EE 2701 -- New Course

Tue Sep 29 12:23:57 2015

Approvals Received:
Department
on 09-29-15
by Roopa Sukumaran Berzins
(suku0005@umn.edu)
Approvals Pending: College/Dean  > Provost > Catalog > PeopleSoft Manual Entry
Effective Status: Active
Effective Term: 1163 - Spring 2016
Course: EE 2701
Institution:
Campus:
UMNTC - Twin Cities/Rochester
UMNTC - Twin Cities
Career: UGRD
College: TIOT - College of Science and Engineering
Department: 11122 - Electrical & Computer Eng
General
Course Title Short: Sustainable Electricity Supply
Course Title Long: Sustainable Electricity Supply: Renewables and Conservation
Max-Min Credits
for Course:
3.0 to 3.0 credit(s)
Catalog
Description:
Overview of energy usage, role of electricity and its contribution to global warming/climate change. Electric power systems with conventional generation and transmission, and renewable resources such as solar and wind. Electric and hybrid vehicles, conservation using LEDs and green house applications. Power electronics and electric machines/drives.

Prereq: EE 2001 or EE 3005
Print in Catalog?: Yes
CCE Catalog
Description:
<no text provided>
Grading Basis: A-F only
Topics Course: No
Honors Course: No
Online Course: No
Instructor
Contact Hours:
3.0 hours per week
Course Typically Offered: Every Spring
Component 1 : LEC (with final exam)
Auto-Enroll
Course:
No
Graded
Component:
LEC
Academic
Progress Units:
Not allowed to bypass limits.
3.0 credit(s)
Financial Aid
Progress Units:
Not allowed to bypass limits.
3.0 credit(s)
Repetition of
Course:
Repetition not allowed.
Course
Prerequisites
for Catalog:
<no text provided>
Course
Equivalency:
No course equivalencies
Add Consent
Requirement:
No required consent
Drop Consent
Requirement:
No required consent
Enforced
Prerequisites:
(course-based or
non-course-based)
EE 2001, (or EE 3005  for mech. engineering students)
Editor Comments: <no text provided>
Proposal Changes: <no text provided>
History Information: <no text provided>
Faculty
Sponsor Name:
Faculty
Sponsor E-mail Address:
Student Learning Outcomes
Student Learning Outcomes: * Student in the course:

- Can identify, define, and solve problems

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

The course introduces students to concepts in power generation, transmission, and distribution, and its economic, and environmental impacts. This involves quantitative problem analysis and solving (eg: phasor analysis, calculation of voltage transformation, power efficiencies - topic 4; identification of costs and constraints of renewables - topic 5)

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

Assessment will be through homework assignments, exams, and in-class exercises. These will be problem based, but also involve identifying the problem, resolving it, and explaining the robustness of the proposed solution.

- Have acquired skills for effective citizenship and life-long learning

Please explain briefly how this outcome will be addressed in the course. Give brief examples of class work related to the outcome.

The course encourages analytical thinking, consideration of technology within economic and environmental contexts, and their impacts therein. Topics 5, 6, and 7 for instance provide context to topic 4, and also encourage students to think of future impacts of energy consumption, and the advantages and disadvantages of renewables.

How will you assess the students' learning related to this outcome? Give brief examples of how class work related to the outcome will be evaluated.

The homework assignments, in-class exercises, and final exams will test not only students' understanding of the scientific and technical concepts, but also assess their understanding of conventional power systems, their socio-economic, and environmental impacts, and the role of renewable and sustainable energy sources.

Liberal Education
Requirement
this course fulfills:
None
Other requirement
this course fulfills:
None
Criteria for
Core Courses:
Describe how the course meets the specific bullet points for the proposed core requirement. Give concrete and detailed examples for the course syllabus, detailed outline, laboratory material, student projects, or other instructional materials or method.

Core courses must meet the following requirements:

  • They explicitly help students understand what liberal education is, how the content and the substance of this course enhance a liberal education, and what this means for them as students and as citizens.
  • They employ teaching and learning strategies that engage students with doing the work of the field, not just reading about it.
  • They include small group experiences (such as discussion sections or labs) and use writing as appropriate to the discipline to help students learn and reflect on their learning.
  • They do not (except in rare and clearly justified cases) have prerequisites beyond the University's entrance requirements.
  • They are offered on a regular schedule.
  • They are taught by regular faculty or under exceptional circumstances by instructors on continuing appointments. Departments proposing instructors other than regular faculty must provide documentation of how such instructors will be trained and supervised to ensure consistency and continuity in courses.

<no text provided>
Criteria for
Theme Courses:
Describe how the course meets the specific bullet points for the proposed theme requirement. Give concrete and detailed examples for the course syllabus, detailed outline, laboratory material, student projects, or other instructional materials or methods.

Theme courses have the common goal of cultivating in students a number of habits of mind:
  • thinking ethically about important challenges facing our society and world;
  • reflecting on the shared sense of responsibility required to build and maintain community;
  • connecting knowledge and practice;
  • fostering a stronger sense of our roles as historical agents.


<no text provided>
LE Recertification-Reflection Statement:
(for LE courses being re-certified only)
<no text provided>
Statement of Certification: This course is certified for a Core, effective as of 
This course is certified for a Theme, effective as of 
Writing Intensive
Propose this course
as Writing Intensive
curriculum:
No
Question 1 (see CWB Requirement 1): How do writing assignments and writing instruction further the learning objectives of this course and how is writing integrated into the course? Note that the syllabus must reflect the critical role that writing plays in the course.

<no text provided>
Question 2 (see CWB Requirement 2): What types of writing (e.g., research papers, problem sets, presentations, technical documents, lab reports, essays, journaling etc.) will be assigned? Explain how these assignments meet the requirement that writing be a significant part of the course work, including details about multi-authored assignments, if any. Include the required length for each writing assignment and demonstrate how the minimum word count (or its equivalent) for finished writing will be met.

<no text provided>
Question 3 (see CWB Requirement 3): How will students' final course grade depend on their writing performance? What percentage of the course grade will depend on the quality and level of the student's writing compared to the percentage of the grade that depends on the course content? Note that this information must also be on the syllabus.

<no text provided>
Question 4 (see CWB Requirement 4): Indicate which assignment(s) students will be required to revise and resubmit after feedback from the instructor. Indicate who will be providing the feedback. Include an example of the assignment instructions you are likely to use for this assignment or assignments.

<no text provided>
Question 5 (see CWB Requirement 5): What types of writing instruction will be experienced by students? How much class time will be devoted to explicit writing instruction and at what points in the semester? What types of writing support and resources will be provided to students?

<no text provided>
Question 6 (see CWB Requirement 6): If teaching assistants will participate in writing assessment and writing instruction, explain how will they be trained (e.g. in how to review, grade and respond to student writing) and how will they be supervised. If the course is taught in multiple sections with multiple faculty (e.g. a capstone directed studies course), explain how every faculty mentor will ensure that their students will receive a writing intensive experience.

<no text provided>
Statement of Certification: This course is certified as Writing Internsive effective  as of 
Course Syllabus
Course Syllabus: For new courses and courses in which changes in content and/or description and/or credits are proposed, please provide a syllabus that includes the following information: course goals and description; format;structure of the course (proposed number of instructor contact hours per week, student workload effort per week, etc.); topics to be covered; scope and nature of assigned readings (text, authors, frequency, amount per week); required course assignments; nature of any student projects; and how students will be evaluated. The University "Syllabi Policy" can be found here

The University policy on credits is found under Section 4A of "Standards for Semester Conversion" found here. Course syllabus information will be retained in this system until new syllabus information is entered with the next major course modification. This course syllabus information may not correspond to the course as offered in a particular semester.

(Please limit text to about 12 pages. Text copied and pasted from other sources will not retain formatting and special characters might not copy properly.)


Proposed EE2701 Sustainable Electricity Supply: Renewables and Conservation

Motivation: 1. Climate change/global warming is the gravest threat facing humanity. Electricity is essential for a modern society and nearly fifty percent (as much as 2/3rd if the transportation is electrified) of the energy is consumed in this form. Nearly 70 of electricity is generated using fossil fuels that create the greenhouse gases responsible for climate change. The mission of this course is make students go beyond the awareness of climate change; rather, it is to make them an advocate/champion and doers to utilize renewables for generation and the latest technology for conservation. The course is designed so that students will learn the fundamentals of electricity (its generation, transmission, and distribution), sources of electricity (conventional and renewable), costs, constraints, and environmental impacts - all within the context of social values and public policy.
2. This course will be designed to be offered in the second semester of the sophomore year with the prerequisite of only EE2001, i.e., without the knowledge of the phasor analysis that will be taught as a part of this course. This is done in order to allow this course to be taught at 2-year community colleges such that credits transfer to UMN. This is one of the ways to boost the number of transfer students and it also aligns with the objective of our ONR grant: “Increasing Electric Power and Energy Engineering Pipeline Nationwide.”

Catalog Description: (3.0 cr; Prereq - EE2001, spring, every year) General overview of energy usage, role of electricity in it and the contribution to global warming/climate change. With this backdrop, understanding of the present electric power systems with conventional generation and transmission, and the possibility of introducing renewable sources such as solar (PVs) and wind. Future electric transportation systems consisting of electric and hybrid vehicles. Conservation using LEDs and their use in green houses for growing vegetables. In the context of applications described above, understand the fundamentals of electric power systems, power electronics and electric machines/drives concepts to apply them to these various applications.
Contact Hours: 3 hours of lecture per week.
Text: None – course material will be uploaded to the course website during the semester.
References: Links to latest research and findings, material on www.cusp.umn.edu; Textbooks by N. Mohan – www.wiley.com/college/mohan
Prerequisites by Topics: Physics - motion of interacting objects, the forces that they exert on each other and the quantities that are conserved in those interactions, electrical and magnetic interactions. ECE - An understanding of nodal and mesh analysis of simple resistive circuits. An understanding of first and second-order transients in RL, RC, and RLC circuits. An understanding of the fundamentals of diodes, BJTs and FETs.

Course Outline and Learning Outcomes:
1. (1 week) Sustainability – what does it mean what is its significance in the generation and distribution of electricity and understanding of our present energy overview: Energy Consumption in various forms, Global Warming and Climate Change, Impact of Fracking, Role of Electricity - 1 week
2. (1 week) An understanding of Traditional sources of electricity generation: coal, natural gas, hydro, nuclear, Renewable Sources of Generating Electricity – Availability of Resources and an Introduction: Wind and Solar. Environmental impact of conventional sources of electricity generation, how these compare to renewable sources, impact on consumers (e.g.: wind versus natural gas)
3. (1 week) An understanding of Present State of Electricity Supply, Present Power Systems Infrastructure – Generation to usage. Opportunity for conservation by increasing conversion efficiencies
4. (1 week) An understanding of Delivering Electricity to Consumers over Transmission Lines, Fundamentals of ac in contrast to dc, Phasor Analysis to make it simpler: Power, Reactive Power, PF, Efficiency, Single-phase and three-phase circuits, Transforming voltages (efficiency/waste/loss in each system, comparisons between the two, and therefore connection to environmental/economic impacts)
5. (2 weeks) An understanding of Generating Electricity using Photovoltaics (PVs): Physics, i-v Characteristics and Maximum Power Point of PV Cells, Interconnecting to a single-phase utility grid by a power electronics converter, Interconnecting it to a three-phase utility grid by a power-electronics converter. Costs and constraints related to solar energy: economics, infrastructure, environmental, current limitations, future potential and expectations, public policy given its variable nature, social values
6. (3 weeks) An understanding of Harnessing Energy from the Wind: Physics, Maximum Power Point at various wind speeds, Various electrical structures, Various type of generators and their operating principles. Costs and constraints related to wind energy: economics, infrastructure, environmental, limitations (shadow effect, migration patterns, etc., global perspectives, public policy due to variable nature, social values)
7. (1 week) An understanding of Other Sources of Generation using Natural Gas, Fuel Cells: Physics and Interconnection, Micro-Turbines for Micro-grids. Costs, advantages/disadvantages, environmental impacts  
8. (1 week) An understanding of Electrifying Transportation, Electric and Hybrid-Electric Vehicles, High Speed Trains. Sources of power (multiple fuel sources), environmental comparison of conventional vs. hybrid vehicles/transportation
9. (1 week) An understanding of Electrical Storage: Batteries and Flywheels and possible environmental impacts and limitations (w.r.t. levels of consumption)
10. (1 week) An understanding of Electricity Conservation Potential in Pumps and Compressors, Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning, Induction Cooking, LED Lighting
11. (1 week) An understanding of Emerging Applications such as Growing Vegetables in Greenhouses using grow lights and Other Possible Applications such as Electricity-saving apps
All through the course, critical thinking and decision making on socio/economic impact of energy/electricity.

Relationship to Student Outcomes: In accordance with ABET accreditation criteria, all engineering programs must demonstrate that their students achieve certain outcomes. This list of outcomes may be found on the ABET.org website. Of the outcomes listed in the ABET criteria (enumerated as (a) through (k)), this course teaches skills which help the student achieve the following outcomes:
(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
(e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
(i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
(k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.

The ECE department curriculum committee has approved the suggested course as EE 2701 and if approved by the CSE curriculum committee, it will be listed under Sec. 8.9 Additional Approved Electives in our Curriculum Guide.
Strategic Objectives & Consultation
Name of Department Chair
Approver:
Randall Victora
Strategic Objectives -
Curricular Objectives:
How does adding this course improve the overall curricular objectives ofthe unit?

Power and energy is one of the areas within the Electrical and Computer Engineering dept. and this course is designed so that students will learn the fundamentals of electricity (generation, transmission, and distribution), sources of electricity (conventional and renewable), costs, constraints, and environmental impacts.
Strategic Objectives - Core
Curriculum:
Does the unit consider this course to be part of its core curriculum?

No. This course is an elective designed to introduce students to power systems and energy.
Strategic Objectives -
Consultation with Other
Units:
In order to prevent course overlap and to inform other departments of new curriculum, circulate proposal to chairs in relevant units and follow-up with direct consultation. Please summarize response from units consulted and include correspondence. By consultation with other units, the information about a new course is more widely disseminated and can have a positive impact on enrollments. The consultation can be as simple as an email to the department chair informing them of the course and asking for any feedback from the faculty.

In progress