ER291-002 and E 298A

Spring 2006, 3 units

**Design for Sustainable Communities**

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The Course can be taken as either ER 291-002 OR E 298A.

Energy and Resources Group **ER 291-002.** Normally counted for degree
credits.

**Must** register for both: CCN 27451 **AND** CCN 27456

Engineering **E 298A.** Normally not counted for degree credits, unless
you petition.

**Must** register for both: CCN 27920 **AND** CNN 27939

**Instructor**

Professor Ashok Gadgil

Office: Office hours in ERG (3^rd^ floor Barrows Hall). Sign up by
calling 642-1640

Otherwise, LBNL office is Building 90, Room 3034

Office phone (at LBNL): 510-486-4651

E-mail: ajgadgil@lbl.gov

Secretaries (at LBNL): ied-request@lbl.gov, or telephone 510-486-6591

**Schedule**

Lectures: Wed.10 to 12Noon. 41 Evans

Workshop/Lab sessions: Mon. 3PM to 6 PM, 54 Barrows

**Course Outline**

![](media/image1.jpeg){width="2.125in"
height="1.5916666666666666in"}This course provides concepts and hands-on
design experience with innovative products or processes for improving
sustainability of communities. The focus will be resource-constrained
communities (mostly poor ones in the developing countries).

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="1.6944444444444444in"
height="2.2569444444444446in"}

Teams of four students each will take on practical projects, with
guidance from subject experts, to help mature technical / scientific
innovations into useful products or processes. Team size is limited to a
minimum of 3 or maximum of 4 students.

Lectures will introduce relevant concepts and analytical tools on a
parallel track as projects are developed by the student teams. Lectures
will address topics such as sustainability, relevant aspects of
economics, sociology of innovation diffusion, product design principles,
and walk through a few selected examples. We will also discuss readings
during the lecture hours.

Projects will include designing, and/or building and/or testing
prototypes. (We hope to have modest funds to support each team's actual
project expenses -- usually from the larger projects of which each
team's work will form a piece). Each team will report to the class three
times during the semester -- first on problem selection and its
relevance and background, a mid-semester presentation on the progress to
date and problems encountered, and a final presentation with display of
the conceptual design, prototype and/or test results.

Students teams will have the option to design their own project with the
instructor\'s approval, or may choose from a variety of existing
opportunities including designing a solar cookstove for refugee camps in
Darfur, designing a high performance low cost dwelling for disaster
survivors, or working on the design of a sustainable bungalow in Moorea,
Tahiti.\"

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="1.875in" height="1.875in"}To earn credit,
the students are expected to participate in class discussions,
distribute to the class (by e-mail) a weekly "reflection" on what they
learned during the week, participate in preparing and making the team
presentations, and work closely as a team in defining the problem,
designing a technical solution, and building/testing a prototype.

This is the first time this course will be taught, so the course may
change slightly from the schedule, and may have some mid-course
fine-tuning based on student inputs and instructor assessment. We will
also try to accommodate a guest lecturer or two -- this also might
change the schedule somewhat.

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**Prerequisites:** Graduate student standing, or consent of instructor.

Students must register for lectures AND lab/discussion section
separately. Note that this requires use of two CCNs.

For ER 291-2, use CCNs 27451 and 27456.

For E 298-16, use CCNs 27920 and 27939.

**Textbooks** (available from Amazon.com and elsewhere) **:**

1.  **P. Sainath, "Everybody Loves a Good Draught" (2002). Penguin
    Paperback.** ISBN: 0140259848

> **2. Donald Norman, "The Design of Everyday Things" (2002). Basic
> Books.** ISBN: 0465067107