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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

The Sustainability Generation: Why Young People Hold The Key To A Better Future, Leidy Klotz Dec 2015

The Sustainability Generation: Why Young People Hold The Key To A Better Future, Leidy Klotz

Leidy E. Klotz

In a standard test of reasoning, you are given a candle, a box of thumbtacks, and a book of matches. Your task is to attach the candle to the wall so that it does not drip onto the table below. I thought about how to melt the wax and use it to stick the candle to the wall. What would you do? This challenge is designed to reveal functional fixedness, mental blocks against using objects in a new way. The experience that comes with age is a disadvantage here because it leads to thinking of the normal use of the …


A Lean Modeling Protocol For Evaluating Green Project Delivery, Leidy E. Klotz, Michael Horman, Mark Bodenschatz Dec 2015

A Lean Modeling Protocol For Evaluating Green Project Delivery, Leidy E. Klotz, Michael Horman, Mark Bodenschatz

Leidy E. Klotz

The first vital step to leaning an operation is to model or map the processes used to deliver value in that operation. This allows the requisite understanding of where waste and non value-adding activity exists, and provides the foundation for improvement. Current protocols for modeling operations present the basic tenets for lean mapping, but tend to be based in manufacturing language, and are not easily adapted to capital facilities projects. “Green” or “sustainable” capital projects delivered using current project delivery systems seem to be laden with hidden waste. These projects tend to be more challenging to deliver due increased levels …


Meeting Engineering Program Objectives Through Service Learning Opportunities In Developing Countries, Jeffrey M. Plumblee, Lansford Bell, Leidy E. Klotz Dec 2015

Meeting Engineering Program Objectives Through Service Learning Opportunities In Developing Countries, Jeffrey M. Plumblee, Lansford Bell, Leidy E. Klotz

Leidy E. Klotz

The civil engineering profession, in an adaptive reaction to emerging roles for civil engineers, is recognizing the need for new engineers to possess a more robust skill set than just the typical design background. This paper describes the efforts of Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries (CEDC) to fulfill the more nontraditional and often unaddressed “learning outcomes” noted by ASCE’s Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century as important prerequisites for licensure. The learning outcomes are addressed through ongoing international service learning projects in Cange, Haiti. The paper focuses on the following four outcomes and their fulfillment methods: leadership, …


Green Credits Versus Environmentally Sustainable Traffic Operations:A Comparison Of Contributions To Energy And Emissions Reductions, Yan Zhou, Lee Tupper, Mashrur Chowdhury, Leidy Klotz Dec 2015

Green Credits Versus Environmentally Sustainable Traffic Operations:A Comparison Of Contributions To Energy And Emissions Reductions, Yan Zhou, Lee Tupper, Mashrur Chowdhury, Leidy Klotz

Leidy E. Klotz

Although society is facing a variety of environmental issues, including the depletion of energy resources, and has a much greater awareness of climate change and its serious related social impacts, transportation systems have been pushed to increasingly greater limits because of the dramatic growth in traffic demand. A case study was performed to compare the contributions of green construction credits and those of environmentally sustainable traffic operations to reducing energy use and emissions. The study measured the impacts of green credits by using the Carnegie Mellon University economic input-output life-cycle assessment model. These impacts were compared with those achieved through …


Women As Sustainability Leaders In Engineering: Evidence From Industry And Academia In The U.S., Jennilee Harrison, Leidy Klotz Dec 2015

Women As Sustainability Leaders In Engineering: Evidence From Industry And Academia In The U.S., Jennilee Harrison, Leidy Klotz

Leidy E. Klotz

Women are underrepresented in engineering education and practice, which limits the quality of the engineering workforce. One way to increase the participation of women in engineering is to emphasize subjects that appeal to them and require skills at which they are especially adept. A subject that may fit this description is sustainability. To examine whether the subject of sustainability may help increase the participation of women in engineering, the purpose of this research is to compare the percentage of women in selected sustainable engineering leadership positions with the percentage of women in general engineering leadership positions. Gender data were collected …