SDG Detail

ME 182: Electric Transportation

Undergraduate course

Project description

Transportation accounts for nearly one-third of American energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and three-quarters of American oil consumption. It has crucial impacts on climate change, air pollution, resource depletion, and national security. Students wishing to address these issues reconsider how we move, finding sustainable transportation solutions. An introduction to the issue, covering the past and present of transportation and its impacts; examining alternative fuel proposals; and digging deeper into the most promising option: battery electric vehicles. Energy requirements of air, ground, and maritime transportation; design of electric motors, power control systems, drive trains, and batteries; and technologies for generating renewable energy. Students will also have a fun opportunity for a hands-on experience with an electric car. Prerequisites: Introduction to calculus and Physics AP or elementary mechanics.