To qualify for a minor in structural engineering, coastal engineering, water resources, green engineering, or environmental engineering, students are required to take 6 courses, and at least 2 of these courses in the minor must be overload courses. Completion of a minor indicates proficiency beyond that provided by the Stevens engineering curriculum in the basic material of the selected area. The minor program must be in a discipline other than that of a student’s major program of study and beyond the credit requirements for all other programs being pursued by the student.

Issues of sustainability are of increasing concern for the developed and the developing nations of the world. Engineers have to take a central role in providing the needed solutions and associated leadership to address those issues. In the design, implementation and use of products, processes and systems that impact all facets of our lives, fundamental decisions are made by engineers. Those decisions can either contribute to an exacerbation of the negative impact of human endeavors on the environment, or they can be the means to reduce that impact. Engineering decisions are not just technical; they essentially must include economic considerations as well as be influenced by the ethical, social and political dimensions that shape their context.

The application of the principles by which engineers can have a positive impact on sustainability is known as Sustainable Engineering or more colloquially as Green Engineering. The latter terminology has found resonance with the general resurgence of interest in the environmental impact of human activity and the associated “green” approaches to mitigating them. While elements of sustainable engineering are permeating the broad-based Stevens undergraduate engineering programs, the scope is relatively limited so far. It is therefore proposed that for the student who wishes to explore sustainable approaches to engineering in some depth, the appropriate vehicle is to pursue a minor program.

• Provide a holistic, systems perspective to the impact of human activity on the environment, including the role of engineering.

• Educate students in the concepts of sustainable development and industrial ecology.

• Provide insight into sustainability tools and metrics such as life cycle analysis and ecological footprint.

• Show how engineering decisions, particular with regard to design, can support sustainability goals.

• Develop awareness of the ethical, economic, social and political dimensions that influence sustainability.