December 3, 2023 | 2nd Half of Semester

The semester is wrapping up and the class leaves for Scotland in 5 days! During the second half of the semester, the topics covered included Nuclear, Industrial Sector Challenges and Opportunities, Sustainability, Limits, Policy, Carbon Capture, Geoengineering, and Energy in the News. We also have had deeper discussions of what our time in Scotland will look like, and needless to say, but I am stoked!

The three most notable things during the second half of the semester were a debate on nuclear power, a presentation on Carbon Capture, and detailing personal plans for the future. As an audience member, I listened to my classmates debate whether nuclear power was a source of energy that the world should use. It was interesting as an audience member to hear both sides of the argument and see decide which had the better case at the end.

My presentation on Carbon Capture detailed what Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilization was, as well as bringing up some topics that were more focused on the marketing side of Carbon Capture. This presentation was done with a classmate of mine and we tackled the topic of CCS and CCU broadly, revealing benefits and drawbacks to teach the class and engage in a discussion. Alongside this, I wrote a final paper about CCS that provides in-depth commentary on whether CCS is the future of sustainability.

Click here to learn more about my CCS presentation!

Click here to read more about my CCS paper!

The last key part of the semester was detailing personal plans for the future, which consisted of reflecting on our semester and talking about how we plan to implement our learnings after the course is over. This was a great way to wrap up the semester and reflect on everything I learned, as well as how I can form my mindset post-graduation.

Click here to read my So What / Now What paper!

In 5 days, I leave for Scotland with the class trip. The class will be visiting St. Andrews, Glasgow, Crieff, and Edinburgh, with sites to see such as St. Andrews University, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Strathclyde, as well as the Scottish Government Net Zero Office, ADL, and ARUP Energy Group. We will also get to do some sightseeing, which will be an awesome balance of learning and fun!