Aiding Students in Carbon Reduction Efforts, Transitioning from Lab Work to the Worldwide Energy Commerce Arena
Revamped Article:
MIT students find themselves at the forefront of producing cutting-edge research and innovations, but tackling a gargantuan issue like climate change requires a comprehensive understanding of the world's energy landscape, and the ways energy technologies adapt and progress over time.
Since 2010, the course IDS.521/IDS.065—èducating students on Energy Systems for Climate Change Mitigation—has empowered them with the essential skills to evaluate the myriad energy decarbonization avenues open to the world. The objective? Empowering them to make the most impact on global emissions by making insightful decisions during their respective careers.
Professor Jessika Trancik, who brought the course to life, ponders on finding pragmatic technological solutions to society's pressing issues and how we can thoughtfully foster tech to help achieve these resolutions.
"I'm fascinated by exploring the small and big—be it micro or nano scales—and bridging the technologies we develop with our broader, long-term goals," declares Trancik.
The course,originally limited to graduate students from MIT's five schools, has since welcomed undergrads and goes online for professionals. Class sessions alternate between presentations and discussions that culminate in semester-long projects during which teams dive into specific methods for reducing global emissions.
This year's projects highlight a range of topics, such as the expansion of transmission infrastructure, the correlation between carbon emissions and human development, and decarbonizing the manufacture of essential chemicals.
"We target both angles—engineers trying to optimize designs for present performance, and policymakers, investors, and urban planners seeking a broader, longer-term outlook for technologies evolving and thriving in the global market," explains Trancik, who is part of MIT's Institute for Data, Systems, and Society.
As a researcher focusing on low-carbon polymers and materials for solar cells, Trancik grappled with determining whether her innovations could genuinely make a difference in combating climate change. Her subsequent focus shifted towards predicting the evolution of technologies.
"My research delved into both the intricacies of micro and nano scales and the broader societal objectives," Trancik recounts.
Trancik published a paper detailing her technology-focused approach to decarbonization, serving as the foundation for IDS.065. The paper posited a novel method for evaluating energy technologies against climate change mitigation objectives, considering their potential growth.
Trancik stresses that engineers are typically adept at devising technologies for optimal performance in the present, but they rarely consider the technology's long-term success in a global context. On the flip side, policy and economics studies often overlook the physical and engineering constraints that impact technological evolution. But recognizing all this data enables informed decision-making.
The course takes place every Tuesday and Thursday at the Stata Center. Students lead discussions on the week's readings, sharing insights and posing questions.
PhD candidate Megan Herrington from the Department of Chemical Engineering echoes this sentiment, "Students share their key takeaways and get to ask open questions of the class, which deepens understanding of the readings, as everyone brings a different perspective."
The semester begins by dissecting climate science, energy reduction goals, and technology's role in meeting these aims. The following lessons help students account for technological change over time, identifying drivers for such change and forecasting rates of growth.
The course equips students with a comprehensive understanding of climate change mitigation, regardless of their intended professions, be they researchers, engineers, policymakers, investors, urban planners, or simply well-informed citizens.
"We're approaching this challenge from multiple angles," shares Trancik. "Many students regard this course as opening their eyes to the bigger picture of climate change mitigation and the collaborative role technologies can play in solving these issues."
Several student projects from the course over the years have been transformed into papers published in peer-reviewed journals. Some projects have also evolved into tools, like carboncounter.com — a site charting the emissions and costs of vehicles, which has been featured in The New York Times.
Former students have launched startups, such as Swift Solar, while others have utilized course material to forge influential careers in government and academia, like Patrick Brown at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Leah Stokes at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Ultimately, students claim the course enables a more informed perspective on their approach to addressing climate change, as evidenced by Onur Talu, a first-year master's student in the Technology and Policy Program:
"This course has made me more optimistic about the prospects of mitigating climate change, providing new angles to analyze the problem and fostering renewable technologies. It's also given me a broader understanding of what's already been accomplished in this sphere."
- MIT students delve into the world of cutting-edge research and innovations, aiming to tackle climate change, a gargantuan issue.
- Since 2010, the course Energy Systems for Climate Change Mitigation has been equipping students with the necessary skills to evaluate various energy decarbonization avenues.
- The course focus is on empowering students to make impactful decisions regarding global emissions in their respective careers.
- Professor Jessika Trancik, the course's creator, is interested in finding pragmatic technological solutions to society's pressing issues.
- Trancik contemplates how we can thoughtfully foster technology to help achieve these resolutions, exploring both micro and nano scales.
- Originally limited to graduate students from MIT's five schools, the course now welcomes undergraduates and caters to online professionals.
- Class sessions involve presentations and discussions, culminating in semester-long projects where teams explore specific methods for reducing global emissions.
- This year's projects cover a wide range of topics, from expanding transmission infrastructure to decarbonizing essential chemical manufacture.
- Trancik aims to address both engineers optimizing designs for present performance and policymakers, investors, and urban planners seeking a broader, long-term outlook for technologies.
- As a researcher, Trancik initially focused on low-carbon polymers and materials for solar cells but later shifted her focus to predicting the evolution of technologies.
- Trancik's research integrates both intricate micro and nano scales and broader societal objectives.
- After publishing a paper on her technology-focused approach to decarbonization, IDS.065 was developed, offering a novel method for evaluating energy technologies against climate change objectives.
- Recognizing all the data enables informed decision-making, as engineers typically focus on current optimal performance while policy and economics studies often overlook technological evolution's physical and engineering constraints.
- The course, held at the Stata Center, fosters an environment for discussions on weekly readings, strengthening understanding and exchange of perspectives among students.
