Teaching sustainability: does style matter?

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze how a tangram activity improved students' abilities to explain sustainability, articulate a positive perception of sustainable design and relate sustainability with innovation in engineering design.

Design/methodology/approach: The concept of paradigm shift was introduced in the classroom by using a tangram activity to help students understand that sustainable design requires out-of-the-box thinking. Instructors from three institutions teaching various levels of sustainability courses to engineering majors used the activity to introduce sustainable design, then measured the understanding and appreciation of the concepts introduced through the tangram activity with pre- and post-activity surveys.

Biofilm growth-percolation models and channeling in biofilter clogging.

Biomass accumulation is a load-limiting factor in the operation of biofilters used for air pollution control. As the biofilm thickens, portions at the base are no longer exposed to contaminants and oxygen and, thus, provide no treatment. Smaller pores are filled with biomass so that air no longer flows into them.

Removal of ultrafine and fine particulate matter from air by a granular bed filter.

The removal efficiency of granular filters packed with lava rock and sand was studied for collection of airborne particles 0.05-2.5 microm in diameter.