Collaborative Research: NLI: Educating Engineers for Holistic Problem Solving

About This Grant

Environmental change, resource scarcity, and rapidly advancing technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) present increasingly complex global challenges that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. Effectively addressing these demands a new generation of engineers who can seamlessly integrate technical knowledge with critical societal and environmental considerations into their solutions. However, current engineering education often inadvertently separates these dimensions, leading students to view societal and environmental impacts as secondary or outside their core professional responsibilities. This project will transform how engineers are educated, cultivating a holistic "Enviro-Socio-Technical" mindset essential for designing truly sustainable and sound solutions for the future. For example, creating more efficient electricity grids isn't just about advanced technology; it’s equally about understanding the environmental variability of renewable energy sources, the patterns of electricity consumption across different communities, and the broader implications of energy storage options. Similarly, developing AI applications demands careful consideration of their significant energy and water footprints and robust data security protocols. By bridging this critical gap in engineering education, this NSF-funded research will empower future engineers to become leaders in tackling grand societal challenges, directly contributing to national well-being, economic strength, and a sustainable future for all. This project aligns directly with NSF's commitment to advancing foundational research that yields broad societal benefits, strengthens STEM education, and builds a workforce prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. This project will systematically advance the field of engineering education by investigating how engineering students conceptualize the interconnections among technical, societal, and environmental aspects of engineering problems. It will rigorously address ways of thinking that hinder the development of durable sustainability solutions including those which (1) prevent students from seeing how technical and societal systems are intertwined; (2) separate engineering from societal values; and (3) obscure the environment's connection to sociotechnical systems. The research will then develop and test effective teaching methods aimed at cultivating an integrated, systems-thinking approach. This will involve designing and implementing "micro-interventions"—short, adaptable teaching modules that incorporate real-world case studies, such as the Salton Sea, which illustrate the intertwined technical, social, and environmental dimensions. These interventions will be integrated across diverse engineering and humanities curricula at the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Colorado Boulder. The effectiveness of these teaching strategies will be rigorously assessed through a multi-stage survey methodology (pre-test, post-test, and retrospective pre-test) administered to approximately 500 students annually, complemented by semi-structured interviews to provide rich, in-depth qualitative insights into their learning experiences and evolving perceptions. The project will also establish and nurture a multi-disciplinary collaborative group among faculty from both institutions, encouraging shared learning and the broad distribution of effective practices for integrating the "Engineering for One Planet" (EOP) framework. This research provides a theory-informed and empirically grounded foundation for curricular transformation, addressing a key gap in understanding how students internalize EOP competencies across various disciplinary and university contexts. The intellectual contribution lies in its methodological rigor, offering a nuanced understanding of student development by combining measured and perceived learning. Expected outcomes include a deeper empirical understanding of student conceptualizations, the creation of proven teaching tools for promoting holistic thinking, and an expanded network of educators prepared to shape engineers who are not only technically proficient but also socially and environmentally aware problem-solvers. Over 1,000 engineering students will be directly impacted by these pedagogical innovations, with findings and publicly available educational resources widely shared through journal publications, national conferences (e.g., American Society for Engineering Education), and workshops, thereby expanding the EOP collaborative and influencing engineering education nationwide. This project is funded by the Division of Engineering Education & Centers with additional support provided by The Lemelson Foundation. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.