Please be advised: the information contained on this page is a general overview of the course. As course information is subject to change from one semester to another, please check DukeHub for the most accurate and up-to-date information about EGRMGMT courses.

At a Glance

• Instructor(s): Bobby Compton
• Semester(s) typically taught: Fall
• Last taught:  Fall 2022 (as “Energy Transitions”)
• Units: 3.0
• Grading scale: Graded (A-F)
• Required or elective for MEM degree? Elective
• If elective, applicable elective track(s): n/a
• Pre-requisites: n/a
• Recommended previous courses: n/a

Course Description/Synopsis (from DukeHub) 

Global industry and government decisions for renewable energy generation, infrastructure and storage needs to consider many challenges and opportunities involving engineering fundamentals, financial economic impacts, and environmental stewardship. These decisions require skilled engineers & leaders to evaluate & manage energy transition/decarbonization projects. This course covers various fossil fuel & renewable technologies for: generation, transportation, and storage through the objective lens of engineering physics fundamentals, financial economic principles, and environmental science considerations. As such, this energy transition course will review applicable basics involving: engineering fundamentals (Thermodynamics, Electrical Power Systems, etc), finance/economics principles (GDP, economic growth, project valuation, etc), and environmental considerations (atmosphere emissions, materials impact, etc) enabling students to think critically about tradeoffs evaluation and understand the rarity of perfect, zero impact solutions to these challenging problems.

In addition to class lectures, out of class study assignments, homework assignments, cases studies and various learning assessments, a significant portion of class will involve student teams working on a real-world, energy transition/decarbonization project challenge. This project includes interactions with industry mentors and culminates in each team providing an executive summary solution presentation and a written detailed report at the end of the semester. This Energy Transition technical elective is particularly appropriate for students interested in careers involving energy systems/infrastructure, renewable transportation, or energy environment impacts as technical consultants, product managers, or project managers.

Although no pre-requisites have been explicitly required for this course, typical undergraduate curriculum coursework in engineering physics and financial/economic valuation would be helpful to grasp the course material.

Course Syllabus (Most Recent)

EGRMGMT 590.07 Syllabus, Fall 2022

A Word From the Faculty

“Energy is Life.” and “Climate Change is Real”….are two critical aspects for energy generation and use in the global economy that must be objectively considered now and in the future by society and industry. During this course, students will learn to: apply engineering, economic and environmental critical thinking/analysis skills, evaluate decarbonization/renewable energy alternatives, utilize industry technical and business analytical methods, and provide executive strategic recommendations to solve energy transition/decarbonization problems and a real-world project challenge. -Bobby Compton, course instructor