Sustainability and resiliency engineering for all

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Departmental expertise

Berkeley Engineering is redefining the landscape of sustainability and resiliency engineering. With a clear vision of becoming the leading force in accelerating and scaling climate solutions, our commitment goes beyond traditional academic boundaries. By broadening the scope of our technological advancements through multidisciplinary collaborations and leveraging our leadership across engineering disciplines and entrepreneurship, we aim to make innovation equitable to deepen its real-world impact. Our research is organized across three primary themes: Sustainable Energy Transition, Sustainable Resource Stewardship and Resilient Adaptive Strategies. We invite you to learn more about our efforts and we welcome your support in this crucial endeavor.

Sustainable Energy Transition

We stand at the forefront of the global movement towards sustainable energy, expediting the shift to clean energy sources and enhancing the efficiency of energy use.

person holding clear glass ball up to the sky with trees above

Sustainable Resource Stewardship

The enhancement of public health, the development of a sustainable circular economy, and the improvement of energy efficiency are integral to our work.

white vehicle near tall tree, two lane road, smoke billowing from the active brush fire on the left

Resilient Adaptive Strategies

Our engineering strategies are helping us adapt to a changing climate, from extreme heat and severe droughts to wildfires and flooding.

Educational Programs

Berkeley Engineering offers a robust selection of courses focused on sustainability and resiliency. Students can engage in cutting-edge classes that emphasize innovative approaches to addressing environmental challenges. Our approach connects students to life and nature through real-world applications, fostering a deep understanding of how engineering solutions can be effectively implemented in diverse environments. Many courses emphasize the importance of ethical decision-making and the impact of engineering solutions on communities and the environment. The following are some of the courses we offer.

Undergraduate courses

BioEngineering
BIO ENG 148	Bioenergy and Sustainable Chemical Synthesis: Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology Approaches
BIOENG 150	Introduction of Bionanoscience and Bionanotechnology

Chemical Engineering
CHM ENG 90	Science and Engineering of Sustainable Energy
CHM ENG 183	Climate Solutions Technologies

Civil Engineering
CIV ENG 11	Engineered Systems and Sustainability
CIV ENG C88	Data Science for Smart Cities
CIV ENG 100	Elementary Fluid Mechanics
CIV ENG 105	Design for Global Transformation
CIV ENG C106	Air Pollution
CIV ENG 107	Climate Change Mitigation
CIV ENG 108	Climate Change Adaptation
CIV ENG 110	Water Systems of the Future
CIV ENG 111	Environmental Engineering
CIV ENG 112	Water & Wastewater Systems Design and Operation
CIV ENG 170A	Infrastructure Sensing and Modeling
CIV ENG 186	Design of Internet-of-Things for Smart Cities
CIV ENG 188	Carbon Capture and Storage
CIV ENG 190	Engineering and Social Justice
CIV ENG 191	Civil and Environmental Engineering Systems Analysis

Electrical Engineering
EL ENG 108	Introduction to Electric Power and Renewable Energy
EL ENG 113	Power Electronics
EL ENG 134	Fundamentals of Photovoltaic Devices
EL ENG 137A	Introduction to Electric Power Systems
EL ENG 137B	Introduction to Electric Power Systems

Engineering
ENGIN 40	Engineering Thermodynamics
ENGIN 93	Energy Engineering Seminar
ENGIN 125	Ethics, Engineering, and Society
ENGIN 157AC	Engineering, The Environment, and Society
ENGIN 178	Statistics and Data Science for Engineers
ENGIN 183C	Challenge Lab, AltMeat: Product Design of Plant-Based Foods
ENGIN 183C	Challenge Lab, Designing Startups to Transform Society \| A Berkeley Changemaker® Course
ENGIN 183C	Challenge Lab, Disaster Technology: Creating Innovative Solutions to Environmental Change

Material Science and Engineering
MAT SCI 120	Materials Production
MAT SCI 121	Metals Processing
MAT SCI 122	Ceramic Processing
MAT SCI 123	Electronic Materials Processing
MAT SCI 131	Additive Manufacturing Processes and Systems for Advanced Materials
MAT SCI 136	Materials in Energy Technologies
MAT SCI 151	Polymeric Materials

Mechanical Engineering
MEC ENG 40	Thermodynamics
MEC ENG 106	Fluid Mechanics
MEC ENG 110	Introduction to Product Development
MEC ENG 172	Wildland Fires: Science and Applications
MEC ENG 193E	Special Topics in Energy Science and Technology
MEC ENG 249	Machine Learning Tools for Modeling Energy Transport and Conversion Processes

Nuclear Engineering
NUC ENG 100	Introduction to Nuclear Energy and Technology
NUC ENG 124	Radioactive Waste Management
NUC ENG 150	Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Theory
NUC ENG 161	Nuclear Power Engineering
NUC ENG 170A	Nuclear Design: Design in Nuclear Power Technology and Instrumentation
NUC ENG 175	Methods of Risk Analysis
NUC ENG 180	Introduction to Controlled Fusion

Graduate courses

Bioengineer
BIO ENG 201	Responsible Conduct in Bioengineering Research and in Practice
BIO ENG 248	Bioenergy and Sustainable Chemical Synthesis: Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology Approaches

Chemical Engineering
CHM ENG C295Z	Energy Solutions: Carbon Capture and Sequestration

Civil Engineering
CIV ENG 204	Planetary Boundaries and the Anthropocene
CIV ENG 206	Water Resources Management
CIV ENG 209	Design for Sustainable Communities
CIV ENG 211A	Water Quality Engineering
CIV ENG 215	Emerging Technologies for Water Sustainability
CIV ENG 218A	Air Quality Engineering
CIV ENG 254G	Global Metropolitan Studies: Introduction to Theories, Histories & Methods
CIV ENG 256	Transportation Sustainability
CIV ENG 257	Sustainable Aviation and Infrastructure
CIV ENG 268E	Environmental Life-Cycle Assessment
CIV ENG 278	Infrastructure Sensing and Modeling
CE290-001	Inclusive Infrastructure
CE290-002	Plants in the built environment
CIV ENG 292B	Climate Resilient Infrastructure Design Studio
CIV ENG 294	Disaster Risk Analysis of Infrastructure Systems
CIV ENG 295	Data Science for Energy

Development Engineering
DEV ENG 200	Design, Evaluate, and Scale Development Technologies
DEV ENG 203	Digital Transformation of Development
DEV ENG 204	Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship
DEV ENG 205	Development Engineering Applications

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
EL ENG 213A Power Electronics	Power Electronics
EL ENG 213B	Power Electronics Design
EL ENG 234	234 Fundamentals of Photovoltaic Devices

Materials Science
MAT SCI 213	Environmental Effects on Materials Properties and Behavior
MAT SCI C226	Photovoltaic Materials, Modern Technologies in the Context of a Growing Renewable Energy Market
MAT SCI 228	Additive Fabrication Processes and Systems for Advanced Materials
MAT SCI 251	Polymer Surfaces and Interfaces

Mechanical Engineering
MEC ENG 272	Wildland Fires: Science and Applications

Nuclear Engineering
NUC ENG 225	The Nuclear Fuel Cycle
NUC ENG 270	Advanced Nuclear Reactors
NUC ENG 280	Fusion Reactor Engineering

Certificate programs

The Engineering and Business for Sustainability (EBS) Certificate Program

The EBS Certificate Program at UC Berkeley trains graduate students to understand the complexity and urgency of their role in engineering, business, and environmental management. The program aims to equip students with the skills to work across boundaries and develop sustainable solutions tom pressing societal problems. EBS courses draw from the College of Engineering, Haas School of Business, Energy and Resources Group, Goldman School of Public Policy, College of Natural Resources, School of Public Health, and School of Law. The program’s goal is to produce problem solvers who can have a lasting beneficial impact on the global environment.

Our partners

Key to Berkeley Engineering’s success is our close collaboration with leading experts across campus and the DOE National Laboratories. There are dozens of additional interdisciplinary centers and institutes at Berkeley Engineering that host impactful research and education programs. Our partners include:

Departmental Expertise

Each departments’ work provide insight into the advancement of sustainability, resilience and climate adaptation here at Berkeley Engineering. Click through below to read more.