SEAS/Poli-USP Collaborative Field Course in Brazil (January 2013): The Global Challenges of Energy Production in the Coming Decades This collaborative field course was an initiative of Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the Escola Politécnica of the Universidade de São Paulo (Poli-USP), and Harvard's David Rockefeller Center for Latin America Studies. The course took place in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) from January 7-19th, 2013, and included equal numbers of engineering students from Harvard and Poli-USP. It offered a series of lectures on wind power, hydropower, nuclear power, biomass, fossil fuels and other current forms energy production and their environmental impacts. Site visits, such as a technical tour of a nuclear power plant that is under construction, provided students with unique opportunities for field engagement. The pace of the course was brisk and the time between theoretical lectures on a given topic and hands-on experiences was intentionally short. Supplementary material and readings were designed to encourage students to dig deeper in areas of particular interest. All course lectures and formal interaction took place in English and all participants in the course were fluent and comfortable engaging in discussion in English. >> 2013 Course Packet (includes participants list and course schedule)>> Visit the course blog (student feedback from the field)>> Required & Suggested Readings (course participants only) >> Innovations in Ethanol Presentations & Panel (free and open to the public) Previous Courses Information about the January 2012 Collaborative Field Course Engineering, the Environment, and Extreme Events The third edition of this collaborative field course involving Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Escola Politécnica of the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) was held in the U.S. for the first time during January 3-20, 2012. Participants analyzed the challenges of environmental sustainability in the areas of natural resources use, the effect of environmental damage on urban areas, and the effects of extreme weather events in an increasingly crowded world. Students from Harvard and from the University of São Paulo’s engineering school (Poli-USP) had the opportunity to visit centers of research, environmental management and operations. For more information, download the course packet which includes full course agenda, list of participants, visited sites, and more. Information about the January 2011 Collaborative Field Course Engineering and the Urban Environment The intense growth of cities in recent decades imposes the challenge of finding sustainable solutions that reduce demands on natural resources in urban environments. This field course is a joint initiative of Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the Escola Politécnica of the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin America Studies' (DRCLAS) Brazil Studies Program. It includes equal numbers of undergraduate and graduate engineering students from Harvard University and from the Universidade de São Paulo (Poli-USP). In 2011, students had the opportunity to explore environmental issues in Brazil's two largest metropolitan areas, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Through a combination of field site visits, lectures and group discussion, they developed an understanding of the processes used to anticipate the needs of urban areas, established objectives and acted to promote the required changes for individual and collective benefit. The field course is co-taught in English by professors from Harvard and Brazil. For more information, download the course packet which includes full course agenda, list of participants, visited sites, and more. Information about the January 2010 Collaborative Field Course Energy, Water, and the Environment This field course is a joint initiative of Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS),the Escola Politécnica of the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), and the David Rockefeller Center for Latin America Studies' (DRCLAS) Brazil Studies Program. The course took place in Brazil from January 6th to January 21st, 2010. For more information, download the course packet which includes full course agenda, list of participants, visited sites, and more.
