At Rutgers, courses related to the science of energy are offered within the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and are listed below:
11:015:250-299 TOPICS IN AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE (1 EACH) A variety of 1-credit courses, some of which are offered on a Pass/No Credit basis, covering a wide range of skills and issues relevant to contemporary problems in agriculture and the environment. Topics change from term-to-term and year-to-year. Consult the Schedule of Classes for current offerings. Recurrent energy-related topics include the following:
- History of New Jersey Agriculture: An internship at the New Jersey Museum of Agriculture (located at the edge of the Cook College campus).
- Solar Energy: Fundamentals of solar energy with focus on useful applications.
- Thoreau and Modern Environmentalism: A study of Thoreau's work and its influence on contemporary environmental writing and ideologies.
11:127:424 BIOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING UNIT PROCESSES LABORATORY II (1) Demonstration of biochemical operations used in the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater, including biodegradability and biodegradation kinetics, energy balance in a biological reactor, respirometry, activated sludge, anaerobic toxicity, and aerobic digestion. Prerequisite: 01:160:171 or equivalent. Corequisite: 11:127:414.
11:127:490 STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL (3) Functional requirements and design aspects for controlled environment plant production systems including structures, energy flows and balances, and environmental control equipment. Prerequisites: 14:180:215, 243.
11:127:492 ENERGY CONVERSION FOR BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS (3) Principles of energy conversion techniques and their application to various biomechanical systems, including solar energy systems, compostation, methane and alcohol production, and the internal combustion engine. Prerequisite: 14:650:351.
11:374:175 ENERGY AND SOCIETY (3) Main sources, transfers, and losses of energy in the biosphere; how they relate to human resources and enter the immediate environments of humans and other organisms.
11:374:279 POLITICS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (3) The content and process of policy making concerning air and water quality, toxic wastes, energy, and other environmental issues.
11:375:203 PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (3) Physical properties of water, air, and soils; energy and water in the earth system; kinetic and potential energy; and soil/plant/ atmosphere relations. Pre- or corequisites: 01:750:194 or 202 or 204.
11:375:303 NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE (3) Formulation and solution of environmental science problems by applying analytical and numerical techniques. Principles of data analysis. Generation and solution of mass and energy balances. (Formerly 11:375:437)
11:375:307 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT Analysis and design of integrated solid waste management systems, including waste minimization, quanitity estimates, waste characteristics, collection, composting, materials recovery, recycling, incineration, and landfilling. See also 11:117:462
11:375:322 ENERGY TECHNOLOGY AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT (3) Environmental consequences of energy utilization (transportation, space heating, etc.) and the production of power; the indirect effects of the isolation, purification, and transportation of primary energy resources.
11:375:453 SOIL ECOLOGY (3) Soil microbial contribution to ecosystem function, microbial diversity, nutrient cycling, soil enzymes, fate of soil amend- ments, soil flora and fauna, energy cycling, quantification of soil biological processes. Prerequisites: 01:119:101-102.
11:550:340 PLANTING DESIGN (4) Plants as design elements affecting function, comfort, energy efficiency, and aesthetic quality. Selection of plants to serve functional and aesthetic purposes. Specification for planting design. Lec. 2 hrs., studio 3 hrs. Prerequisites: 11:550:231, 232, or permission of instructor.
11:628:120 INTRODUCTION TO OCEANOGRAPHY (3) Plate tectonics, properties and motion of the ocean (waves, tides, currents), ocean resources (food, energy, minerals), and related marine environmental issues changing our understanding of the planet and its impact on our lives.
11:670:323 THERMODYNAMICS OF ATMOSPHERE (3) Thermodynamics of the atmosphere, energy conservation, ideal gas law, water and its transformations, moist air, aerosols, hydrostatic stability and convection, vertical motion, cloud formation, and precipitation. Prerequisites: 01:640:152 and 251; 01:750:194 or equivalent.
11:680:491 MICROBIAL ECOLOGY AND DIVERSITY (3) Ecological determinants; characteristics of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems; nature and activity of microbial populations; biogeochemical cycles and energy flow; microbial interactions and community structures. Two 80-min. lecs., one 180-min. lab. Prerequisite: 01: 447:390 or 11:680:390.
11:704:466 ECOSYSTEM MODELING AND MANAGEMENT (4) Basic quantitative/computer skills for modeling major ecosystem processes: carbon, water, energy balance. Spatial modeling using remote sensing/GIS for management and global change. Two 80-min. lecs., one 3-hr. lab. Prerequisites: A term of calculus, 11:704:351, or permission.
11:776:410 PLANTS FOR BIOENERGY (3) Bioenergy introduction/discussion; Crops/Biomass Sources: Sugar/Starch, Grass/Fiber, Oil, Residue/Waste, Improvement; Harvest, Storage, Handling, Processing, Quality Analyses; Conversion Technologies; Use in NJ. Two 80-min. lecs. Prerequisites: General Biology 01:119:101 and 01:119:102.
01:556:143 ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE New Rutgers Energy Institute Undergraduate Course The goal of this course is to introduce non-science majors to science and the scientific method within the context of one of the most critical long-term challenges facing the world today: society’s need for energy and the resulting impact on climate and the environment. Energy-related economics and policy options will be introduced. Climate, physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, economics and policy will be surveyed, as they relate to energy and sustainability from a global perspective. The course will be composed of individual modules (3-5 lectures), each taught by an expert in his or her field.
