 197)
 

Elective Courses and Subject Areas(four courses with at least one from a different subject area -- B1 and B2)

 

B1. Energy Science and Technology (Fossil energy, non-fossil and renewable energy, energy conversion and storage systems and technologies)
*AST 309 Science and Technology of Nuclear Energy: Fission and Fusion (also MAE 309/PHY 309)
*CBE 335 The Energy Water Nexus (also MAE 338/ENV 335/ENE 335)
CBE 341 Mass, Momentum, and Energy Transport or MAE 423 Heat Transfer

CBE 421 Catalytic Chemistry (also CHM 421)
CBE 441 Chemical Reaction Engineering
CEE 304 Environmental Implications of Energy Technologies (also ENV 304/ENE 304/ENV 300)
CEE 305 Environmental Fluid Mechanics, CEE 306 Hydrology, MAE 222 Fluid Mechanics (also CEE 208), or MAE 335 Fluid Dynamics
CEE 477 Engineering Design for Sustainable Development

ELE 428 Cleaner Transport Fuels, Combustion Sensing and Emission Control (also MAE 428/CEE 428)
*ELE 431 Solar Energy Conversion (also ENV/MAE 431)
ELE 441/442 Solid State Physics I, II
MAE 424 Energy Storage Systems (also ENE 424)
MAE 426 Rocket and Air-Breathing Propulsion
MAE 427 Energy Conversion and the Environment: Transportation Applications
MAE 531 Combustion
*MAE 570 Advanced Topics in Materials and Mechanical Systems II: Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion Processes
MSE 527 Topics in Energy Engineering, Economics, and Policy (may also fulfill B2 category)

 

B2. Environmental Science and Geoscience (Earth science, climate, environment, ecosystems, policy and economic assessments of carbon capture and storage technology)
CEE 304 Environmental Implications of Energy Technologies (also ENE 304/ENV 300)
CEE 311 Global Air Pollution (also CHM 311/GEO 311)
CEE 334 Global Environmental Issues (also WWS 334/ENV 334)
CEE 471 Introduction to Water Pollution (also GEO/URB 471)
*CEE 599 Special Topics in Environmental Engineering and Water Resources
CHM 333 Oil to Ozone: Chemistry of the Environment (also ENV 333)
ECO 329 Environmental Economics (also ENV 319)
EEB 417A, B Ecosystems and Global Change (also ENV 417A, B)

ELE547C Contemporary Challenges in Electric Power
ENE 586 Topics in STEP: Greening the US Energy Economy: Meeting the Tech., Policy & Investment Challenge (also WWS 586H)
ENV 201A, B Fundamentals of Environmental Studies: Population, Land Use, Biodiversity, and Energy
ENV 302 Advanced Analysis of Environmental Systems (also CEE 302/EEB 302)
ENV 528 Topics in Environment and Development Economics (also ECO 528)
ENV 531 Topics in Energy and the Environment (also CEE 583/GEO 531)
GEO 203 Geology (also CEE 235)
GEO 415 Introduction to Atmospheric Sciences
GEO 425 Introduction to Physical Oceanography (also MAE 425)
MSE 527 Topics in Energy Engineering, Economics, and Policy (may also fulfill B1 category)

ORF 474 Special Topics in Operations Research and Financial Engineering - Energy, Commodity, and Fixed Income Markets

WWS 350 The Environment, Science and Policy

 

2. A senior independent work project or thesis whose topic is relevant to the program and acceptable to the Program Committee must be completed. The project or thesis title and abstract need to be presented to and approved by the program director. In addition, a minimum grade of B- for the project or thesis is required to qualify for the certificate.

 

3. Close collaboration with faculty is expected. Program students are expected to demonstrate strong academic performance. Program courses may not be taken on a pass/D/fail basis unless that is the only grading alternative for the course.

 

4. For the Program enrollment, students must fill out the Student Profile form on the program website. It is especially important to assure that requirements for the certificate will be met by the end of the senior year.

 

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Students who fulfill all program requirements will receive a certificate of proficiency in sustainable energy upon graduation.

 

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Seminars on Energy and the Environment. Seminars on energy and environment are announced to all students registered in this program. Advanced students are encouraged to attend regularly scheduled departmental and Princeton Environmental Institute seminars to further enrich their understanding of the field.

 

Undergraduate Independent Research Projects. Undergraduate projects usually are undertaken for independent work or senior thesis credit, and opportunities exist for summer and work-study projects. These projects typically last for one or two academic terms, although they may extend over greater periods of time. Students work closely with faculty and staff members in academic departments and University-associated laboratories such as the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), and they have access to sophisticated computers and experimental facilities while conducting their independent research.

 

Undergraduate Off-Campus Experiences and Internships. Students are encouraged to expand their experience through site visits and to summer internships with companies, government agencies, national and university laboratories (e.g., PPPL). The energy-technology core course will provide several off-campus site visit experiences to power generation stations, a fusion laboratory, and fuel refinery stations.