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Despite an emerging emphasis on the role of engineers in achieving the SDGs, there is still a lack of agreement on which competencies should be prioritised to prepare them to tackle future sustainability challenges. By formulating a theoretical framework of key sustainable competencies based on prior studies, this study investigated engineering students’ subjective views on which competencies they considered as the most important to support them in becoming sustainable engineers/designers. Using Q methodology, views were collected from 26 master students in a Sustainable Design programme in a Danish systemic problem- and project-based (PBL) context. Three key competencies were identified: collaboration, interdisciplinarity, and systemic thinking. Competences within the ‘doing’ and ‘being’ dimensions were represented the strongest. There is a hierarchy between the competencies, with collaboration being the highest level, as it demonstrates that it is transversal to the others. These results emphasised the role of PBL in developing competencies for sustainability and in reinforcing the value of Education for Sustainable Development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stabilization of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) with alkali-activated cement (AAC) is a topic of growing interest for sustainable engineering, especially those containing alternative activators produced from waste. This study evaluated the effect of curing temperature on the stabilization of RAP with a metakaolin AAC and rice husk ash-derived activator for potential use in base and subbase layers in flexible pavement systems. Unconfined compressive strength (UCS), X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy tests were performed. Higher strength values were associated with higher temperatures and curing times. Curing oven time presented no influence over UCS and mineralogy. Blends cured at 20°C exhibited efflorescence formation and prolonged curing time at high temperatures negatively affected the mechanical performance. Curing temperature of 80°C up to 24 h promoted the formation and uniform distribution of cementing gels and a dense and compact structure, improving the compressive strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering education is pivotal in driving sustainable development forward, yet many engineers encounter hurdles stemming from insufficient preparation for sustainability challenges. A major factor contributing to this is the lack of a structured and practical framework to guide the integration of sustainability into engineering education. This study addresses this gap by presenting a system-based framework tailored to ‘engineering education as sustainable development.’ The framework outlines a dynamic and inclusive organisational system, incorporating inputs from key stakeholders, a value-and-belief subsystem, throughput processes, and resultant outcomes. These outcomes encompass the cultivation of a new cohort of engineering graduates equipped with sustainable development knowledge, skills, and values/attitudes, thereby fostering the sustainable well-being and prosperity of all stakeholders involved. Additionally, the study examines the intricate relationships, including feedback loops, among system components and concludes by offering insights for practitioners to consider for future action and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scutellaria Linn., which belongs to the family Lamiaceae, is a commonly used medicinal plant for heat clearing and detoxification. In particular, the roots of S. baicalensis and the entire herb of S. barbata have been widely used in traditional medicine for thousands of years. The main active components of Scutellaria, including: baicalein, wogonin, norwogonin, scutellarein, and their glycosides have potential or existing drug usage. However, the wild resources of Scutellaria plants have been overexploited, and degenerated germplasm resources cannot fulfill the requirements of chemical extraction and clinical usage. Metabolic engineering and green production via microorganisms provide alternative strategies for greater efficiency in the production of natural products. Here, we review the progress of: pharmacological investigations, multi-omics, biosynthetic pathways, and metabolic engineering of various Scutellaria species and their active compounds. In addition, based on multi-omics data, we systematically analyze the phylogenetic relationships of Scutellaria and predict candidate transcription factors related to the regulation of active flavonoids. Finally, we propose the prospects of directed evolution of core enzymes and genome-assisted breeding to alleviate the shortage of plant resources of Scutellaria. This review provides important insights into the sustainable utilization and development of Scutellaria resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present expeditious advancement of green analytical chemistry (GAC) necessitates the establishment of explicit and succinct GAC principles, which may serve as valuable guidance in the adoption of environment friendly laboratory practises. The current ideas of green chemistry and green engineering need modification to effectively address the requirements of analytical chemistry within the context of GAC. The use of multivariate curve resolution (MCR), parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), self-weighted alternating trilinear decomposition (SWATLD), and unfolded partial least squares/residual bi-linearization (UPLS/RBL) are prevalent approaches for the examination of process data across several application domains like to detect contaminants in water samples. A special emphasis was placed on circumstances that necessitate sophisticated and customised implementations of multivariate curve resolution. This will involve addressing enhancements in pre-processing techniques, arrangements of data from multiple sets, customised constraints, challenges associated with non-ideal noise structure, and deviations from linearity. The study furthermore covers a thorough analysis of case studies and new developments within the discipline, highlighting the efficacy of green analytical chemistry in the identification of pharmaceutical substances in wastewater. This paper examines the principles, methodologies, instrumental analysis, multivariate algorithms, MCR methods, data set configurations, separation techniques and practical applications of GAC for resource minimization and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro-sieving is an effective way to prevent organic pollutants enter the main biological process and reduce aeration intensity and sludge production. However, few researchers quantified the effect of micro-sieving on meat processing wastewater treatment. The current study developed Excel-based models to compare the energy consumption and production of historical, conventional and innovative systems. Historical and conventional systems employ activated sludge (AS), nitrification, and denitrification as the main biological processes. Innovative systems are designed by using up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) and partial nitrification/Anammox (PN/A) as the main treatment processes. Results show that the CH4/O2 energy ratios of the innovative treatment system are as high as 10 times of the historical and conventional systems. Therefore, innovative system can achieve electrical self-sufficiency. Micro-sieving reduces 5% of aeration demand. Furthermore, the impact of micro-sieving on the innovative treatment systemis assessed by cost-benefit analysis. System with micro-sieving has the shortest payback time of 2.1 years and reduces cost of the innovative treatment system. An excel-based model was developed to quantify the impact of micro-sieving on energy and cost of innovative treatment system, thereby providing a valuable reference for future sustainable engineering design of meat processing wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers the economic importance of export activities, logistics performance and transportation services as key agents of sustainable development. Considering this aspect of economic development, this study investigates the mediating role of logistics performance in determining the effects of export and transportation on the economic growth of the panel data of 35 emerging upper-middle-income countries over the period 2008-2018. By employing the economic growth model and considering essential indicators, this investigation addresses key aspects of development in the examined economies. The empirical results show that logistics performance, exports, human capital, and population have a statistically significant impact on economic growth with respective elasticities of 0.28, 0.36, 1.25, and negative 0.05. Importantly, the study reveals that logistics performance moderates the effect of export and transportation on economic growth, thus aiding the sustainable development of upper-middle-income countries by increasing export-economic growth elasticity from 0.36 to 1.26. Although transportation services do not influence economic growth independently, its economic importance became significant with elasticity of 1.113 when logistics performance is improved. Therefore, policy makers in upper-middle-income countries should maintain strict macroeconomic policies that could effectively engineer the sustainable export of goods and services and ensure high-quality logistics performance even in the transport sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This was followed by a special Felicitation session honouring IABSE Honorary Members Prof. S.S. Chakraborty and Dr. B.C. Roy (due to illness, his memento was handed over to Mrs. Dr Roy) and IABSE Vice-President, Dr H. Subbarao. B I Pre-Congress Meetings, Workshop and Congress, 18-22 September 2023 i b Graph The IABSE New Delhi Congress 2023 concluded successfully, attracting over 500 participants from 37 countries. Additionally, the ING-IABSE presented a I "Certificate of Acknowledgement" i to recognise the significant contribution of the OC Chair, Mr. PVVSS R. Prasad and IABSE President Dr. T. Vejrum. [Extracted from the article]

Lean is and will still be one of the most popular management philosophies in the Industry 4.0 context and simulation is one of its key technologies. Many authors discuss about the benefits of combining Lean and simulation to better support decision makers in system design and improvement. However, there is a lack of reviews in the domain. Therefore, this paper presents a four-stage comprehensive review and analysis of existing literature on their combination. The aim is to identify the state of the art, existing methods and frameworks for combining Lean and simulation, while also identifying key research perspectives and challenges. The main trends identified are the increased interest in the combination of Lean and simulation in the Industry 4.0 context and in their combination with optimisation, Six Sigma, as well as sustainability. The number of articles in these areas is likely to continue to grow. On the other hand, we highlight six gaps found in the literature regarding the combination of Lean and simulation, which may induce new research opportunities. Existing technical, organisational, as well as people and culture related challenges on the combination of Lean and simulation are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ti6Al4V is an eminent material by its high strength, dimensional stability, lower weight and corrosion resistance. Its lower thermal conductivity leads to poor machinability by exhibiting metallurgical alterations. This article discusses the details of dry, wet, cryogenic, minimum quantity lubrication and hybrid cooling methods in the milling of Ti6Al4V. Dry cooling has a worse acute effect on tool life and surface quality by thermal degradation. The widespread high-pressure cooling controls heat dissipation, but cutting tools are affected by chipping and adhesion under long-run milling. In the first instance, cryogenic cooling like liquid nitrogen and liquid carbon dioxide assisted cooling shows excellent tool life and surface integrity; however, excessive uncontrolled chilling and abnormal lubrication affect milling performance. Minimum quantity lubrication with nanoparticles and their combination with multi-wall carbon nanotubes improves the machinability by balanced cooling and lubrication under the concept of green manufacturing engineering. Indirect hybrid cryogenic cooling is a new era in superalloy's cooling methods for long-run applications. The prime drive of this review is to formulate a bridge between cooling and performance under sustainability concerns and propounds the hybrid nanofluids and indirect hybrid cryogenic cooling being the future of Ti6Al4V milling under the mapping of sustainable scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable manufacturing is a global front-burner issue oriented to the sustainable development of humanity and society. In this context, this paper takes the human-robot collaborative disassembly (HRCD) as the topic on its contribution to economic, environmental and social sustainability. In addition, a detailed enabling systematic implementation for HRCD is presented, combined with a set of advanced technologies such as cyber-physical production system (CPPS) and artificial intelligence (AI), and it involves five aspects which including perception, cognition, decision, execution and evolution aiming at the dynamics, uncertainties and complexities in disassembly. Deep reinforcement learning, incremental learning and transfer learning are also investigated in the systematic approaches for HRCD. The demonstration in the case study contains experiment results of multi-modal perception for robot system and human body in hybrid human-robot collaborative disassembly cell, sequence planning for an HRCD task, distance based safety strategy and motion driven control method, and it manifests high feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approaches for HRCD and verifies the functionalities of the systematic framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The natural, glass, and carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites are currently being replaced conventional materials due to their lower specific weight and superior strength properties. Natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites (NFRPCs) have grown in importance in real world applications recently due to a growing focus on the environmental and sustainability elements of engineering materials. The difficulty of machining FRP composites, which results in dimensional errors, poor product quality, and material damage, is due to their inhomogeneity, ease of deformation, and anisotropic nature. Moreover, this review gives an insight regarding recent developments and challenges that will help for upcoming researchers. The nonhomogeneous properties and insufficient ductility of natural and synthetic fiber-reinforced composites have produced fracturing and discontinuous chips during the machining operations. The machinability of FRP composites depends on the constituents present in the composites. More delaminations were found in the natural fiber composites due to improper bonding and less compatibility with the polymer matrices, also the lower heat resistant property of the natural fibers causes serious problems during the machining process. Hence more studies are needed to decrease the thrust force and delamination damages in carbon, glass, and natural fiber reinforced polymer composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

They offer a comprehensive look at the implementation of JESSICA in Poland and their effects in Polish cities, also pinpointing their shortcomings at the level of implementation and the regulatory framework. Cities and metropolitan areas are widely recognised as the engine of economic growth and development, and the driving force behind the development of regions and countries. In the introduction the authors set out the main objective of the book I 'to determine whether the JESSICA initiative as a revolving financing instrument is an effective tool for supporting urban regeneration activities and contributes to achieving sustainable urban development i ' (pp. 5-6). [Extracted from the article]

A number of post-Congress tours to many popular places of interest near Delhi and other parts of India will be offered. Graph Introduction IABSE Congress New Delhi 2023 on " B Engineering for Sustainable Development b " will be held from 20 to 22 September 2023. Registration Registration includes access to the Opening and Closing Ceremony, all Parallel/Technical Sessions, Welcome Reception, Entry to the onsite Congress, Commercial Exhibition, Welcome Reception, Delegate Bag, Congress Proceeding, Lunches and Coffee Breaks. [Extracted from the article]

It is important to find pollution-free, eco-friendly solvents to replace traditional organic solvents. As a new class of medium, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) provide a source of breaking through the green engineering barrier and bring new opportunities for extraction using green chemistry. In this research, the methods of polyphenol extraction from Lilium davidii var. unicolor Salisb with different types of DESs such as choline chloride, betaine, and tetrabutyl ammonium chloride-based DESs were investigated. Compared with traditional extraction solvent systems using methanol, DESs, which are composed of choline chloride and citric acid, have a higher extractive yield. The extraction conditions of polyphenol from Lilium davidii var. unicolor Salisb were studied; moreover, macroporous adsorptive resin was shown to be an efficient way in which to recover polyphenolic compounds. Recovery and reuse of DESs were also analyzed. DESs as "green and designed" solvent can be used to extract polyphenolic compounds from natural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current scenario, colossal demand for state-of-the-art green composites has surged significantly to be exploited in commercial applications with a concurrent need to curtail plastics. The present study targets Aluminium Composite Materials (ACM) with a polyethylene core that can be substituted by rice husk (RH), a hard protective sheath of rice grains. Rice husk is a paragon of eco-friendliness and a productive latent agricultural byproduct. The current investigation focuses on designing and fabricating an ACM with rice husk core in different proportions of rice husk (5, 10, 15, and 20% by weight) with epoxy resin to form a laminate and sandwiched between aluminium sheets. Its various physical, mechanical, and environmental properties were examined to correlate with commercially existing ACMs, composites made from agricultural residues, plywood, and hardboards. It was observed that the proposed composite is light-weight with low water absorption, appreciable tensile and flexural strength, and vibration modes beyond the frequency range of operation. It is envisaged that the eco-friendly ACM with the rice husk core would be a promising eco-solution for daily-use applications like signage, hoarding, and frames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short wool fibers are unsuitable for most of the high value fiber applications but have excellent thermal insulation and other properties. Previous studies have developed composites with a low proportion of wool, flame-retarding additives which increase the cost and are therefore not sustainable. In this study, low-cost wool-polypropylene (PP) composites containing up to 90% wool fibers with PP fibers as the matrix was compression molded and compared against commercially available false ceiling tiles. The composites had the best flame retardancy of V0, thermal conductivity in the range of 0.058–0.083 W/mK and noise absorption co-efficient of up to 0.86. Wool-PP composites had excellent thermal stability until 250°C with a weight loss as low as 1.2%. The highest water absorption of the sheep wool-PP composites after 24 h was 34% (w/w) as opposed to 84% for the gypsum board. Potential applications of wool-PP composites include automotive, building interior and other end-uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study illustrates enhanced removal of methylene blue (MB) and malachite green (MG) from water using alkali-activated coconut fiber (ACF) as adsorbent. Alkali activation effectively reduces the lignocellulosic components present within coco-fiber which in turn reinforces the coco-fiber to become more water-stable. The material was characterized by FTIR, SEM-EDS, BET, XRD, and pHZPC. BET surface area was found to be 10.901 m2 g−1, whereas pHZPC of the material is 6.05. FESEM images reveal rod-like morphology. Batch experiments were optimized with respect to contact time (0–120 min), temperature (288–308 K), pH (3–10), dose (1–5 g) and input dye concentration (10–50 mg L−1). The maximum adsorption coefficient was found to be 133.11 and 110.74 mg g−1 for MB and MG respectively. Adsorptions are best described by pseudo-second-order kinetics (kMB = 1.712, R2 = 0.999; kMG = 1.399, R2 = 0.999) and Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.999). Thermodynamic data suggests a spontaneous (ΔG, −14 kJ mol−1) and feasible process. Spent material could be regenerated by using 0.5 M HCl. Up to 50% retention of activities was seen after five cycles. It can be concluded that alkali-activated coconut fiber is an economic and sustainable choice for dye removal. Novelty statement: Spent coconut was converted into an effective biosorbent by simple alkali activation under ambient conditions to increase the hydrophobicity of the fibers by reducing the lignocellulosic components. Two cationic dyes; methylene blue and malachite green have been efficiently removed with adsorption capacities of 133.11 and 110.74 mg g−1. The operation is simple, economically viable, and partially fulfills the principles of green engineering. Comparing with contemporary adsorbents, this material offers higher adsorption capacities with multi-cycle reusability and enhanced water stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until 2016, the in situ, span-by-span, prestressed concrete deck construction of multi-span bridges was limited to spans up to 78 m. This construction method, in some cases, ensures verifiable advantages in terms of construction simplicity and reduction in material consumption. After scientific and technical validation of the organic prestressing technology application in movable scaffolding systems in 2005, and evaluation of its potential features, a long-term multidisciplinary research and development project was developed to evaluate the possibility of using this technology for in situ construction of multi-span decks with spans up to 90 m. In 2018, in Turkey, the first viaduct using this technology anywhere in the world was completed. In the present paper, following a presentation of prior scientific and technological achievements, the main technical data of this case study are given, highlighting its results. This technological achievement is a contribution to the state of the art of bridge engineering and to sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental, nutritional, and socio-economic issues in the globalised agro-industrial food system are at the center of political agendas, reform programmes, and sustainable curriculums in higher education institutions to accelerate the sustainability transition of food sociotechnical systems. Despite the societal importance of these issues there is little proposals aiming to address sustainable development goals in food science and engineering curriculums. However, promoting project-based learning by students on how to develop eco-designed business models and eco-innovated food products seem to be an essential lever for the sustainability transition. This paper describes how a consortium of French agri-food engineering colleges implemented sustainable development goals via the governmental Idefi-EcoTrophelia programme. Through two cases, we show how the students used engineering and managerial knowledge to eco-design business models and to develop entrepreneurial capabilities to establish green ventures to commercialise their innovation. To analyse these projects we propose a sustainable business model canvas that describes the processes through which food eco-innovations were developed and transferred from the research institutions to industries and consumers. This model facilitates understanding how the sustainable development goals transform food sociotechnical systems to create societal values., [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article systematically organises and reviews peer-reviewed journals up to July 2011 to access progress in the scheduling of remanufacturing operations. The simple (infinite capacity, no part commonality, and deterministic parameters), single product remanufacturing scheduling problem is solved using reverse material requirements planning. Material requirements planning and performance-based objectives of the 1990s were replaced by cost-based integer programming models that can achieve solutions to size-restricted problems. Product deterioration is identified as an additional complexity and methodologies are discussed that address this important issue. The synthesis of the literature reveals the importance of buffer inventories in addressing remanufacturing uncertainty, the advantages of ‘simpler’ disassembly release mechanisms and due date scheduling rules, and the improved performance of Kanban over ‘push’ scheduling and flexible Kanban over traditional Kanban. The most recent trend is the development and testing of several promising heuristic methodologies that can address larger and more complex, scheduling situations. Further study is still needed to address the formidable combinations of finite capacity, part commonality and stochastic parameters and, as Kim, Lee, and Xirouchakis (2007) note, the need to address backlogging, multiple periods, and the necessity to integrate disassembly process planning with disassembly scheduling. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The devastating impacts of increasingly frequent and wide-ranging climatic events from tornadoes to hurricanes, wild floods to extreme droughts, freezing cold to extreme heat periods, melting ice and sea level rises to wildfires and deforestation have rapidly evolved the global mindset from climate change to climate crisis, and public demands for climate emergency declarations. The unprecedented level of global I "eco-enthusiasm" i , in particular among younger generations whose quality of life is most likely to be deeply affected, appear to have finally gained the desired traction among key decision makers and stakeholders. But, perhaps the most significant lesson from COP26 is the recognition and final acceptance of paralysing complexities in generating global, coherent and transitional strategies and plans to avoid irreversible changes in our eco-system. [Extracted from the article]

The human world and the biosphere which we inhabit with all other life on earth is a complex socio-ecological system. It is essential to think about the sustainability problem by considering the interventions necessary to achieve our objectives within that system. The paper describes how the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be placed within a systems configuration. In this paper, I outline the development of a dynamic model to explore this system and its plausible trajectories over coming decades and centuries. The results echo the findings of other studies, indicating that urgent action is required to avoid declining average global living standards in the coming century. The key policy interventions required to avoid this are described. The present institutions are insufficient to re-structure the global economy in the timeframe required, meaning that our profession must be elevated in the public discourse, and our voices must become louder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial Design depends on industry, society and enterprise, all in constant change. The sector's companies and professionals admit a gap between skills, competences and knowledge acquired in the University, and what is demanded by the labor market. In addition, there has been a clear dissatisfaction and lack of preparation on graduates, and a distrust on the employing company towards the profession. This research, facilitates adaptability and proposes the improvement of the current curriculum of Industrial Design and Product Development Engineering Degree (IDPDED) according to the Andalusian regulation, being adaptable to other autonomous communities, and counting on participation of 195 professionals, 36 companies and 80 professors nationwide, that recognize this gap, in addition to other difficulties or deficiencies, especially legislative and administrative, for University-Business collaboration. Proposed training model takes into account the needs of the three different groups, as well as the current legislation, concluding with a participative, and collaborative, dual training plan. The designed plan is flexible and adaptable both, to companies and to time, giving companies the possibility to participate (passively or actively) in the training of their future employers. The model adapts, in addition to any Degree, fostering local employability, and nurturing both society and the economy itself through the transfer of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in Indonesia has been established for over 36 years. During this time, the EIA system has evolved to reflect both political and bureaucracy changes. However, the current implementation and effectiveness of the EIA process have not yet to be fully understood. This study aims to review the current implementation of EIA, to assess the effectiveness of EIA process procedurally, and to provide recommendations. In order to examine the effectiveness of EIA, we evaluate and compare the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) of nickel smelters against criteria. The results indicate that the screening and scoping process encountered problems in terms of scientific database availability, cost, and time of the study. Public participation was not effective due to the constraints of information channeling and weaknesses of the discussion process. We found insufficient synchronization between the evaluation and monitoring processes. EIA reporting indicated redundancy, inconsistency, and ambiguity. We recommend the political reinforcement of the will of the government to establish sustainable policy in terms of budgeting, human resources, and procedure of decision-making process in EIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to build understanding of the recent growth of interest in engineering for international development as an emerging focus of new knowledge, practice, and community development. In the paper, we create a borderlands approach to studying the activities referred to as engineering for development and development engineering. These activities take place in 'borderland' spaces where new approaches are being tried out through creative engagement of networks and communities willing to integrate social as well as technical knowledge and practice. We analyze four cases, selected as exemplars of engineering for development, from a large data set of case studies to demonstrate the socio-economic impact of research. We found evidence of important and original engineering, which showed paradigmatic shifts in engineering knowledge and practice. There was ambivalence inside the engineering community about engineering quality, mixing pride in the building of new paradigms with modesty about whether new knowledge and practices were 'real' engineering. These findings provide evidence that engineering aimed at global development offers an exciting new 'borderlands' approach to engineering that warrants further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an attempt to encourage and incentivise sustainable infrastructure practices, rating tools have been developed in different geographies. This paper explores the value of such tools in educating the engineering profession and shifting action within the infrastructure industry. The paper draws on a substantive international scale research programme, which examined multiple aspects of rating tool design and use, the context in which the tools operate, and the links between the tools and an evolving sustainability agenda. Research data from 119 civil infrastructure projects and 63 interviews with infrastructure owners and tool users provided significant findings on sustainability outcomes achieved, factors affecting outcomes and the wider influence of the tools. Rating tool influence was evident beyond rated projects in practitioner's broader professional practice, in policies and practices within their home organisations and in the engineering profession and infrastructure sector more broadly. Research outputs include a conceptual framework on rating tool influence and a sustainability maturity model for infrastructure owner organisations. These outputs can assist asset owners, advisors and other professionals to develop strategies for addressing the challenges of sustainability in civil infrastructure development. In particular, the findings contextualise the tools as 'processes of change' at the individual, organisational and industry level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transdisciplinarity is characterising numerous research areas, in which natural sciences are integrated with technical and social sciences, requiring mixed methodologies for achieving full sustainability. However, there is a lack of engineering methods and design tools able to effectively integrate the analysis of human performance and social impacts with technical issues during product and process design. In this context, digital manufacturing tools and virtual simulation technologies can be validly used to create interactive digital mock-ups where human-system interaction during manufacturing operations can be simulated to support product and process design. The paper proposes a mixed reality (MR) set-up to support human-centred product and process design, where systems and humans interacting with them are monitored and digitalised to easily evaluate the human-machine interaction, with the scope to have feedback for design optimisation. Such an approach is defined as trans disciplinary since it merges technical design issues and human perspectives to design products on the basis of effective human performance, with the goal to early detect design criticalities and improve the overall system design. Industrial use cases have been developed to demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach to support human-centred design of a tractor. Results have demonstrated potential improvements, in terms of time saving for design review and workers' training, reduction of physical prototypes for design validation, reduction of late design and engineering changes, reduction of ergonomic issues, and global positive impact on time-to-market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) is an international intergovernmental research organization, a world famous scientific center that is a unique example of integration of fundamental theoretical and experimental study with the development and application of cutting-edge technology and university education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many engineering design problems are frequently modelled as nonlinear programming problems with discrete signomial terms. In general, signomial programs are very difficult to solve for obtaining the globally optimal solution. This study reformulates the engineering design problem with discrete signomial terms as a mixed-integer linear program and finds all alternative global optima. Compared with existing exact methods, the proposed method uses fewer variables and constraints in the reformulated model and therefore efficiently solves the engineering problem to derive all global optima. Illustrative examples from the literature are solved to demonstrate the usefulness and efficiency of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design, engineering, and construction for more sustainable infrastructure involve complex decisions with considerable risk and uncertainty. To prepare students for such challenges, agencies and organizations like the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, American Council for Construction Education, and American Society of Civil Engineers are placing more emphasis on complex engineering problems. The case-based module in this study aims to address such needs through a constructivism framework, integrating problem-based learning, a flipped classroom, and transdisciplinary content on behavioral science. The module presents a case about a wastewater project. Team-based learning involves proposing the placement of holding-tanks, first based on cost and later for an extreme flood. Three decision-making concepts (risk aversion, regulatory focus, take-the-best heuristic) are then taught. Students wrote individual reflections relating these concepts to the case. Initially, students perceived cost as the biggest barrier. After the module, students broadened their consideration to include risk aversion and regulatory focus theory. Students were more likely to consider resilience in their design and reflect on how their design would influence the community. The implications of these results are that teaching transdisciplinary concepts that bridge engineering and behavioral science can broaden students' understanding of sustainability and change perceptions of the barriers for more sustainable infrastructure. The module is available through the Center for Sustainable Engineering repository. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The liquid-liquid extraction of cobalt(II) from an acidic chloride solution by using bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) diluted in kerosene has been modelled by means of a combination of physicochemical and engineering approaches. This model is able to calculate the performance of solvent extraction flowsheets (residual fraction at the outlet of the flowsheet and concentration factor between the feed solution and eluate) as a function of pH, leach solution flowrate, solvent flowrate, and stripping solution flowrate. The influence of these parameters and mixer-settler arrangements on the performance of 11 flowsheets is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, biomass of rice straw (RS) and wood (WD) and their torrefied biomass (RST and WDT) were used as solid biofuel (SBF) for co-firing individually with coal in a commercial continuous chain-grate steam boiler system, which was conducted at fixed input rate of heating value of mixture of SBF and coal and at fixed airflow rate. The effects of key system parameters on the gaseous and particulate pollutions and ash were examined. These include SBF type and blending ratio (RBL) of biomass (i.e., SBF) in the mixture of coal and biomass based on heating values for co-firing. The results indicated that wood, which possesses high heating value while less amount of ash, is more suitable for co-firing with coal than rice straw. Torrefaction can increase the heating value of biomass and homogenize its property, being beneficial to co-firing. Also, torrefaction can decompose the hydroxyl group of biomass, which makes biomass tending to possess hydrophobicity. This, in turn, helps the storage and transportation of biomass. Generally, adding the RS (with RBL = 5-10%), WD (2-15%), RST (2-10%) and WDT (2-20%), respectively, with coal decreases the emissions of NOx and SO2, but increases that of CO (except RST). The emission of HCl is little. The addition of biomass also increases the emission of fine particulate matters (PM) especially PM2.5 in the flue gases, raising PM2.5/PM100 from 34.87 to 78.35 wt.% (Case 50%WDT). These emissions for the Cases tested satisfy with Taiwanese emission standards of stationary sources which set limitations of NOx, SO2, CO and HCl < 350, 300, 2000 and 80 ppmv, while PM < 50 mg/m3, respectively. The results support the use of RS, WD, RST and WDT for co-firing with coal. Implications: This study examined the suitability of using solid bio-fuels to co-fire with coal in an industrial chain-grate steam boiler system with a capacity of 100 kW, in order to achieve carbon-free emissions. Both biomass and torrefied biomass of solid bio-fuel were tested. The findings would be useful for proper design and rational operation of solid bio-fuel/coal co-firing combustion matching the appeal of sustainable material management and circular economy of biomass, and of adaptation of global warming induced by greenhouse gases. It also provides information for policy-makers to promote the co-firing application of biomass and related bio-waste materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing awareness of the potential biases and problematic impacts of digital technologies is driving a renewed focus on social responsibility and ethical considerations within the fields of engineering and the computer and data sciences. Similarly, a renewed sense of complicity in our socio-technical environments has encouraged scholars from a range of design, humanities, and social science disciplines to engage more directly in public-facing work, often through prototyping, exhibitions, and hands-on educational activities. This special issue on hybrid pedagogies contributes to this developing and ongoing conversation in a resolutely interdisciplinary way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of diversity in engineering and perpetuation of inequities through engineering designs have motivated the rise of new curricula centred on the integration of traditional technical content with social aspects of technology. However, the 'revolutionizing' of curricula has primarily been spearheaded by junior faculty, women and faculty of colour. This article uses an autoethnographic approach to explore the development of social justice-oriented curricula within engineering from the perspectives of junior women and faculty of colour. Drawing on feminist and critical race theory, we discuss how power dynamics within the school, university and engineering more broadly have shaped the development and teaching of justice-oriented engineering. Through the lens of our experiences, we show that, despite the support from some institutional allies and administrators, stereotypes, hegemonic norms and microaggressions can undermine efforts for social and structural change in engineering education, even as such changes are supported and promoted by the institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biopharmaceutical engineering is a newly established undergraduate degree in China, and a lot of issues regarding students' training remain to be explored and refined, particularly the curriculum reflecting the industrial needs for students with applied (hands-on) skills, which has been limited. To narrow the gap between industrial demands and students' training and to provide undergraduates with rational curriculum, in the present investigation, we proposed to reconstruct the curriculum system for applied (hands-on) training of undergraduates of biopharmaceutical engineering based on the life cycle of medicinal products for the first time. A total of 52 subjects on the curriculum were selected and included in different stages of the medicinal products life cycle. After surveying from a recruitment website and biopharmaceutical enterprises, eight applied positions, including drug screening engineer, cell culture engineer, molecular biology technician, fermentation engineer, microorganism engineer, protein purification engineer, protein analysis technician and bio-preparation engineer, were then selected. According to the requirements of each position, 31 subjects were finally chosen from the above-mentioned 52 subjects that are involved in the life cycle of medicinal products. These subjects belong to four clusters and constitute the basis of the curriculum system for applied training of undergraduates of biopharmaceutical engineering. The results obtained from this work are expected to provide evidence for the training of biopharmaceutical students as well as the implementation of collaborative education between university and industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities throughout the world are realigning engineering education by integrating the impact and importance the profession has on humanity, society and the natural environment. Amongst western universities it is common practice for the engineering programs to have ethics and sustainability embedded within most professional practice courses. Western universities are now understanding the important role cultural, social and emotional intelligence play in producing holistic 21st century engineers. Universities are supporting and fostering fieldtrips to resource-constrained communities, exposing students to real-world problems and finding solutions not necessarily typical in western environments. This, to a certain degree, has helped promote the concept of the Humanitarian Engineer. However, many activities run the risk of disempowering communities and incorrectly promote neo-colonialism as a positive concept to students: the exact opposite of what universities should be striving to achieve. This paper explores the concept of voluntourism and the need for holistic and sustainable solutions for universities to produce culturally, socially and emotionally intelligent engineers with a strong depth of technical knowledge. The paper provides case studies of different programs, highlighting different methods of service-learning and community empowerment. The paper provides a framework to assess program suitability to produce holistic 21st century engineering graduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade and prompted by the United Nations (UN) 2030 Framework, significant engineering bodies have been calling for education directed towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this paper, the authors reflect on progress to enable SDG knowledge and skills in engineering studies, overviewing key examples of efforts within the global professional engineering and education community, including Australia and the United States of America (the US). Acknowledging differences in language and guidance around the world, the authors discuss the need to provide clear and concise language regarding: 1) statements for desirable graduate attributes, 2) required knowledge and skill (i.e. competency) development, and 3) commentary/guiding elements and indicators. The paper concludes with recommending accreditation bodies and professional societies and colleges make use of current international review processes underway by the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) and the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO), to update accreditation and supporting documents to ensure graduates have capacity to deliver solutions for 'thriving humanity and planet' in the twenty-first century. The authors also challenge educators to review and renew their institution's desired graduate attributes and program offerings to ensure curriculum develops capacity for achieving the UN SDG goals, targets and indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consolidation of knowledge, information and experiences in application of Design for Environment principles is done at various levels, ranging from easy to understand slogans to design guidelines, and even to tailor-made solutions. This brings about that dissemination of this knowledge should be done taking the intended audience and relevant contexts into account - especially when dissemination is done in the form of 'principles', which are usually presented without context at all. In this paper it is discussed how interpretations of consolidating principles can lead to misinterpretations and even counterproductive actions. At least three principles can be identified that should be taken into account when disseminating DFE knowledge, discussing (1) different perspectives of what is environmentally friendly, (2) the life-cycle perspective, and (3) the integration of environmental and economical considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of sustainability has become increasingly important for organizations and has permeated a number of managerial and organizational decisions. Sustainability, as defined by its 'triple-bottom line' factors of economic, environmental, and social dimensions, is the underlying framework we use to develop and apply a strategic justification tool for project evaluation with sustainability implications. An activity-based management methodological framework is used as a vehicle to frame decisions using corporate sustainability. An illustrative application of this technique demonstrates how an organization could select between two competing reverse logistics providers. This process requires that we introduce issues relevant to three major sustainability factors (and their sub factors) and how they are influenced by a reverse logistics provider decision. The dual contribution of this paper includes investigating the design and development of the strategic sustainability evaluation framework and introducing the relationships of reverse logistics to economic, environmental and social sustainability dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports and topics published within the issue, particularly focusing on sustainable design and green manufacturing, including a report on how modular design can improve use efficiency of products, and an article which examines the expense of environmental design and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering design activities are a common way for teachers to incorporate engineering into their science classrooms, as called for by current science policy documents in the United States. However, little is known about how teachers prioritize different learning objectives during engineering design lessons. Understanding teachers' thinking on this subject is important for teacher educators because teachers' beliefs about learning goals influence their teaching practices. This study presents elementary teachers' views on what their students learned during engineering instruction, most of which was in the form of design activities, over the course of a semester. The teachers were participants in a teacher education and professional development project aimed at supporting elementary science and engineering instruction. The results indicate that most teachers described student learning in terms of developing design skills and practices, whereas very few discussed their students' learning of engineering concepts. Interestingly, teachers also frequently discussed students' learning of the nature of engineering, suggesting that they highly prioritized this outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opportunities to learn in consequential ways are shaped by the historicized injustices students encounter in relation to participation in STEM and schooling. In this article, it is argued that the construct of rightful presence, and the coconstructed "making present" practices that give rise to moments of rightful presence, is 1 way to consider how to make sense of the historicized and relational nature of consequential learning. Drawing on theories of consequential learning and critical justice, we analyze ethnographic data from 3 urban middle school classrooms in 2 states during a STEM unit focused on engineering for sustainable communities. Findings describe 2 making present practices students enacted as they engaged in engineering design: modeling ethnographic data and reperforming injustices toward solidarity building. We discuss how these practices supported moments of rightful presence in the STEM classrooms by inscribing youths' marginalizing school experiences as a part of classroom science discourse and co-opting school science tasks as tools for exposing, critiquing, and addressing these unjust experiences. That which was silent and previously concealed from school authority figures gained a rightful place through the voices and scientific actions of the youth and their allies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic spatial planning is important for developing long-term visions and strategies towards regional and local sustainability. This paper explores if and how strategic spatial planning could be useful for overcoming some barriers related to new sustainable ways of heating residential areas, using district heating systems based on industrial excess heat. This longitudinal study builds on interviews with municipal and private actors in six Swedish municipalities. It highlights that important barriers can be overcome by influencing the design and location of residential districts and industrial activities. Further, it identifies missed opportunities in local spatial planning practice as stakeholders are involved late in the planning when much is set, leaving little space for stakeholders to have an impact. Consequently, there might be a lack of knowledge and expertise in how such issues could enhance planning. Strategic spatial planning could facilitate conditions for excess heat-based systems of district heating as it implies a broader systems perspective which could enhance a broader planning scope. Plan programs could bring about more strategic spatial planning processes as these require early stakeholder involvement. If taking stakeholder involvement one step further to stakeholder collaboration or co-production, an even broader planning scope would be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to analyse some of the main challenges evidenced in the insertion of sustainability in engineering courses, according to the view from a sample of Brazilian students. Through a systematic literature review, a set of 10 challenges were structured to base the research instrument (questionnaire). These challenges were evaluated by 91 engineering students who participate in sustainable action programs promoted by Enactus Brazil. The collected data were analysed in terms of the averages assigned and via the multi-criteria decision technique TOPSIS, which allowed ranking the challenges. The averages were higher than 5.0 on the scale used, indicating that the students notice the existence of the challenges in the courses in which they are enrolled. The ranking via TOPSIS presented the most evident challenges: 'Sustainable issues debated only in specific disciplines in a limited extent'; 'Difficulty to integrate disciplines for the broad teaching of sustainability'; 'Lack of practical and real examples of how sustainability can be embedded in the specific context of the course'; and 'Activities and examples presented focus exclusively on environmental issues'. The results presented here may be useful for course coordinators to improve their curriculum; educators to enrich their disciplines from the findings reported here; and researchers interested in the subject can use these findings as a starting point for proposing new teaching techniques. No similar publications were found in the literature, which indicates its originality and contribution to the knowledge base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is relatively easy to train architects and engineers to operate BPS tools and to produce results, but there is considerable evidence to show that it is quite difficult to produce accurate results, even for experienced users. I believe that BPS suffers from a credibility gap and that its full potential will only be realized once we adequately prepare users to effectively apply tools with full knowledge of their applicability, modelling limitations, and default methods and data, and provide them the skill set to scrutinize their results. An experiential approach for teaching the fundamentals of BPS through a learning spiral composed of four modes of learning has been devised. The approach and the learning outcomes that have been achieved through each of the learning modes are demonstrated in this article through examples extracted from the teaching of a semester-long post-graduate course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we aim to demonstrate that choreographic practice has the potential to offer new insights into the engineering of sustainable urban infrastructure and environments. Identifying urban mobility as an ideal starting point to discuss the potential overlaps between engineering and choreographic thinking, we briefly outline the notion of sustainability as it pertains to a key area of city engineering - urban transport. Arguing that transport is one of the most critical issues in creating socially and environmentally sustainable urbanism, we draw on studies of engineering to show how its working cultures and epistemologies prevent it from undergoing the transformation that would allow it to effectively address the issues posed by sustainable transport. The focus of the paper is what we believe to be a comprehensive survey of the few conceptual and practical experiments that have been undertaken in using choreographic techniques to explain or design the way people move in cities, in scholarship and design practice. We conclude by arguing that there is great potential to expand on these experiments as ways to address the cultural and epistemological limits within engineering, and calling for practice-based research that shows what impact this would have on its processes and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]