Course Times

Section 2: Wednesday 9:30 - 10:45 PM RH 117 & Friday 11:00 - 12:15 PM BUSN 131

Office Hours (REXT 234)

Make an appointment by email (or email questions and I will respond). I make an extra effort to be in my office Tuesdays from 9:30 AM to noon, but I am OFTEN there at other times; you are welcome to stop by and see if I am in any time without an appointment.

Prerequisite

Environmental Engineering I

Readings

• Introduction to Environmental Engineering 5th Edition, Davis & Cornwell (Same as Environmental Engineering I)
• SCEE PathFinder web-book

PathFinder

PathFinder is used to deliver a web-book with online exercises for SCEE. If you have not used it before, learn about PathFinder by going to PathFinder. Read the FAQs on the Help Tab. The second and third show how to access the quickstart and student guides. You will need a course code provided by your instructor to create you web-book (and a PathFinder account, if you do not have one yet). Their is no coast for the web-book.

Communication

Communication outside of class is accomplished through this website and email. Emails are sent to your Rowan email address. Check your email every day. Emails sent to me outside of work hours may not be read until the next working day. Be professional when crafting your emails!

Inclusion

I consider this classroom to be a place where you will be treated with respect, and I welcome individuals of all ages, backgrounds, beliefs, ethnicities, genders, gender identities, gender expressions, national origins, religious affiliations, sexual orientations, ability – and other visible and nonvisible differences. All members of this class are expected to contribute to a respectful, welcoming and inclusive environment for every other member of the class.

Student Accommodation

If you have a documented disability that may have an impact upon your work, please contact me. Students must provide documentation of their disability to the Academic Success Center in order to receive official University services and accommodations (856 256 4234). The staff is available to answer questions regarding accommodations or assist you in your pursuit of accommodations. Make sure you notify the Academic Success Center well before a test if you need an accommodation.

Rowan Success Network

The Rowan Success Network powered by Starfish is designed to make it easier for you to connect with the resources you need to be successful at Rowan. Throughout the term, you may receive email from the Rowan Success Network team regarding your academic performance. Please pay attention to these emails and consider taking the recommended actions. Utilize the scheduling tools to make appointments at your convenience including tutoring.

Goals

Use material and energy balances to solve civil engineering analysis and design problems pertaining to: Sustainable Engineering, Risk Assessment, Groundwater Hydrology, Air Pollution, Solid Waste Management, and Hazardous Waste Management.

Learning Activities

Learning activities include preparation, listening and discussing, and practice.

• By preparation, I mean reading technical information before class. This provides three benefits. First, students arrive in class with some introduction to the material to be covered. Second, assigned readings often cover course topics in greater breadth and/or depth than in class. Thus, students learn more. Finally, learning how to read technical information takes practice, just like learning how to play a sport or musical instrument. Many students in this class will spend their careers creating and/or reading technical information. By struggling through difficult readings in college, students are better prepared for their career.
• You listen to some lecture, as this is an effective way to transmit information.
• You also participate in class discussions.
• Finally, you practice, by working problems in and out of class.

Evaluation Activities

Evaluation activities are linked to learning activities.

• PathFinder BEFORE exercises are used to evaluate your preparation for class. They are due BEFORE topics are covered in class. When I design BEFORE exercises, I assume that each student has carefully read the assigned material (but not memorized it). BEFORE exercises typically are conceptual, but simple calculation problems may also be included. They are taken on-line, using PathFinder. If you read the chapter, you will learn more!
• Assignments are used to evaluate the skills acquired on a given topic. Three kinds of AFTER assignments are used in SCEE: PathFinder AFTER, Exploratory, and Traditional. PathFinder AFTER exercises are done using PathFinder. They are calculation based. Exploratory assignments involve finding or calculating information on-line and writing short memos describing your findings. Traditional assignments are calculation problems turned in on paper or as pdfs.
• Semester exams and a final are used to test your ability to independently solve problems. Exams are open notes plus specific handouts or pages from the textbook. The only electronic device that can be accessed during exams is a calculator. Students can only leave the test room if there is an emergency.

Guidance on completing PathFinder BEFORE and AFTER exercises can be found using the FAQs on the PathFinder Help Tab (the second and thrid FAQs point to additional guides). General guidance is given on the FAQ Tab of my website.

Your work must be your own; however, I encourage students to work together and even compare answers. If you discover different answers, discuss the problem and study each others' work, then rework and discuss until you agree on an answer (or agree to disagree). NEVER COPY, e.g., you should never write or type your own assignment while looking at another's, nor should you ever copy an electronic file. Please email, phone or stop by my office if--upon reviewing course materials and discussing with other students in the class--you are unable to complete a problem.

 

 

Grading

Grades are assigned as 92-100 = A, 90-91 = A-, 88-89 = B+, 82-87 = B,... The grading scheme is very fair and generous. Please do not complain about just missing the next grade up. The maximum points earned in each category are:

•    BEFORE Exercises: 10
•    AFTER Exercises and Assignments: 30
•    Semester Exam 1: 30
•    Semester Exam 2: 30
•    Comprehensive Final Exam: 30

Your final score in each category is calculated by summing the points earned, dividing by the maximum possible points, then multiplying that fraction by the amount each category is worth. Online points are shown on the PathFinder Plan Tab.

Your final grade will be the BEFORE and AFTER/Assignments scores plus the highest TWO scores on the exams/final MINUS any demerits applied for unprofessional conduct. Professional conduct involves showing proper respect for your professor and classmates. Arriving late, leaving during class, talking when the professor or other students 'have the floor', and other disruptive activities can result in points off your final grade. I may also adjust your final grade up or down based on your participation in class.

Academic Misconduct

You are encouraged to work together on assignments. However, copying is not acceptable and will be punished. Copying is writing or typing while looking at someone else's work (and not properly citing/referencing it) or submitting someone's work as your own. If you are to miss an assignment due date, exam, quiz, field trip, or laboratory session you must have a valid excuse and notify me prior to the event (except in case of emergency).

Rowan University has a licensing agreement with Turnitin, an online service to help prevent student plagiarism. As part of this course I may use Turnitin at my discretion to determine the originality of your work. If your work is submitted to Turnitin, it will be stored in the Turnitin database. You have the right to refuse either to submit your work to Turnitin or have the university do so; availing yourself of this right will not negatively impact your success in the course. If you do not wish to use Turnitin you must notify me by e-mail before the fourth class period. If you object to the use of Turnitin, I will use other procedures to assess originality.

 

 

Date	BEFORE Exercises	Reading	Assignments	Bring to Class
Jan 23	Course Intro
Jan 25	Sustainability	PathFinder
Jan 30	Environmental Problems I	PathFinder	Eco Footprint
Feb 1	Environmental Problems II	PathFinder
Feb 6	Concentration	PathFinder	Teams & Topics
Feb 8	Concentration continued
Feb 13	Risk Assessment	Chapter 3 & PathFinder		Textbook
Feb 15	Risk continued			Textbook
Feb 20	Hydrology [Groundwater]	Chapter 4 (Sections 1-2 & 7) & PathFinder		Textbook
Feb 22	Hydrology continued		Hydrology	Textbook
Feb 27	Green Engineering	Chapter 13 (Sections 2 & 3) & PathFinder
Mar 1	SWM 1 [Intro & Collection]	Chapter 11 (Sections 1 & 2)	Annotated Bibliography
Mar 6	SWM 2 [Landfilling]	Chapter 11 (Sections 4 & 6)
Mar 8	Discuss Green Engineering HW Exam Review		Green Engineering
Mar 13	TEST 1	Up to Green Engineering		Notes, HW, Select Handouts
Mar 15	HWM 1 [Intro & Laws]	Chapter 12 (Sections 1 to 4)
Mar 27	HWM 2 [Treatment, etc.]	Chapter 12 (Sections 5,6 & 8) & PathFinder
Mar 29	HWM 2 continued		SWM
Apr 3	Air 1 [Introduction]	Chapter 9 (Sections 1 to 4)	GHG Emissions
Apr 5	Air 2 [Origin, etc.]	Chapter 9 (Sections 5 & 6)	Meeting
Apr 10	Air 3 [Metrology & Dispersion]	Chapter 9 (Sections 7 & 8) & PathFinder	Non-Attainment	Textbook
Apr 12	Air 3 continued			Textbook
Apr 17	Air 4 [Control]	Chapter 9 (Sections 10 & 11) & PathFinder
Apr 19	Air 4 continued
Apr 24	Green Construction Presentations	PathFinder	Presentation pdf Presentation	Presentation
Apr 26	Presentations Exam review		Presentation White Paper	Presentation
May 1	TEST 2	SWM 1 to Air 4		Notes, HW, Select Handouts
May 8	FINAL	Comprehensive	RH 117, 10:15 AM to 12:15 PM	Open Notes, HW, Select Handouts

Bring a calculator to class as we often work problems.

PathFinder due dates are hard; however, I give each student ONE extension for a PathFinder chapter's online assignments (BEFORE or AFTER). Shoot me an email identifying the chapter and type (BEFORE or AFTER).

• PathFinder BEFORE exercises are based on textbook/web-book readings and are due by midnight Tuesday of the week a chapter first appears on the schedule above. Due dates are also given on the PathFinder Plan Tab. The only exception is the first chapter (Sustainability) which is due Thursday midnight of its week.
• PathFinder AFTER exercises are due ~a week after a topic is completed in class. They are all due on Tuesdays at midnight. Specific due dates are given on the PathFinder Plan Tab. They are not shown on the schedule given above.
• The 'Reading' column identifies chapter readings in Davis and Cornwell. It also identifies PathFinder web-book readings.
• The assignments shown in the 'Assignments' column are due at the beginning of class on the date they appear on the schedule above. They are described on the Assignments Tab. Late assignments are accepted for one week, but lose 10 % during each subsequent 24 hour period. Some assignments are emailed as pdfs, some are turned in on paper.
• The 'Bring to Class' column identifies materials to bring to class. Presentations are emailed. You can print PPTXs six slides to a page or bring them on laptop or tablet and add notes directly, or just watch and take notes in your notebook. Always bring a calculator.

 

 

You MUST use formats described in the FEC I/II web-books' engineering communications chapters. Links are given in the first chapter of the SCEE web-book. See my website FAQ for grading abbreviations.

• If an assignment includes particular questions, you MUST repeat them (in the same order) in your submittal.
• You MUST cite sources using the name-date method. Citations MUST appear in your work near where you used information you obtained from a source. Each citation MUST correspond to a source in your reference list.
• References MUST be scholarly articles, published books, reports from credible organizations, or reputable websites (government agencies, professional societies, etc.). I will take off if ALL of your references in an assignment are from websites. For a long book, you may count each chapter you use separately, e.g., if an assignment calls for three references and you use three different chapters from a book, that is enough. You can do the same with a long report or just use the executive summary.
• Use the following guidance for ALL assignments with the word 'memo' in the title. Memos should not be longer than a page (not counting references, tables, or figures). Put the text of your memo in an email and send it to me. Since an email is a memo, the format will be correct..

Ecological Footprint Memo (50 points)

Estimate the ecological footprint of someone in your immediate family who has a significant commute to school or work by car (yourself, a parent or guardian) using this calculator. Complete the most detailed quiz the calculator provides (use the Add Detail links). Save your results when you finish. Your memo should answer the questions below, in order.

• What is an ecological footprint? How is one calculated? Investigate on the Internet. Cite references backing up your answer.
• How many Earth's would it take for everyone to live like you or your parent/guardian? What is the corresponding ecological footprint in global acres? Which of the ecological footprint categories required the most land?
• Use the 'See Details' & 'Explore Solutions' buttons (in the results windows) once you complete the calculator. What can be done to reduce the ecological footprint? Give three specific examples. You can also investigate on the Internet (cite references).
• How will Civil Engineering be involved in reducing our ecological footprint? Give specific examples for structural, geotechnical, transportation, environmental, and water resources. That is FIVE examples, one for each branch of Civil Engineering. Investigate on the Internet. Cite references backing up your answers.

I expect at least three citations, for: ecological footprints, what you can do personally, and the role of Civil Engineering.

Climate Change Teams & Topics (10 points | Semester-long Team Assignment)

Send one email per team containing a list of the members of your team and three climate change problems of interest to your team with, for each, an applicable area of Civil Engineering (Structures, Transportation, Geotechnical, Environmental, or Water Resources). CC the other members of the team. Possible topics include: droughts, inland floods from heavy rains, coastal floods, hurricanes, heat waves, or wildfires. Example topics are 'Hurricanes: Structures' and "Inland flooding: Transportation'. I will provide your team a number and assign one of the three topics you submit. Teams must have 4 or 5 members and I want the fewest number of teams. We currently have 35 students, meaning we will have 7 teams of 5 each.

See the Annotated Bibliography, Meeting, Presentation, and White Paper assignments below ASAP so you can plan this semester long project. Ultimately, your team will write a White Paper and give a related presentation arguing for the use of CEE strategies (existing or to-be-developed) to help humans adapt to one aspect of Climate Change. Your team will score the highest grade by describing multiple appropriate strategies and arguing for the implementation of the best subset (or even just one). This project is your opportunity to become a CEE expert on adapting to climate change.

Hydrology Memo (50 points)

Go to the National Water Information System Mapper. This site displays information on monitoring sites across the US. You should see a map on the right and menus on the left (Search, Surface-Water Sites, Groundwater Sites, etc.). Open the Surface-Water Sites menu and deselect Active Sites. Open the Ground-Water Sites menu and select Active Sites and Inactive Sites. Look at the density of groundwater wells across the US. Open the Search menu, type 'Glassboro' into the 'Search by Place Name' textbox and click the green arrow. The map will zoom to Glassboro and you will see a number of well locations identified by red markers.

(a) Click on the well just off campus along 'Girard Rd N'. You should see a Site information window for multiple sites. Click on the 'Access Data' link for 394221075072201 and a new tab should open up titled 'USGS 394221075072201 151054-- Rowan-1 Shallow Obs' Click on the 'Annual Statistics' link and open a data retrieval page. Select the only data available (Parameter Code = 72019 and Parameter Name = 'Depth to water level, feet below land surface') then click the submit button. Two tables should appear, one with general information and one with annual depth to water level information.

• What is the land-surface elevation at the well location? Define the NGVD29.
• How deep is the well?
• In what local aquifer is the well completed?
• Make a chart, using a proper format, with Year on the x-axis and Depth to water level on the y-axis. Which year had the least water in the well? The most? What is the average depth to water level in the period of record?

(b) Go back to the map and select the 'Access Data' link for 394221075072201 again. Select 'Field/Lab water-quality samples' to open a different data retrieval page. Select the second to last radio button, for 'Table of data'. Leave the drop down box on 'Default attributes'. Click the submit button. You should see a table in which the top row is water quality data for 5/7/1991 at 2 PM (14:00).

• What was the water temperature? Do not forget to include units!
• What was the dissolved oxygen level? Was it above or below the saturation level for oxygen at the measured water temperature? Reference Table A-3 in your textbook.
• What was the pH in the field? Was the water acidic or basic? Try searching 'interpret drinking water quality' to find interpretation help for this and the next question.
• What was the hardness level? What is hardness? Was the water in the well hard or soft?
• Some results are reported with a '<' in front of the number, meaning the concentration of the parameter was below the detection limit of the method/equipment used. How much dieldrin was in the water? What is dieldrin? Are there drinking water standards for dieldrin?

(c) Go back to the Search box and type in enough information for the map to zoom to your hometown. Answer the questions given below, if data are available.

• Identify the well closest to your family home. How close is it?
• What kind of data are available for 'your' well?
• What is the land-surface elevation? Average depth to water?
• What local aquifer is the well completed in?
• Are any water quality data available? Any contaminants present?

(d) How is groundwater a sustainability issue? Identify at least one part of the US with significant groundwater issues. Investigate on the Internet. Cite references backing up your answer.

I expect references for NGVD29, oxygen saturation, pH & hardness interpretation, dieldrin, and groundwater/sustainability. Your textbook can be a reference for some of the questions.

Climate Change Annotated Bibliography (50 points | Individual Assignment associated with semester-long team project)

Each team member emails me--as a pdf email attachment--an annotated bibliography describing three appropriate sources for the semester long Climate Change project. One or two double-spaced pages should suffice. Team members should coordinate to ensure proper coverage of the topic. If you do it right, your team may not need any more sources for the White Paper!

There is a link in the Sustainability Web-chapter to a description of an Annotated Bibliography.

Green Engineering Memo (50 points)

Consider buildings with structural components made of steel, concrete, or wood. (a) Briefly describe each. Compare their advantages and disadvantages. (b) Write a goal and scope for an LCA that could be used to decide which type to use. (c) Discuss the GHG emssions associated with each type of structure.

Some guidance on writing a goal and scope is given here. Note: you are not conducting the LCA! You will not actually compare the different bridge members. You just need to write down a reasonable goal and scope. Your goal must include a purpose and intended audience. The scope must include functional unit, system boundary, and impact categories. Use those terms to identify the parts of your answer! Students often have the most problems with the functional unit, so review your class notes and readings and investigate on the Internet.

Use references as appropriate; I expect at least three.

Solid Waste Generation & Collection Project (200 points)

Design a MSW system for a town with a population greater than 30,000 (preferably your hometown or one nearby). Use the parameters we used in class (unless inappropriate for your chosen town) except as follows: use a landfill height of 25.0 m and a time per pickup of 0.0140 hr/house. If your town is small, you may have to make the landfill height smaller to avoid an impossible landfill shape.

Do on paper or in Excel, documenting your work as shown in class and on the FAQ tab of my website. You must do the Landfill area solution in Excel (e.g., population growth and the resulting generation of waste).

Turn in entire solution on paper (if by hand use engineering paper; if printed from Excel use regular office paper). Do not email an electronic file. Use the Rowan Engineering HW format if you do it by hand. If you do in Excel, provide the same information as the HW format in as similar a format as possible, including page headings. Document work in tables/spreadsheets (see third questions in FAQ Tab on my homepage). If you use Excel, make sure you can do hand calculations for a possible exam problem.

You must determine/report, in order:

1. Community and county.
2. Calculate the growth rate as we did in class.
3. Estimate population size next year. See below for more information.
4. MSW generation rate, kg/person/day.
5. Amount set out for collection to be sent to disposal, in kg/house/collection period AND m³/house/collection period. Also recommend a can size, m³.
6. Amount set out for collection to be recycled, in kg/house/collection period AND m³/house/collection period. Also recommend a can size, m³.
7. Number of 15 m³ trucks needed to collect material for disposal. Check truck size for time constraint, as we did in class.
8. Number of 15 m³ trucks needed to collect recyclables. Check truck size for time constraint, as we did in class.
9. Number of MRF separation lines needed.
10. Area required for a 20-year landfill that opens next year.
11. Depth of excavation needed for landfill cover soil; and
12. Gallons/d of leachate escaping completed landfill if geomembrane completely fails (i.e., leachate is freely passing through clay liner).

For NJ county MSW information, go to www.state.nj.us/dep/dshw/recycling/stats.htm. Use the most recent data for your county. If your town is in a different state, see if you can find comparable information OR pick a town in NJ.

Get population data from 2000 to 2010 from this US Census Excel file. Get population and housing data for recent years (as many as available) from US Census Quick Facts. Use all the populaton data points obtained to estimate linear and exponential euqations using Excel. Select the best equation and use it to estimate populations for each of twenty years starting next year.

Cite and reference your sources, including the links I give above! Use the best available data. State your assumptions.

Climate Change Meeting (15 points | Semester-long Team Assignment)

Teams meet with me for ~ 30 minutes to discuss their white papers. It is each team's responsibility to schedule a meeting before the due date/time. Do NOT wait until the last minute! Before the meeting starts, email an outline of your white paper with the usual White Paper major headings AND bullet points of appropriate topics under each heading. CC the other team members.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Memo (50 points)

Calculate your family's greenhouse gas emissions using the EPA calculator. Do it as if you live with your immediate family, e.g., with your parents. Answer the following, in order:

• Why do we care about carbon emissions? Why is global warming potential often reported as CO₂ Equivalents? What are CO₂ Equivalents?
• What are the major assumptions of the EPA calculator? Identify some weaknesses in the calculator.
• According to the EPA Calculator, what are your family's greenhouse gas emissions? How do they compare to the typical US family of the same size?
• How many pounds of CO₂ are avoided by (1) turning your thermostat down one degree in the winter, (2) turning your thermostat up one degree in the summer, (3) washing clothes in cold water, and (4) drying clothes on a clothes-line each year. Use the EPA Calculator.
• What other things can your family do to reduce its emissions?
• Compare average per capita Carbon Dioxide emissions in the US to Sweden, United Arab Emirates, India, Germany, and Uganda. Why are they so different? Cite your source(s).
• How will Civil Engineering be involved in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions? Give SPECIFIC examples for structural, geotechnical, transportation, environmental, and water resources. That is FIVE examples, one for each branch of Civil Engineering. Investigate on the Internet. Cite references backing up your answers.

I expect at least three citations, for greenhouse gases in general, what you can do personally, and the role of Civil Engineering.

Non-Attainment Memo (50 points)

• In the realm of air quality and air pollution, what does it mean to be a nonattainment area?
• How can businesses intending to locate in a non-attainment area be effected? Try searching 'nonattainment area business locating'.
• Can nonattainment areas be required to formulate gasoline differently? Explain. Try searching 'nonattainment area gasoline formulation'.

Use the EPA non attainment page to also answer the following.

• Is your home county in a non-attainment area for 8-hr ozone, PM-2.5, or Sulfur Dioxide? Include your county name and state!
• Answer the same questions for any part of 'New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT'.

For definitions of the various terms, see the EPA Designations.

I expect at least three citations, for non-attainment area identification (the EPA webpage), locating businesses in nonattainment areas, and gasoline in nonattainment areas. Note: I have provided useful search phrases!

Climate Change Presentation and Presentation pdf (100 points | Semester-long Team Assignment)

Create a presentation using an appropriate format from FEC I or SEC II. Each student is expected to speak for approximately 3 minutes, so the overall length is 3N, where N = the number of members on your team. Email a pdf of the presentation, cc'ing the other team members.

Climate Change White Paper (100 points | Semester-long Team Assignment)

Write a 6 - 8 page double spaced paper (not counting the title page, figures, tables, or reference list) arguing for using particular CEE strategies (in one area of CEE) to solve one aspect of climate change (see the Team & Topics assignment). Follow the White Paper format described in FEC II. Each student should contribute approximately the same effort to the project. Submit the paper as a pdf attachment to and email, cc'ing the other members of the team.

There is a link in the Sustainability Web-chapter to a description of a White Paper.