Session: 14-01 Conference Poster Presentation

Paper Number: 117086

117086 - Enhancing the University of North Florida’s Thermo-Fluids Curriculum: The Integration of Clean Energy Technologies 

ABSTRACT 

The call for action against global pollution, caused by the exponential generation and consumption of energy, introduces the challenge of developing and integrating clean energy technologies (CET) at unprecedent rates. This requires a need to not only understand but continue advancing clean energy technologies starting with the education of upcoming engineers to better prepare them for the transition. A supervised undergraduate research project has been created at the University of North Florida to understand how to better prepare engineering students to tackle this problem as they advance their careers. This project's work has been initiated through a comparative study of the Thermo-Fluids curriculum at UNF with that of nine schools around the world, having reviewed over twenty global universities, across all continents and many cultures. It was found that the UNF curriculum coincides thematically with 95% of the topics addressed by the other schools in the study. The comparative study allowed for convergence to a common core thermo-fluids curriculum. This core was then compared with a thematic list for CET understandings. It was found that the common core curriculum diverged more than 90% with the CET understandings. An expert survey was designed to validate the core thermo-fluids taxonomy and CET classification. The project proposes revising the current UNF curriculum by complementing the existing classes with appropriate example problems, practical applications in exams and projects, and the incorporation of complementary courses and/or research initiatives starting at the undergraduate level. The current research effort concludes with recommendations of what type of problems, projects and activities could be adopted at UNF to enhance the skills of graduating engineers for the CET transition. 

Keywords: higher education, clean energy technologies, thermo-fluids, renewable energy, engineering curriculum

Calla Taylor¹, Cooper Wolfe¹, Christopher Becker¹, David Trosclair¹, Dr. Carlos Fernandez-Aballi¹ 

¹College of Computing, Engineering and Construction, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, United States  

Presenting Author: Calla Taylor University of North Florida

Presenting Author Biography: Student at University of North Florida interested in renewable energy and clean energy technologies.