CE 132: INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
SPRING 2014
Instructor:
Office:
Email:
Office Hours:
Class Time:
Class Location:
Arne Bomblies, PhD
221 Votey
abomblie@uvm.edu
TR 9-11, F 3-5, just drop in if my door is open, or by appointment
MWF 9:35 – 10:25AM
Terrill 108
Prerequisites: Chem 31 and Math 22, sophomore standing in Engineering
Course Description
Systems thinking and the systems approach as applied to environmental systems with linkages to
transportation; feedback and emergent properties; systems modeling; environmental engineering
introduction (mass balance, hydrology, air pollution).
Course Learning Objectives
1. To apply systems thinking and a systems approach in engineering problem solving
2. To understand sustainability and why the economy, ecology, and society are at its core
3. To apply mass balance concepts to environmental engineering problems
4. To understand hydrology and its application in civil and environmental engineering
5. To understand chemical equilibria, reaction kinetics and fate and transport phenomena
related to environmental systems
6. To understand the impact of civil infrastructure on the environment and ways to mitigate
impact
Course Texts
Meadows, D., Randers, J., and Meadows, D. 2004. Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update .
Chelsea Green.
Davis, M.L. and D. A. Cornwell. 2008. Chapter 4 and Chapter 9 from Introduction to
Environmental Engineering, 5th Edition. McGraw Hill Create Books.
STELLA software 10.0. They will email you with instructions on payment and downloading.
You will also need this for CE 134 next fall.
Relationship of CE 132 to ABET learning outcomes, and ASEE and ASCE Body of
Knowledge
The Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) outlines 11 outcomes (a-k
outcomes) that students must achieve upon graduating from an ABET engineering program.
These outcomes which can be found on our website (www.cems.uvm.edu/) include both
technical and nontechnical aspects critical for today’s engineer. Interestingly, more than half (6
out of 11) are nontechnical in nature and include everything from communication (outcome g)
and teamwork (outcome d) skills to knowledge of contemporary issues (outcome j), professional
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and ethical conduct (outcome f), the importance of life-long learning (outcome i) and the impact
of engineering solutions in a global and societal context (outcome h). CE 132 addresses many of
these technical and nontechnical outcomes especially the impact of engineering solutions in a
global and societal context.
Both the American Society of Environmental Engineers (ASEE) and the American Society of
Civil Engineers (ASCE) have written reports describing the body of knowledge (BOK) necessary
for civil and environmental engineering graduates and professionals. From fundamental
mathematical and chemical concepts to global issues of sustainability, these reports provide
guidelines for engineering educators, professionals, and students alike. The civil and
environmental engineering programs at UVM provide coursework that addresses the ASCE and
ASEE bodies of knowledge. CE 132 provides introductory material related to environmental
engineering (outlined in the Course Objective Section) which is required of both civil and
environmental engineering graduates.
Tentative Outline
Week 1 Systems Introduction; sustainability
Week 2 Exponential growth and other behaviors
Week 3 Systems modeling in environmental engineering: stream water quality; mass balance
Week 4 Introduction to hydrology: reservoir models in Stella
Week 5 Operational hydrology Exam I (Wed Feb 19 in class)
Week 6 Hydrology, earth systems
Week 7 Hydrology, resilience, and stable states in Stella
Week 8 Spring Break
Week 9 Hydrology: design under nonstationarity
Week 10Introduction to air quality Exam II (Wed March 19 in class)
Week 11Air quality and transportation
Week 12Climate change and impacts
Week 13Dispersion Modeling
Week 14Air Quality Modeling, Box Models Exam III (Wed April 16 in class)
Week 15Other STELLA models (disease models)
Week 16Wrap Up and Review
Final Exam (7:30 AM– 10:15 AM on 5/9/14 in Terrill 108)
Grading Scheme
3 – mid semester exams (@ 20%)
homework
Comprehensive Final
Total
60%
15%
25%
100%
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A
AB+
B
BC+
> 92.5%
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82.5
77-79, etc.
Exams
Three in-class 50 minute exams are already scheduled. These are scheduled ahead of time, so
there’s no reason for missing the exam except medical reasons (debilitating illness or injury) or
family emergencies (the kind Dean Jordan tells us about). All exams are closed notes and books.
I will provide you with equations you need (as well as some you may not need). The final exam
is a three-hour exam (closed notes and books) during finals week.
Academic Honesty and Integrity
Being honest and of high integrity is an important part of being an engineer, and it starts as an
engineering student. Cheating on homework, exams and other work related to this class will not
be tolerated.
Ethical behavior is a must in engineering. This is a profession where lives are at stake. Copying
homework from other students, from the internet, from previous students is cheating. Copying
text from online sources without properly citing and using quotation marks is plagiarism (also
cheating). Looking at other students exams, using notes or other cribs during an exam (whether
in class or take home) is cheating. All of these and more can result in an F in the class as well as
possible expulsion from the University. Even worse it might lead you to be an unethical
engineer!! It is my duty as an engineering educator, and the civil and environmental engineering
program head to ensure that unethical engineering students mend their ways or leave the
discipline. I take that responsibility very seriously.
Blackboard
We will use the Blackboard Course Materials tool in this class.
Homework
This course requires 6-8 hours per week of outside class time. There will be something due
almost every class period.
 Homework must be turned in on time unless you have received permission from me
beforehand to turn it in later. This will only be granted in special circumstances. Homework
is due at the start of class unless otherwise noted. If you are late to class, the homework is
considered late.
 Discussion and reflection style homework must be computer generated.
 Computational problem solving homework must be neat and legible to me and the grader.
Don’t write too small. It can be done in pen or pencil and using the clean, unmarked backs of
used paper (printed on one side) if you’d like. Pages must be stapled. There is a stapler in
213 Votey and the library or better yet, buy one for your backpack. Deductions are made for
work not stapled.
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Homework Tips
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Start the problems by yourself, and try to assess where you have difficulties. Continual
self reflection on your abilities and deficiencies is essential for becoming an engineer.
Talk with your classmates about questions. If someone asks you for help, don’t just give
them the answer. Try to get them to think about what’s going on, and give hints
accordingly. You are doing no one a service by just giving them answers. In fact, that is
cheating and violates UVM’s academic integrity code.
Work on the problems ahead of the due date, this gives you time to think about them and
understand hints and info given in class.
Try to understand the problems as you do them, read pertinent sections, don’t just grab an
equation and start plugging in numbers. The latter may get you through the homework,
but it won’t help you much when it comes to the exams.
Practice makes perfect. The more problems you do, the better you will understand and
remember the material. And the faster you will be able to do the problems on the exam.
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