Societal and Environmental Issues Lab (ENGR 205, 2024)
Objectives:
The purpose of this lab is to gain a better understanding of the societal and environmental issues related
to material selection and course topics. After completing this lab, you should be able to:
1. Diagram the total materials cycle and briefly discuss relevant issues that pertain to each stage of
this cycle.
2. Understand challenges associated with material selection, processing, and disposal, and how it
affects the cost of a product and impacts society and environment.
3. Articulate the role of a Christian engineer in materials science engineering as it relates to the
human and non-human creation.
4. Understand the history, purpose, processing, use, and disposal for a common material and its
impact on society and the environment.
Instructions:
This lab is to be completed individually. Upload the lab deliverables to Moodle by April 26, 5 pm. Late
uploads will not be accepted. This lab is worth 40 points.
PART 1: Motivation and textbook reading
Why study environmental and societal issues in materials science and engineering?
Over time, greater demands are being made on the world’s natural resources. These resources are finite, and the
extraction process requires energy and resources, and it creates waste. Furthermore, levels of pollution are
increasing. So are the environmental and health impacts caused directly or indirectly from pollution. “Materials
engineering decisions have impacts on the consumption of raw materials and energy, on the contamination of our
water and atmosphere, on human health, on global climate change, and on the ability of the consumer to recycle
or dispose of spent products.” More importantly, Christians must consider their privileged role in creation that
comes with great responsibility to properly care for all that God made. The quality of life for this and future
generations depends, to some degree, on how these issues are addressed by the global engineering community.
(textbook)
Read chapter 22 from your textbook, completing all participation and challenge activities.
PART 2: Research topic selection
Select a material from the approved list and “claim” your topic.
• Section A – get your material approved by your professor.
• Sections B and C – indicate your choice on Moodle using the Moodle Choice tool. There is a cap on the
number of students who can research the same topic so sign up quickly.
PART 3: Societal and environmental impacts from materials research
Research your selected material. Include the following topics in your research. (This list will also be
used as a grading rubric for the assignment so be sure to include each topic.)
1. Describe the material/product.
a. Include a picture of the material/product.
b. Who invented/discovered/manufactured the product?
Engineering Chemistry and Material Science (ENGR 205L) Manual
2.
3.
4.
5.
c. Describe the molecular structure (using terms covered in ENGR 205.)
d. Include a diagram of the molecular structure/components.
Describe how the product is made including the entire materials cycle.
a. Include the methods and environmental/societal impacts associated with raw material
extraction/development, processing, manufacturing, use, end-of-life (see Participation
Activity 22.21 and Figure 22.2.1).
b. Thinking more critically about the end-of life: How long does the product last? How is it
typically disposed? Could it be recycled ore reused?
c. Who is impacted (positively or negatively) during the product production? (Think of nonhuman creation and human workers)
Describe the product purpose.
a. Why was it developed/made?
b. What problem was it trying to solve? Does it serve a need?
c. How is it used? Can it be abused?
Describe the material’s negative impacts on society and the environment.
a. What is the environmental impact/cost? (Think in terms of air, water, soil pollution,
resource depletion, waste creation)
b. What is the financial cost?
c. What is the societal and/or health cost?
d. Who/what is most impacted by these negative externalities? (Who/what is paying the
environmental, financial, health costs?)
Consider the Christian perspective of this material including interactions with human and
nonhuman creation.
a. Should we be using this item? Why or why not? What Biblical or theological support do
you have for this reasoning?
b. Are there better alternatives? (Do you have ethical/just suggestions?)
c. As Christians should we encourage the development and use of this product?
d. It may be helpful to refer to the Design Norms introduced in Engineering 101 when
considering the Christian perspective.
PART 4: Deliverables
1. Prepare a PowerPoint presentation (about 6-10 slides) that includes the topics listed above for
research (part 3).
a. Make sure to feature images and bullet points in your slides, not excessive test.
b. Include your research sources on each slide and/or at the end of your presentation.
Remember to consider the quality of your references (see CRAAP guidelines for research).
2. Record yourself giving the presentation (so the instructor can hear your voice and see the slides,
ideally to see you talking too).
a. Your voice and convince me that you know your researched material well and are now an
expert on this topic.
3. Upload the voice-over presentation to Moodle for grading.
Engineering Chemistry and Material Science (ENGR 205L) Manual