Systems Perspectives on Industrial Ecology
Industrial ecology gets a quantitative treatment in this MIT OpenCourseWare course from the Engineering Systems Division. The material covers life cycle analysis techniques for assessing the impacts of materials extraction, processing, use, and recycling, paired with economic analysis of materials processing, products, and markets. Student teams apply computer-based models to a major case study of a materials process, working through the same methods used in current industrial ecology research. The course draws on cross-listed material from Civil and Environmental Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, reflecting its systems-level approach to tracking materials through economies. Course materials are provided free through MIT OpenCourseWare under a Creative Commons license; there is no certificate track, only the published syllabus, assignments, and case study materials for self-study.