Power from the nucleus offers a low-carbon source of electricity. Fission power is well developed, but carries risks associated with safety, waste, and nuclear weapons proliferation. Fusion energy research, which presents less such risk, is making important scientific progress and progress towards commercialization. We will study the scientific underpinnings of both of these energy sources, strengthening your physical insight and exercising your mathematical and computational skills. We will also ask ourselves the thorny ethical questions scientists should confront as they contribute to the development of new technologies.

This sophomore/junior-level elective seminar will examine the complexities of the energy transition. Through case studies and interviews with industry leaders, students will appreciate the scale and magnitude of the challenge and the factors that limit the pace of the transition. The seminar will specifically focus on the decarbonization challenges of difficult-to-abate sectors, like shipping, and in teams of two or three, students will work together to come up with hypothetical policy interventions to accelerate the transition.

Students will study the chemical and physical processes involved in the sources, transformation, transport, and sinks of air pollutants on local to global scales. Societal problems such as photochemical smog, particulate matter, greenhouse gases, and stratospheric ozone depletion will be investigated using fundamental concepts in chemistry, physics, and engineering. For the class project, students will select a trace gas species or family of gases and analyze recent field and remote sensing data based upon material covered in the course. Environments to be studied include very clean, remote portions of the globe to urban air quality.

Over the next several decades environmental sustainability will be a major challenge for engineers and society to overcome. This course is an introduction to environmental biotechnology focusing on how the applications of biotechnologies are impacting sustainability efforts in a variety of sectors including water systems, food and chemical production, and infrastructure construction. This course will provide a broad background in biological design concepts across scales from molecules to ecosystems, how bioengineering enables the design of new biotechnologies, and the ethical implications of engineering biology for use in the environment.

This course examines a collection of critical global environmental issues. For each issue the scientific basis is covered first, and the past, present and possible future policy responses follow. Topics include global population growth, climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, air pollution, energy supply and demand, biodiversity and sustainable development. Problem sets, policy memos, projects, news blogs, and presentations are included.

This course explores material and optical design strategies for thermal management of buildings. In the first part of the course, we cover fundamental aspects of thermal radiation and light-matter interactions in built and natural environments. The second part covers traditional and emerging materials and strategies for radiative thermoregulation of buildings. Specific topics include traditional designs such as cool-roof films and low-E coatings, emerging materials like radiative coolers, and adaptive coolers/heaters, and their impact within buildings and the broader environment.

The course examines turbulence in geophysical systems. We review the classic theories of turbulence and vorticity dynamics in neutral non-rotating media. We then introduce rotation into the problem and examine the transitions between 2D and 3D turbulence. The genesis of buoyancy forces and their influence on turbulence are then examined, from the free convection unstable limit to the highly-stratified stable limit. The interacting effects of rotation and buoyancy are then reviewed. Finally, we examine turbulence states far from equilibrium.

This course explores broadly renewable energy systems and smart grids. Technical and operational principles of the modern electric grids will be introduced, followed by an overview of various energy sources from fossil-fuel generators to photovoltaic systems. The intermittency of renewable energy systems and its impact on the electric grid will be discussed together with its potential solutions: energy storage systems and demand response techniques. This course will also include a few experimental demo sessions in which students will gain hands-on experience in understanding the fundamental principles of power conversion.

This seminar focuses on the science, engineering, policy and ethics of climate engineering -- the deliberate human intervention in the world climate in order to reduce global warming. Climate/ocean models and control theory are introduced. The technology, economics, and climate response for the most favorable climate engineering methods (carbon dioxide removal, solar radiation management) are reviewed. Policy and ethics challenges are discussed.

What are biofuels, and why are we making them? How can they help address our energy needs in a warming planet? What are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation biofuels? What is the controversy surrounding the food versus fuel debate? Will thermocatalysis or genetic engineering improve biofuel production? Can we make biofuels directly from light or electricity? These are some of the questions we will answer through discussions during lecture. In precept we will discuss primary literature, relevant news reports, and studies on the socio-economic impact of biofuels. Grades are based on participation, HW assignments, 3 short quizzes, and one final project.

The course will focus on emerging science and technologies that enable the transition from our traditional linear economy (take, make, waste) to a new circular economy (reduce, reuse, recycle). It will discuss the fundamental theories and applied technologies that are capable of converting traditional waste materials or environmental pollutants such as wastewater, food waste, plastics, e-waste, and CO2, etc. into valued-added products including energy, fuels, chemicals, and food products.

The Paris Accord signaled a global consensus on climate risks and the need for a rapid switch to clean energy. Not well comprehended are the scale and pace of the needed transformations. Bottlenecks encountered during rapid, large-scale change, must be anticipated and addressed to achieve climate goals. Princeton's Net-Zero America study (2021) provides highly-granular insights on the scale and pace of change and on impacts to the environment, finances, jobs and more. Students will build on that study to analyze sub-regional energy transitions through multi-disciplinary lenses to assure the successful decarbonization of the U.S.

This course provides an introduction to the electricity sector drawing on engineering, economics, and regulatory policy perspectives. It introduces the engineering principles behind various power generation technologies and transmission and distribution networks; the economics of electricity markets; and the regulation of electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and retail sales. Open challenges related to the growth of distributed energy resources, the transition to low-carbon electricity sources, and the role of the electricity sector in mitigating global climate change are also discussed.

This course provides an introduction to the electricity sector drawing on engineering, economics, and regulatory policy perspectives. It introduces the engineering principles behind various power generation technologies and transmission and distribution networks; the economics of electricity markets; and the regulation of electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and retail sales. Open challenges related to the growth of distributed energy resources, the transition to low-carbon electricity sources, and the role of the electricity sector in mitigating global climate change are also discussed.

An exploration of the potential consequences of human-induced climate change and their implications for policy responses, focusing on risks to people, societies, and ecosystems. As two examples: we examine the risk to coastal cities from sea level rise and extreme heat, the scientific bases for these assessments, and measures being planned and implemented to enable adaptation. In addition, we explore local, national and international policy initiatives to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The course assumes students have a basic background in the causes of human-induced climate change and the physical science of the climate system.

Fundamentals of seismology and seismic wave propagation. Introduction to acoustic and elastic wave propagation concepts, observational methods, and inferences that can be drawn from seismic data about the deep planetary structure of the Earth, as well as about the occurrence of oil and gas deposits in the crust. Offered every other year.

This course introduces the fundamental physical mechanisms behind sustainable energy technologies and the basic concepts to evaluate and compare their efficiency, environmental impact, and costs. Among others, we will examine the potential of wind energy, photovoltaics, geothermal energy, biofuels, and nuclear energy. We will also examine the concepts of intermittency and dispatchability of energy sources and discuss the relevance of the electric grid, energy storage, energy efficiency, and green buildings. Taken together, this will help us assess energy scenarios and possible pathways to a net-zero carbon energy future.

This course will cover fundamentals of heat transfer and applications to practical problems in energy conversion and conservation, electronics, and biological systems. Emphasis will be on developing a physical and analytical understanding of conductive, convective, and radiative heat transfer. Numerical methods will be introduced to simulate a variety of steady and unsteady heat transfer applications and will form the basis of the final project.

This course surveys a wide range of health effects from climate change and discusses strategic opportunities to improve health outcomes through energy decarbonization efforts. The course is highly interactive, combining lectures with a wide variety of in class activities. Class participation is a critical component of the learning experience. Course activities and assignments are designed to help students understand the topics covered in the class, as well as to develop key research and communication skills related to climate and health.