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Incorporating sustainability in material science education: Adapting computer aid programs in teaching materials sustainability

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Abstract

The dilemma of sustaining civilization's continued growth while improving the quality of life becomes increasingly pressing as the population rises and its demands and aspirations expand. Engineers are needed worldwide to find ways to put knowledge into practice in order to solve the problem of sustainability. Even if their curriculum is already overburdened, it is critical to introduce sustainability themes into material science lectures. This paper focuses on how easy it is to teach materials sustainability in material science classrooms using the sustainability component of SolidWorks, a computer-aided design program. The study presents the software capabilities and the settings that have to be done for sustainability analysis and the results shown by the software.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Dr. Sarah Ritter to let me share the sustainability assignments with material science community.

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Correspondence to Burcu Ozden.

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Ozden, B. Incorporating sustainability in material science education: Adapting computer aid programs in teaching materials sustainability. MRS Communications 11, 685–691 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-021-00088-y

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