E 290C, Spring 2008

E 290C
Sustainable Manufacturing

Fall 2009
Lecture 001: TuTh 8AM-9:30AM; 3105 Etcheverry
3 units
Instructor:
Professor David Dornfeld
dornfeld@berkeley.edu
Office hours: TBA

Sustainable manufacturing is a poorly understood idea and one that is not intuitively
connected to business value or engineering practice. This course will provide the basis for
understanding (1) what is envisioned as sustainable manufacturing and how that relates to
larger issues of global warming, energy independence, and social impact, (2) what
comprises sustainable manufacturing practices in for-profit enterprises, (3) how to practice
and measure continuous improvement using sustainability thinking, (4) techniques and tools
for product and manufacturing process design and development, and (5) effective
communication of sustainability performance to internal and external audiences. The
primary focus of this course is manufacturing processes, systems and tooling/machinery
including energy, materials, consumable and supply chain and distribution elements as they
impact manufacturing.
Material in the course will be supplemented by speakers with diverse backgrounds in
corporate sustainability, environmental consulting, and academia. Discussions of
papers/references in a reader including case studies will be used to illustrate topics. A final
class project will be required, with students working individually or in small groups in
partnership with industrial contacts. Cross functional groups comprised of students from
different academic backgrounds will be encouraged. Class projects will apply the analysis
techniques covered in this course to design and develop environmentally mindful products
or processes or analyze policies that lead to environmental improvements. Interaction with
industry and collection of real-world data will be encouraged.

Requirements: Graduate standing or consent of instructor; useful background: ME 290E:
Green Product Development, Design for Sustainability; ME220 Precision Manufacturing;
ME221 Rapid Prototyping; and ME101 High Mix/Low Volume Manufacturing.

(Part of course offerings for Management of Technology (MOT) and Engineering and
Business for Sustainability (EBS) program in the College of Engineering.)

Class Details

Syllabus