Case Western Reserve University offers a range of energy-related courses across multiple disciplines such as chemical and biomolecular engineering, chemistry, earth, environmental and planetary sciences, economics, electrical engineering and computer science, environmental studies, history, materials science & engineering, and SAGES.
Students interested in learning more about energy and energy-related issues are encouraged to enroll in one of the following classes. Courses last updated Summer 2019. For more information please see the Case Western Reserve University 2019-2020 General Bulletin.
Sages
| Course Number | Course Name | Course Topics | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| FSNA 103 | Energy and Society | Renewable and non-renewable energy issues, energy use. | none |
| FSNA 124 | The Challenge of Sustainability | Transitions to a sustainable society, climate change. | none |
| FSNA 134 | Fuel Cells | US and world energy outlook, potential role and impact of fuel-cells, polymer type fuel cells (PEMFCs) for transportation and portable power, modeling fuel cell performance, limits to fuel cells. | none |
| FSNA 154 | The Green Energy Transformation in Germany | Globalization, resource finiteness, and sustainability challenges, including economic crises, climate change, energy insecurity, and global competition | none |
| FSNA 157 | Plastics Recycling: Re-use of Plastic Waste | Energy usage in recycling, commercial applications, biodegradable alternatives | none |
| USNA 249 | Restoring the Great Lakes: Opportunities and Challenges | Improving water quality and environmental history of lakes |
Passing grade in First Seminar/Concurrent enrollment in FSTS 100/No previous or concurrent enrollment in FSNA or USNA |
| USNA 287B | Electrical & Electronic Devices in Our Lives | Electricity, electrical units, measurement, the Arduino microprocessor development platform, the engineering design process. |
Passing letter grade in a First Seminar OR concurrent enrollment in FSTS 100 (if transfer student); AND 2) No previous/concurrent enrollment in FSNA/USNA; OR Requisites not met permission. |
| USNA 287D | Native American Environmentalism: Sustainability and Contemporary Energy | Pollution of indigenous lands, environmental racism, sustainability of lands, energy stewardship |
Passing grade in First Seminar/Concurrent enrollment in FSTS 100/No previous or concurrent enrollment in FSNA or USNA |
| USNA 287U | Energy - The Great Challenge Ahead | Investigate key questions regarding the current energy situation of the world and develop a fuller and more precise understanding of energy. |
Passing grade in First Seminar/Concurrent enrollment in FSTS 100/No previous or concurrent enrollment in FSNA or USNA |
| USNA 287Y | Large Scale Energy Storage | Global and US energy outlook; the relationship between energy storage, delivery, and use; the role of energy storage for renewable energy implementation; characteristics and challenges of different energy storage technologies; the potential political, public policy, economic, and environmental impact of large-scale energy storage; and approaches to energy storage in other parts of the world. |
Although this course is designed for students from all disciplines, all students will be expected to do some quantitative analysis Requirements to enroll: 1) Passing letter grade in a First Seminar OR concurrent enrollment in FSTS 100 (if transfer student); AND 2) No previous/concurrent enrollment in FSNA/USNA; OR Requisites not met permission. |
| USNA 288J | Sustainable Energy: Resources, Technologies, and Impact | Evaluate (from a scientific, mathematical and societal perspective) the trade-offs and uncertainties of various energy systems and explore a framework for assessing possible solutions. |
1) Passing letter grade in a First Seminar OR concurrent enrollment in FSTS 100 (if transfer student); AND 2) No previous/concurrent enrollment in FSNA/USNA; OR Requisites not met permission. |
| USNA 288L | Future Energy: @home&abroad | Part of this course involves visiting an international location for five or more days over a University break to visit energy conversion and storage installations involving solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, wind farms, geothermal and hydroelectric and acquire profound knowledge of technological and economic factors involved in their operation and maintenance. |
1) Passing letter grade in a First Seminar OR concurrent enrollment in FSTS 100 (if transfer student); AND 2) No previous/concurrent enrollment in FSNA/USNA; OR Requisites not met permission. |
| USNA 288R | Data Acquisition and the Internet of Things | Better understand the Internet of Things (IoT) through projects, readings, and discussion on the process of exchanging and collection of data between networked objects |
Passing grade in First Seminar/Concurrent enrollment in FSTS 100/No previous or concurrent enrollment in FSNA or USNA |
Chemical Engineering
| Course Number | Course Name | Course Topics | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECHE 381/480 | Electrochemical Engineering (Fall) | Current and potential distribution, fluid mechanical effects, mass transport, batteries, corrosion, and industrial electrolysis |
ECHE 260 - Introduction to Chemical Systems |
| ECHE 382 | Electrochemical Processes and Devices | Major industrial applications of electrochemical technology, focusing on batteries and fuel-cells, corrosion and its abatement, electroplating, metal electrowinning and refining , industrial electrolytic processes, electrochemical separation processes, and electrochemical sensors. | none |
| ECHE 472 | Electrochemical Energy Storage | Batteries and supercapacitors as part of renewable energy systems; related fundamental electrochemistry concepts, materials and techniques; challenges, current literature, and future opportunities in energy storage. |
Offered as ECHE 372 and ECHE 472. Prereq: Graduate standing or Requisites Not Met permission. |
Chemistry
| Course Number | Course Name | Course Topics | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHEM 340 | Solar Energy Conversion | Physics, materials chemistry, global energy perspective, dye-sensitized solar cells, organic solar cells, and principles of photovoltaics |
CHEM 106 - Principles of Chemistry II |
| CHEM 344 | The Chemistry and Physics of Energy Storage | Scientific and economic aspects of the operation of energy storage devices currently being considered for both small and large scale applications, ranging from portable electronics to the electrical grid. |
CHEM 106 - Principles of Chemistry II |
Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
| Course Number | Course Name | Course Topics | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEPS 117 | Weather and Climate | Meteorology, climate zones, weather prediction, greenhouse warming, and global climates | none |
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
| Course Number | Course Name | Course Topics | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| EECS 321 | Semiconductor Electronic Devices | Energy bands and charge carriers in semiconductors and their experimental verifications. Excess carriers in semiconductors. Principles of operation of semiconductor devices that rely on the electrical properties of semiconductor surfaces and junctions. Development of equivalent circuit models and performance limitations of these devices. |
Prereq: PHYS 122. Prereq or Coreq: MATH 224. |
| EECS 369 | Power System Analysis II | Unbalanced network operation, component faults, symmetrical components, electric machine modeling, power system transient stability, and generation control |
EECS 368 - Power System Analysis I |
| EECS 370 | Smart Grid | U.S. electric power system infrastructure, renewable resources, demand response, electric vehicles, energy storage, and microgrids |
EECS 368 - Power System Analysis I |
| EECS 374/474 | Advanced Control and Energy Systems | Applied quantitative control engineering techniques to regulate renewable energy systems, fundamentals of dynamic multidisciplinary modeling, and analysis of multi-megawatt wind turbines |
EECS 304 - Control Engineering I with Laboratory |
| EECS 443 | Flexible Electronics | Covering organic and inorganic semiconductors, vacuum and solution-based metal-oxide semiconductors, nanomembranes and nanocrystals, conductors and insulators, flexible and ultra-high-resolution displays, lightemitting transistors, organic and inorganic photovoltaics, large-area imagers and sensors, non-volatile memories and radio-frequency identification tags. Discussing applications of flexible, stretchable and large-area electronics as part of the foregoing topics. |
Environmental Studies
| Course Number | Course Name | Course Topics | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESTD 101 | Introduction to Environmental Thinking | Environmental ethics, energy use, and economic attitudes towards environmental goods | none |
Executive Doctor of Management
| Course Number | Course Name | Course Topics | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| MGMT 677 | Designing Sustainable Systems | Managerial problems associated with dimensions of sustainability and design. |
Enrollment in the Design Sustainable Systems track of the Executive Doctor of Management |
Law
| Course Number | Course Name | Course Topics | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAWS 5754 | Energy Law | State and federal laws regarding energy use and production, state, federal, utility, and energy production regulation and their consequences. |
Enrollment in the Juris Doctor degree program |
Macromolecular Science & Engineering
| Course Number | Course Name | Course Topics | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMAC 425 | Polymer Plus Energy | Solar cells, fuel cells, batteries, double layer electrochemical capacitors, dielectric capacitors, and wind energy. | none |
Materials Science & Engineering
| Course Number | Course Name | Course Topics | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMSE 349/449 | Role of Materials in Energy and Sustainability | Design strategies, materials production, recycling, photovoltaics, wind, batteries, capacitors, and energy-efficient lighting materials |
ENGR 225 or EMAE 251 or EMAC 351 |
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
| Course Number | Course Name | Course Topics | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMAE 352 | Thermodynamics in Energy Processes | Thermodynamic properties of liquids, vapors and real gasses, combustion, thermodynamic relations, thermodynamic cycles |
ENGR 225 - Thermodynamics, Fluid Dynamics, Heat and Mass Transfer |