Contents
What is it?
Energy Systems Engineering refers to application of engineering and biology to provide basic services for human needs (water, soil, energy) and to manage waste flows in a manner that protects the environment and does not compromise the needs of future generations.
How we use it?
One can design new and improved processes to provide people with clean water and renewable energy. One can design new and improved systems to eliminate or manage waste streams from many sources (food processing waste, agricultural waste, human waste). Other applications include; detection and reduction of contaminants in the environment such as pesticides, heavy metals, and pathogens and biochemical processing of plant and animal materials to produce fuels and energy.
Career possibilities
Engineers working in these areas pursue careers as consulting engineers working in waste management, energy production and conservation and environmental stewardship. They may also function as environmental, energy, and sustainability specialists in corporations, and as public health engineers in health, education and safety agencies. Many engineers obtain graduate degrees in engineering, management, law, and planning.
Example Curriculums For Students Interested In Specializing In Energy Systems Engineering
Student 1
| Fall Semester | Spring Semester | |||
| BEE 5951: Master of Engineering Design Project | 3-6 | BEE 5952: Master of Engineering Design Project | 3-6 | |
| BEE 4870: Sustainable Bioenergy Systems | 3 | BEE 5330: Engineering Professionalism | 1-2 | |
| CHEME 6660: Sustainable Energy Systems | 3 | BEE 4010: Renewable Energy Systems | 3 | |
| CEE 4630: Future Transportation Systems | 3 | BEE 6880: Applied Modeling and Simulation for Renewable Energy Systems | 3 | |
| AEM 6580: Economics and Psychology of Sustainable Business | 3 | CHEME 5880: Energy Seminar II | 1 | |
| ECE 5990: Special Topics in Electrical and Computer Engineering | 1-4 | |||
Student 2
| Fall Semester | Spring Semester | |||
| BEE 5951: Master of Engineering Design Project | 3-6 | BEE 5952: Master of Engineering Design Project | 3-6 | |
| BEE 4750: Environmental Systems Analysis | 3 | |||
| ECE 5870: Energy Seminar I | 1 | BEE 6880: Applied Modeling and Simulation for Renewable Energy Systems | 3 | |
| AEM 4110: Introduction to Econometrics | 3 | CS 5540: Computational Techniques for Analyzing Clinical Data | 3 | |
| CEE 6120: Bridge Engineering | 1 | CS 6702: Topics in Computational Sustainability | 4 | |
| BTRY 6520: Computationally Intensive Statistical Methods | 4 | EAS 6660: Applied Multivariate Statistics | 3 | |
Past MEng Thesis Titles
- A Feasibility Study Of Utilizing Biomass at Cornell’s Combined Heat and Power Plant as a Means of Further Reducing Campus Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Upgrading dilute ethanol from syngas fermentation to n-caproate with reactor microbiomes
- Evaluating the Impact of Energy Savings Technologies in the Statler Hotel
- Feasibility of Upgrades to the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility to Increase its Biogas Output
- Model Lesson Curriculum for BEE3299 Sustainable Development Industrial Ecology & Sustainable Engineering
- The design of and underground heat exchanger for the experimental hydroponic greenhouse
- International transport and East Asian influence on the US surface Ozone -Policy perspective on geographical and seasonal influences