|
EPP
Project Courses
Project Courses are interdisciplinary problem-solving
projects in which students work as leaders or members
of project teams. Problem areas are abstracted from
local, state, and national situations and involve
the interaction of technology and public policy,
with different projects being chosen each semester.
Oral and written presentations concerning the results
of project studies are prepared.
Fall
2000
The project "Hydrogen-based
Energy System: The next ten years" focused on the
potential to implement hydrogen technologies in
specific applications as critical steps toward a
hydrogen energy economy. Seven applications were
evaluated on a set of objective criteria that included
cost, technical performance, environmental impacts,
fuel-delivery requirements, development and deployment
tissues, and technology diffusion processes. The
most promising application identified on the basis
of these criteria was the use of direct methanol
fuel cells in small electronic devices such as cellular
phones. The results of this analysis are inconsistent
with current research and development investment
patterns, suggesting that alternative research programs
could result in a more efficient transition to hydrogen
technologies. Faculty members included Mike DeKay
(Heinz/EPP) and Hadi Dowlatabadi (EPP). Managers
were James Rhodes (EPP doctoral student) and Kate
Figiel (Heinz Master's student).
The second project was titled "Environmental Impacts
of E-commerce - A case study of book purchasing."
The internet has changed the way that many people
shop, with books being one of the first products
sold significantly in this way. The project examined
the environmental impacts of e-com-merce through
its effects on such activities as driving to stores,
managing inventory, packaging purchases, and shipping
books. One important determinant of the net effects
is the proportion of books shipped by air, which
imposes large environmental burdens. Faculty members
were Baruch Fischhoff (SDS/EPP) and Ed Rubin (MechE/EPP).
Managers were EPP doctoral students SHUI Bin and
Li-Chiou Chen.
Spring
2001
"Voting System Transitions:
What are the options for Pennsylvania" was the project
for Spring. The last presidential election exposed
many fundamental problems on the how votes are cast
in Pennsylvania and explored economic, political,
reliability, and fairness issues associated with
different voting techniques. The project's advisory
panel consisted of voting officials from the eight
surrounding counties. The report highlighted the
difficult trade-offs that must be made with the
adoption of any standardized statewide voting technology;
there is no simple solution. Faculty were Paul Fischbeck
(SDS/EPP), Fran McMichael (CEE/EPP) and Spyros Pandis
(ChemE/EPP). Managers were Jason Katcoff (ChemE/EPP
BS 2001 and 5th-Year Master) and EPP doctoral students
Anand Rao and Tair-Rong Sheu.
Fall
2001
The project "We Know Where
You Are: A study of location tracking" was one of
two projects for Fall 2001. The project focused
on location tracking technologies for enhanced 911
and their impacts on the privacy of cellular
EPP
Projects - continued right column
|
|
|
University
Buys a Stake in Wind
Carnegie
Mellon recently became the nation's largest single retail
purchaser of wind-generated electric power when it arranged
to meet 5% of its total electric power needs with power
purchased from the Excelon-Community Energy Wind Farm at
Mill Run in Springfield and Steward townships in Fayette
County, about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. In announcing
the contract, Carnegie Mellon's President Jared Cohon explained
that "developing new technologies, policies and practices
to protect and enhance our global environment is one of
our strategic priorities." In addition to research and education
focused on sustainability, Dr. Cohon explained that the
University is committed to "using our campus practices to
improve environmental quality, to provide leadership environmentally
sustainable practices."
Yeh - continued
from pg. 6
expected risk
of PM related premature mortality and the control costs
of emission reductions. Cost and threshold contribute the
most important source of uncertainty to the estimates of
the costs per percent annual premature mortality risk reduction
associated with exposure to ambient PM2.5 concentrations.
Future research is needed to identify the biological existence/mechanism
of a threshold for the sensitive popula-tion(s) at risk.
Alternatively, if the uncertainty exists, research is needed
to determinate criterion for "drawing lines" to determine
where the NAAQS PM standard should be set.
Work
supported by NSF grant SBR-9521914, the H. John Heinz III
Professorship of Environmental Engineering, and Carnegie
Mellon University.
Taylor - continued
from pg. 5
improvements
and cost reductions occurred in a quantifiable fashion as
the technology became more widely adopted.
Work
supported by the National Science Foundation (SBR-9521914)
through the Center for Integrated Study of the Human Dimensions
of Global Change, and from Carnegie Mellon University.
| EPP
Projects - continued from left column
consumers.
The class focused on the actual implementation of
the technologies, using this information for commercial
purposes and governmental use of this information.
Faculty
were Henry Piehler (MSE/BHE/EPP) and Marvin Sirbu
(EPP/ECE/GSIA). Managers were EPP undergraduate students
Lynna Quandt (ECE/EPP undergrad and 5th-year Master)
and James Wade (MechE/EPP undergrad).
"From Carnegie Mellon to Kyoto: How far can we go?"
was the second project. The Kyoto Protocol calls for
reducing absolute emissions of greenhouse gases, below
a baseline level from the early 1990s. Although the
U.S. is not currently a signator to the agreement,
firms and institutions are free to seek their own
reductions. Focusing on CO2 emissions, the project
determined that the University could do a lot, with
some of the most cost-effective steps arising from
an audit of the "little" ways in which energy is used.
Faculty were Baruch Fischhoff (SDS/EPP) and Ed Rubin
(MechE/EPP). Student managers were Andrew Bayowski
(MSE/EPP undergrad) and Carly Jerla (CEE/EPP undergrad).
|
|
