Energy Courses
Stanford offers over 300 energy courses. Link below to current listings.
We hope to see you at the weekly cross-campus Energy Seminar on Mondays during the academic year at 4:30-5:20pm in NVIDIA Auditorium. Students may take the Energy Seminar for credit or drop in for talks of interest.
Incoming graduate and professional school students may enroll in a week-long energy course Energy@Stanford&SLAC, that runs September 8-11, 2015.
For lifelong learners, the Stanford Center for Professional Development offers an Energy Innovation and Emerging Technologies Certificate.
If you notice any omissions or inaccuracies in the listing please email: precourt_institute@stanford.edu. Thank you.
2015 - 2016 Academic Year
| Department | Course Code | Course Title | Description | General Education Requirement(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA | 116Q | Electric Automobiles and Aircraft | Transportation accounts for nearly one-third of American energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and three-quarters of American oil consumption. It has crucial impacts on climate change, air... | GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-AQR, WAY-SMA |
| AA | 241X | Design, Construction, and Testing of Autonomous Aircraft | Students grouped according to their expertise to carry out the multidisciplinary design of a solar-powered autonomous aircraft that must meet a clearly stated set of design requirements. Design and... | |
| AA | 280 | Smart Structures | Mechanics of smart materials and current approaches for engineering smart structures to monitor health, self heal, and adapt to environment. Definition of smart structures; constitutive models for... | |
| ANTHRO | 187 | Nuclear Cultures | This course examines the new cultural forms that arose out of the use of nuclear technology. Subjects covered will include: The Manhattan Project, nuclear activism, nuclear experimentation in... | |
| APPPHYS | 79N | Energy Options for the 21st Century | Preference to freshmen. Choices for meeting the future energy needs of the U.S. and the world. Basic physics of energy sources, technologies that might be employed, and related public policy issues.... | GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-SMA |
| APPPHYS | 219 | Solid State Physics Problems in Energy Technology | Technology issues for a secure energy future; role of solid state physics in energy technologies. Topics include the physics principles behind future technologies related to solar energy and solar... | |
| APPPHYS | 272 | Solid State Physics (PHYSICS 172) | Introduction to the properties of solids. Crystal structures and bonding in materials. Momentum-space analysis and diffraction probes. Lattice dynamics, phonon theory and measurements, thermal... | |
| APPPHYS | 273 | Solid State Physics II | Introduction to the many-body aspects of crystalline solids. Second quantization of phonons, anharmonic effects, polaritons, and scattering theory. Second quantization of Fermi fields. Electrons in... | |
| BIO | 13N | Environmental Problems and Solutions | Preference to freshmen. Students do independent investigations of current environmental problems, analyzing differing views of them and discussing possible solutions. Each student gives seminar... | GER: DB-NatSci |
| BIO | 15N | Environmental Literacy | Preference to freshmen. Lack of public understanding of the details of most environmental problems is cited as a cause of environmental deterioration. Good citizenship requires literacy about the... | GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA |
| BIO | 33N | Conservation Science and Practice | Preference to freshmen. This course will explore the potential for harmonizing people and nature, for achieving improved outcomes in the well-being of both as a result of conservation investments and... | GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA |
| BIO | 117 | Biology and Global Change (EARTHSYS 111, ESS 111) | The biological causes and consequences of anthropogenic and natural changes in the atmosphere, oceans, and terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. Topics: glacial cycles and marine circulation,... | GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA |
| CEE | 63 | Weather and Storms (CEE 263C) | Daily and severe weather and global climate. Topics: structure and composition of the atmosphere, fog and cloud formation, rainfall, local winds, wind energy, global circulation, jet streams, high... | GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA |
| CEE | 64 | Air Pollution and Global Warming: History, Science, and Solutions (CEE 263D) | Survey of Survey of air pollution and global warming and their renewable energy solutions. Topics: evolution of the Earth's atmosphere, history of discovery of chemicals in the air, bases and... | GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA |
| CEE | 70 | Environmental Science and Technology (ENGR 90) | Introduction to environmental quality and the technical background necessary for understanding environmental issues, controlling environmental degradation, and preserving air and water quality.... | GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-AQR |
| CEE | 100 | Managing Sustainable Building Projects | Managing the life cycle of buildings from the owner, designer, and contractor perspectives emphasizing sustainability goals; methods to define, communicate, coordinate, and manage multidisciplinary... | GER:DB-EngrAppSci |
| CEE | 101B | Mechanics of Fluids | Physical properties of fluids and their effect on flow behavior; equations of motion for incompressible ideal flow, including the special case of hydrostatics; continuity, energy, and momentum... | GER:DB-EngrAppSci |
| CEE | 107S | Energy Resources: Fuels and Tools (CEE 207S) | Energy is a vital part of our daily lives. This course examines where that energy comes from, and the advantages and disadvantages across different fuels. Contextual analysis of energy decisions for... | |
| CEE | 109 | Creating a Green Student Workforce to Help Implement Stanford's Sustainability Vision (EARTHSYS 109, ENVRINST 109) | Examination of program-based local actions that promote resource resource conservation and an educational environment for sustainability. Examination of building-level actions that contribute to... | |
| CEE | 124 | Sustainable Development Studio | (Graduate students register for 224A.) Project-based. Sustainable design, development, use and evolution of buildings; connections of building systems to broader resource systems. Areas include... | |
| CEE | 129S | Climate Change Adaptation in the Coastal Built Environment (CEE 229S) | How will climate change impact coastal ports and harbors around the world? Leading experts discuss the latest science, policy, and engineering research on this important issue, including the... | |
| CEE | 141A | Infrastructure Project Development (CEE 241A) | Infrastructure is critical to the economy, global competitiveness and quality of life. Topics include energy, transportation, water, public facilities, and communications sectors. Analysis of the... | |
| CEE | 141B | Infrastructure Project Delivery (CEE 241B) | Infrastructure is critical to the economy, global competitiveness and quality of life. Topics include energy, transportation, water, public facilities ,and communications sectors. Analysis of how... | |
| CEE | 141C | Global Infrastructure Projects Seminar (CEE 241C) | Real infrastructure projects presented by industry guest speakers. Energy, transportation, water, public facilities and communications projects are featured. Course provides comparisons of project... | |
| CEE | 155 | Introduction to Sensing Networks for CEE (CEE 255) | Introduce the design and implementation of sensor networks for monitoring the built and natural environment. Emphasis on the integration of modern sensor and communication technologies, signal... | |
| CEE | 156 | Building Systems (CEE 256) | HVAC, lighting, and envelope systems for commercial and institutional buildings, with a focus on energy efficient design. Knowledge and skills required in the development of low-energy buildings that... | GER:DB-EngrAppSci |
| CEE | 161A | Rivers, Streams, and Canals (CEE 264A) | Introduction to the movement of water through natural and engineered channels, streams, and rivers. Basic equations and theory (mass, momentum, and energy equations) for steady and unsteady... | GER:DB-EngrAppSci |
| CEE | 171 | Environmental Planning Methods | Intended primarily for juniors and seniors; first year graduate students welcome. Course introduces key environmental policy design and implementation concepts and provides opportunities to work with... | GER:DB-EngrAppSci |
| CEE | 172 | Air Quality Management | Quantitative introduction to the engineering methods used to study and seek solutions to current air quality problems. Topics: global atmospheric changes, urban sources of air pollution, indoor air... | GER:DB-EngrAppSci |
| CEE | 172A | Indoor Air Quality (CEE 278C) | Factors affecting the levels of air pollutants in the built indoor environment. The influence of ventilation, office equipment, floor coverings, furnishings, cleaning practices, and human activities... | |
| CEE | 172S | Green House Gas Mitigation (CEE 272S) | This course will introduce the main concepts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measurement and management, and it will explore the main mitigation options for reducing emissions or sequestering... | |
| CEE | 173C | Environmental Engineering Applications of Membrane Technology (CEE 273C) | Introduction to membrane technology and processes with applications in R&D, water/wastewater treatment, and renewable energy. Membrane separation principles, reverse osmosis, nanofiltration,... | |
| CEE | 175A | California Coast: Science, Policy, and Law (CEE 275A, EARTHSYS 175, EARTHSYS 275, PUBLPOL 175, PUBLPOL 275) | This interdisciplinary course integrates the legal, scientific, and policy dimensions of how we characterize and manage resource use and allocation along the California coast. We will use this... | |
| CEE | 176A | Energy Efficient Buildings | Quantitative evaluation of technologies and techniques for reducing energy demand of residential-scale buildings. Heating and cooling load calculations, financial analysis, passive-solar design... | GER:DB-EngrAppSci |
| CEE | 176B | Electric Power: Renewables and Efficiency | Renewable and efficient electric power systems emphasizing analysis and sizing of photovoltaic arrays and wind turbines. Basic electric power generation, transmission and distribution, distributed... | GER:DB-EngrAppSci |
| CEE | 177S | Design for a Sustainable World (CEE 277S) | Technology-based problems faced by developing communities worldwide. Student groups partner with organizations abroad to work on concept, feasibility, design, implementation, and evaluation phases of... | |
| CEE | 207A | Understanding Energy (CEE 107A, EARTHSYS 103) | Energy is one of the world's main drivers of opportunity and development for human beings. At the same time, our energy system has significant consequences for our society, political system, economy... | |
| CEE | 217 | Renewable Energy Infrastructure | Construction of renewable energy infrastructure: geothermal, solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, wind, biomass. Construction and engineering challenges and related issues and drivers for performance,... | |
| CEE | 221A | Planning Tools and Methods in the Power Sector | This course covers the planning methods most commonly used in the power sector today. It covers both the fundamental methods used and their applications to electricity generation, transmission and... | |
| CEE | 224A | Sustainable Development Studio | (Undergraduates, see 124.) Project-based. Sustainable design, development, use and evolution of buildings; connections of building systems to broader resource systems. Areas include architecture,... | |
| CEE | 226 | Life Cycle Assessment for Complex Systems | Life cycle modeling of products, industrial processes, and infrastructure/building systems; material and energy balances for large interdependent systems; environmental accounting; and life cycle... | |
| CEE | 226E | Advanced Topics in Integrated, Energy-Efficient Building Design | Innovative methods and systems for the integrated design and evaluation of energy efficient buildings. Guest practitioners and researchers in energy efficient buildings. Student initiated final... | |
| CEE | 229S | Climate Change Adaptation in the Coastal Built Environment (CEE 129S) | How will climate change impact coastal ports and harbors around the world? Leading experts discuss the latest science, policy, and engineering research on this important issue, including the... | |
| CEE | 241A | Infrastructure Project Development (CEE 141A) | Infrastructure is critical to the economy, global competitiveness and quality of life. Topics include energy, transportation, water, public facilities, and communications sectors. Analysis of the... | |
| CEE | 241B | Infrastructure Project Delivery (CEE 141B) | Infrastructure is critical to the economy, global competitiveness and quality of life. Topics include energy, transportation, water, public facilities ,and communications sectors. Analysis of how... | |
| CEE | 241C | Global Infrastructure Projects Seminar (CEE 141C) | Real infrastructure projects presented by industry guest speakers. Energy, transportation, water, public facilities and communications projects are featured. Course provides comparisons of project... | |
| CEE | 256 | Building Systems (CEE 156) | HVAC, lighting, and envelope systems for commercial and institutional buildings, with a focus on energy efficient design. Knowledge and skills required in the development of low-energy buildings that... | |
| CEE | 260C | Contaminant Hydrogeology and Reactive Transport (ESS 221, GS 225) | For earth scientists and engineers. Environmental, geologic, and water resource problems involving migration of contaminated groundwater through porous media and associated biogeochemical and fluid-... | |
| CEE | 262B | Transport and Mixing in Surface Water Flows | Application of fluid mechanics to problems of pollutant transport and mixing in the water environment. Mathematical models of advection, diffusion, and dispersion. Application of theory to problems... | |
| CEE | 262D | Introduction to Physical Oceanography (CEE 164, EARTHSYS 164, ESS 148) |
The dynamic basis of oceanography. Topics: physical environment; conservation equations for salt, heat, and momentum; geostrophic flows... |
|
| CEE | 263A | Air Pollution Modeling | The numerical modeling of urban, regional, and global air pollution focusing on gas chemistry and radiative transfer. Stratospheric, free-tropospheric, and urban chemistry. Methods for solving stiff... | |
| CEE | 263D | Air Pollution and Global Warming: History, Science, and Solutions (CEE 64) | Survey of Survey of air pollution and global warming and their renewable energy solutions. Topics: evolution of the Earth's atmosphere, history of discovery of chemicals in the air, bases and... | |
| CEE | 264A | Rivers, Streams, and Canals (CEE 161A) | Introduction to the movement of water through natural and engineered channels, streams, and rivers. Basic equations and theory (mass, momentum, and energy equations) for steady and unsteady... | |
| CEE | 271D | Introduction to Wastewater Treatment Process Modeling | The course will present a structured protocol for simulator application comprising project definition, data collection and reconciliation, model set-up, calibration and validation, and simulation and... | |
| CEE | 272S | Green House Gas Mitigation (CEE 172S) | This course will introduce the main concepts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measurement and management, and it will explore the main mitigation options for reducing emissions or sequestering... | |
| CEE | 273C | Environmental Engineering Applications of Membrane Technology | Introduction to membrane technology and processes with applications in R&D, water/wastewater treatment, and renewable energy. Membrane separation principles, reverse osmosis, nanofiltration,... | |
| CEE | 274A | Environmental Microbiology I (CHEMENG 174, CHEMENG 274) | Basics of microbiology and biochemistry. The biochemical and biophysical principles of biochemical reactions, energetics, and mechanisms of energy conservation. Diversity of microbial catabolism,... | |
| CEE | 274B | Microbial Bioenergy Systems (CHEMENG 456) | Introduction to microbial metabolic pathways and to the pathway logic with a special focus on microbial bioenergy systems. The first part of the course emphasizes the metabolic and biochemical... | |
| CEE | 275A | California Coast: Science, Policy, and Law (CEE 175A, EARTHSYS 175, EARTHSYS 275, PUBLPOL 175, PUBLPOL 275) | This interdisciplinary course integrates the legal, scientific, and policy dimensions of how we characterize and manage resource use and allocation along the California coast. We will use this... | |
| CEE | 275B | Process Design for Environmental Biotechnology | Use of microbial bioreactors for degradation of contaminants and recovery of clean water, clean energy and/or green materials. Student teams design, operate, and analyze bioreactors and learn to... | |
| CEE | 277S | Design for a Sustainable World (CEE 177S) | Technology-based problems faced by developing communities worldwide. Student groups partner with organizations abroad to work on concept, feasibility, design, implementation, and evaluation phases of... | |
| CEE | 278A | Air Pollution Fundamentals | The sources and health effects of gaseous and particulate air pollutants. The influence of meteorology on pollution: temperature profiles, stability classes, inversion layers, turbulence. Atmospheric... | |
| CEE | 278C | Indoor Air Quality (CEE 172A) | Factors affecting the levels of air pollutants in the built indoor environment. The influence of ventilation, office equipment, floor coverings, furnishings, cleaning practices, and human activities... | |
| CEE | 301 | The Energy Seminar (ENERGY 301, MS&E 494) | Interdisciplinary exploration of current energy challenges and opportunities, with talks by faculty, visitors, and students. May be repeated for credit. | |
| CEE | 16SC | Energy in the Southwest (ENERGY 11SC, POLISCI 25SC) | The technical, social, and political issues surrounding energy management and use in the West, using California, Nevada, and Arizona as a field laboratory. Students explore energy narratives, such as... | |
| CEE | 107A | Understanding Energy (CEE 207A, EARTHSYS 103) | Energy is one of the world's main drivers of opportunity and development for human beings. At the same time, our energy system has significant consequences for our society, political system, economy... | GER:DB-EngrAppSci |
| CEE | 107F | Understanding Energy -- Field Trips (CEE 207F, EARTHSYS 103F) | Understanding Energy - Field Trips takes students on trips to major energy resource sites located within a few hours of Stanford University. Students visit at least two of the many field trips... | |
| CEE | 107W | Understanding Energy -- Workshop (CEE 207W, EARTHSYS 103W) | Interactive workshop that goes in depth into cross-cutting energy topics touched on by CEE 107A/207A & EARTHSYS 103 - Understanding Energy. Topics covered include energy and... | |
| CEE | 125 | Defining Smart Cities: Visions of Urbanism for the 21st Century (CEE 225, URBANST 174) | In a rapidly urbanizing world, "the city" paves the way toward sustainability and social well-being. But what does it mean for a city to be smart? Does that also make it sustainable or... | |
| CEE | 126 | International Urbanization Seminar: Cross-Cultural Collaboration for Sustainable Urban Development (EARTHSYS 138, IPS 274, URBANST 145) | Comparative approach to sustainable cities, with focus on international practices and applicability to China. Tradeoffs regarding land use, infrastructure, energy and water, and the need to balance... | |
| CEE | 174A | Providing Safe Water for the Developing and Developed World | This course will cover basic hydraulics and the fundamental processes used to provide and control water, and will introduce the basics of engineering design. In addition to understanding the details... | |
| CEE | 174B | Wastewater Treatment: From Disposal to Resource Recovery | This course builds upon CEE 174A, covering basic hydraulics and the fundamental processes used to treat wastewater. In addition to understanding the details behind the fundamental processes, students... | |
| CEE | 176C | Energy Storage Integration - Vehicles, Renewables, and the Grid (CEE 276C) | This course will provide in-depth introduction to existing energy storage solutions being used on the electric grid and in vehicles with a primary focus on batteries and electrochemical storage. We... | |
| CEE | 179X | Sustainable Urban System Seminar (CEE 279X) | SYSTEM OF SYSTEMS: Cities are based on several different systems; infrastructures, networks and environments. The effectiveness and efficiency of these systems determine how cities work and how... | |
| CEE | 224X | Global Urban Development Program | A year-long Project-Based Learning course on sustainable urban systems, in collaboration with Sechuan University, Chengdu, China. Students will form multidisciplinary teams of 8-10 and be assigned to... |
