Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering 652
(call # 00926-5)

Tues/Thurs 8:30-10:00am
(3 hr lab to be arranged)

 

Instructor: Dr. Jay Martin
Room 230 C Ag. Engineering Bldg.
590 Woody Hayes Drive
Phone:  (614) 247-6133
Email:  martin.1130@osu.edu

Office hours by appointment                                 

Credits: 4                Level: U G    

Prereq: EEOB 413, or NAT RES 725, or FABE 625 or CIVIL ENG 520, or permission of instructor. Senior or graduate status required.

 

Interdisciplinary Learning:

Students with engineering and/or ecological backgrounds are encouraged to take this class.  A goal of the course is to integrate students with engineering and ecological backgrounds to foster a beneficial, interdisciplinary learning environment.  Extra effort will be made by the instructor to augment both the ecological and engineering backgrounds of students.

 

Course Description: By designing and building ecological mesocosms for waste treatment and reviewing case studies, students will build upon and integrate ecological and engineering principles to design ecosystem-based systems to purify water and air.

 

Course Objectives (with American Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) criteria—fulfillment of ABET criteria are required to maintain accreditation for departments of engineering)

At the conclusion of the course students will be able to:

Integrate engineering and ecological principles to design ecosystem-based systems to purify water and air (Criteria 3a,c,d,e,g,j,k).

Identify and describe the main components and processes of ecosystems fundamental to waste treatment design (Criteria 3c,j).

Apply ecological concepts, such as self-organization and pulsing, to the design of waste treatment systems (Criteria 3c,j).

Evaluate and identify ecosystem technologies for waste treatment (Criteria 3b,c).

Demonstrate advantages of relying on ecosystems to restore water and air quality when compared to other approaches (Criteria 3b,h,j).

Grading:       Quiz 5%

                        Midterm 15%

                        Final 15%

                        Research Report 15%

                        Design Project 40%

(Student determines allocation of remaining 10% to above categories)

 

Quiz: A quiz covering introductory material will be taken during the first 3 weeks of the course.  This is intended as a device to test teaching and learning approaches early in the course, and will familiarize students with the instructor’s testing methods.

 

Midterm: A comprehensive midterm will be given during the 5^th week of the course.

 

Final: A comprehensive final will be given during the final week of the quarter.  This may include questions regarding the design and research projects.

 

Research Project: Each student will choose an ecosystem being utilized to treat waste and will prepare a report and present a lecture detailing its design and function.  Special emphasis should be given to how ecological processes and engineering needs were incorporated into the waste treatment system.  A comparison of this system to a conventional, non-ecosystem approach should also be included.

 

Design Project: Throughout the quarter the students will work to design, implement, and monitor a series of ecological mesocosms used to treat a local waste stream.  In 2002 this will be a pilot-scale system to treat washwater from the OSU dairy facility.  The grade will be based on weekly progress reports, participation, and a synthesis report.

 

Late Assignments will not be accepted unless arrangements are made before the due date.

 

Course Administration: The class will meet two times per week (1.5 hrs each) and have a weekly 3-hour lab to work on the design project.  It is anticipated that class time will substitute for lab time during intensive phases of the design project.

 

Field Trips: The class will take one trip to visit the Oberlin College Living Machine.

 

Texts: Required text ($20):

Todd, N.J., Todd, J. 1994. From Eco-cities to Living Machines: Principles of Ecological Design. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, CA.

Additional handouts will be distributed to support class material.


The following books are recommended for reference
(on reserve in campus libraries).

Reed, S.C., Crites, R.W., Middlebrooks, E.J. 1995. Natural Systems for Waste Management and Treatment, 2^nd ed. McGraw Hill, NY.

Mitsch, W.J., Gosselink, J.G., 2000. Wetlands, 3^rd ed. Van Nostrand Reinhold, NY.

Kadlec, R.H., Knight, R.L. 1996. Treatment Wetlands. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton.

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Academic Misconduct: All students are expected to adhere to the Rules and Regulations of Ohio State University and, in particular, to the rules regarding academic misconduct. Submitting plagiarized work to meet academic requirements, including the representation of another’s work or ideas as one’s own; the unacknowledged use and/or paraphrasing of another person’s work; the inappropriatey unacknowledged use of another person’s idea; and/or falsification, fabrication, or dishonesty in reporting research results shall be grounds for charges of academic misconduct.  Such activities will be reported to the OSU Committee on Academic Misconduct. 

 

Disability Statement: All students with disabilities should contact Dr. Martin privately to arrange proper accommodations.

 

Graduating Seniors Policy: Graduating seniors are required to take the same exams as the rest of the class.  Since grades must be submitted early for these students, the final examination for all students will be held during the final week of the quarter.