Abstract
Integration of Environmental Sustainability with Capstone ExperienceEnvironmental sustainability is one of the most long term challenges facing engineering today. Forexample, the National Academy of Engineering in the U.S. A. announced a set of “grand challenges” forthe engineering profession. In their document, the NAE stated: “As the population grows and its needsand desires expand, the problem of sustaining civilization’s continuing advancement, while stillimproving the quality of life, looms more immediate.” As a result, there is an increasing pressurenationally and internationally for strong inclusion of environmental sustainability in undergraduateengineering education.The integration of sustainability throughout an undergraduate engineering program in addition to thedevelopment of a unique inter-disciplinary course in environmentally conscious design have contributedto achieving significant program outcomes. However, significant skill development and outcomevalidation could be achieved by the careful integration of sustainability in the capstone designexperience. This paper describes the integration of sustainability with capstone course topics andactivities. In addition, several examples for the integration impact on the capstone projects andachieving program outcomes are also discussed.