FRS 003 — Sec. 007 —
(1 unit) — CRN 92638 — M 3:10-4:00pm — 2045 Bainer
Power
Instructor: Bryan Jenkins, Department of Biological & Agricultural
Engineering, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and College of
Engineering
Description: This seminar explores the generation and use of
power and its role in natural and social evolution, including the roles of economics
and thermodynamics in policies for sustainable development. Although much is said
about energy crisis, the evolution of organisms and societies is strongly linked
to the quality and rate of energy utilization, or power. The course traces power
from cosmic origins and stellar processes to the rise of aerobic organisms and
animate power, to human fire management, heat and electrochemical engines, entropy
and energy quality, the harnessing of stored energy for high power capacities,
the enabling of global warfare and the global economy, disparities among nations,
the future after peak oil, the alteration of global climate, the search for high
efficiency, utility regulation and deregulation, distributed and centralized systems,
and the drive toward sustainability. The course is intended to provide perspective
on the student’s everyday use of energy and the current debate over energy,
the environment, and sustainable design in the context of natural and social evolution.
Format: The class will meet for one hour each week and utilize
expert guest speakers from within and outside the university on selected topics
in physics, biology, economics, and policy. Each class will be divided into a
short, focused topical lecture or speaker presentation (30-35 minutes) and class
discussion (15-20 minutes) based on previously assigned reading materials and
lecture presentations. Relevant papers will be assigned, with supporting reference
monographs and texts available on reserve in the library. Pairs of students will
choose a topic on which to prepare a short paper (5 pages) examining an aspect
of power conversion or use. Grading: Pass/No Pass based
on the quality of the paper (50%) and class participation (50%).
About the Instructor: Professor Jenkins is in the Department
of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and teaches courses on energy and power
systems, renewable energy, and heat and mass transfer. Prof. Jenkins conducts
research in the area of thermochemical conversion of biomass for fuels and power
generation, feedstock logistics, environmental impacts, and system optimization.
Prof. Jenkins serves as Executive Director of the California Biomass Collaborative,
a state-level organization concerned with the sustainable management and development
of biomass resources, and is also an affiliate researcher with the California
Senate Office of Research in Sacramento.