Yuan Yao
Associate Professor of Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Systems; Director of the Center for Industrial…
Industrial Ecology and Green Chemistry Specialization
Students gain an understanding of systems analysis applied to environmental problems in production-consumption systems, acquire methods to quantify the use of energy, materials, water, and land for industrial production, and the comparative evaluation of different pollution types. They learn about how organizations use these approaches in environmental management.
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The Specialization will prepare students for employment in corporate sustainability and environment, health and safety positions, in environmental consultancies and think-tanks, nongovernmental organizations, and governmental and multi-lateral agencies.
Note that a capstone course used to fulfill the MEM capstone requirement cannot also be used toward fulfilling an MEM Specialization requirement; a capstone course taken once cannot be used to fulfill multiple requirements. Learn more about YSE capstone courses by visiting the MEM Capstone page.
Program Courses
Core
Two required courses: ENV 771 and ENV 884. For Spring ’26 only, ENV 982 is serving as a temporary substitute for ENV 771. Starting in Spring ’27, ENV 771 will be offered again yearly, and ENV 982 will no longer be a core course option.| Course | Fall 2025 | Spring 2026 | Fall 2026 | Spring 2027 |
| ENV 771 Fundamentals of Green Engineering and Green Chemistry |
Anastas | |||
| ENV 884 Industrial Ecology |
Piao Tu,Th 10:30-11:50 |
Yao | ||
| ENV 982 Green Engineering and Sustainable Design |
Zimmerman M,W 1:00-2:15 |
Zimmerman |
Electives
To complete your electives requirement, complete four elective courses from the options below; there are no requirements or restrictions on the number of courses you should select from each bin.Environmental Systems Analysis
These electives strengthen students’ ability to quantify and compare pollution types, assess chemical and environmental risks, and support life-cycle–based decision-making for cleaner production and industrial systems.| Course | Fall 2025 | Spring 2026 | Fall 2026 | Spring 2027 |
| ENV 706 Toxic Organic Chemicals in the Environment |
Anisfeld M,W 1:00-2:20 |
Anisfeld | ||
| ENV 708 Aquatic Chemistry |
Faculty M,W 1:00-2:15 |
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| ENV 838 Life Cycle Assessment |
Faculty Tu,Th 10:30-11:50 |
Yao | ||
| ENV 893 Principles of Risk Assessment |
Faculty F 3:00-4:50 |
Vasiliou Tentative |
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| ENV 896 Public Health Toxicology |
Vasiliou O T - 1:00-2:50; F-1:00-1:50 |
Vasiliou Tentative |
Green Design and Solutions for Industrial and Urban Systems
These electives offer systems knowledge and design skills to support decision-making in various industrial sectors and urban systems.| Course | Fall 2025 | Spring 2026 | Fall 2026 | Spring 2027 |
| ENV 639 Food Systems and Climate Services |
Hernandez-Aguilera Tu,Th 10:30-11:50 |
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| ENV 814 Energy Systems Analysis |
Rao M,W 9:00-10:20 |
Rao | ||
| ENV 894 Green Building: Issues and Perspectives |
Kops Tu 2:30-5:20 |
Kops | ||
| ENV 982 Green Engineering and Sustainable Design |
Zimmerman M,W 1:00-2:15 |
Zimmerman |
Climate Transitions
These electives deepen students’ ability to analyze climate systems and investigate climate solutions.| Course | Fall 2025 | Spring 2026 | Fall 2026 | Spring 2027 |
| ENV 594 Global Carbon Cycle |
Denning M,W 9:00-10:20 |
Denning | ||
| ENV 705 Global Climate Change: Simple, Serious, and Solvable |
Denning M,W 1:00-2:15 |
Denning | ||
| ENV 828 Risk: Environmental Science and Decision-Making |
Wargo |
Environmental Data Analytics and Communication
These electives develop data synthesis, statistical analysis, modeling, visualization, and communication skills needed to communicate industrial ecology and green chemistry data and analyses to scientific, policy, and organizational audiences.| Course | Fall 2025 | Spring 2026 | Fall 2026 | Spring 2027 |
| ENV 575 Climate Communication in the Age of AI |
Leiserowitz M 4:00-5:20 |
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| ENV 603 Environmental Data Visualization for Communication |
Queenborough Tu,Th 9:00-10:20 |
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| ENV 730 Environmental Data Science in R: Introduction to Data Integration and Machine Learning |
Malone Th 2:30-5:20 |
Malone | ||
| ENV 758 Multivariate Data Analysis in the Environmental Sciences |
Reuning-Scherer Tu,Th 1:00-2:15 |
Reuning-Scherer |
Corporations, Operations, and Supply Chains
These electives emphasize how firms and supply chains apply systems analysis to advance sustainability, directly aligning with environmental management and industrial ecology practice.| Course | Fall 2025 | Spring 2026 | Fall 2026 | Spring 2027 |
| ENV 612 Transforming Global Value Chains for Sustainability: The Case of Fashion and Textiles |
Gabriel Tu 2:30-5:20 |
Gabriel Tentative |
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| ENV 807 Corporate Sustainability: Strategy and Management |
Esty M,W 2:30-3:50 |
Esty |
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MGT 872 Managing Sustainable Operations |
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MGT 873 Supply Chain Management |
Environmental Economics, Policy, and Decision Contexts
These electives equip students with knowledge and skills about economic incentives, policy instruments, legal frameworks, and ethical considerations, enabling comparative evaluation of environmental and economic trade-offs.| Course | Fall 2025 | Spring 2026 | Fall 2026 | Spring 2027 |
| ENV 789 Energy and Development |
Rao M,W 9:00-10:20 |
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| ENV 799 Sustainable Development Goals and Implementation |
Geballe Tu,Th 11:35-12:50 |
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| ENV 800 Energy Economics and Policy Analysis |
Gillingham M,W 10:30-11:50 |
Gillingham | ||
| ENV 811 Pricing and Managing Sustainable Assets |
Cort Tu,Th 8:30-9:50 |
Cort Tentative |
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| ENV 824 Environmental Law and Policy |
Klee M,W 1:00-2:20 |
Klee | ||
| ENV 834 Environmental Economics and Policy |
Faculty M,W 9:00-10:20 |
Kotchen |
Land and Water Systems
These electives provide contextual understanding of land and water systems that are major sources of material, energy, and nutrient flows. They offer important system-level knowledge that can inform analyses in industrial ecology and green chemistry.| Course | Fall 2025 | Spring 2026 | Fall 2026 | Spring 2027 |
| ENV 582 Natural Climate Solutions in Agricultural Landscapes: A Survey of Practices |
Raymond Tu 12:00-2:00 |
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| ENV 638 Labs and Landscapes of the Green Revolution |
Acciavatti M 11:00-12:50 |
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| ENV 691 Field Course: Tropical Sustainable Landscape |
Brando | |||
| ENV 733 Global Threats to Freshwater |
Saiers Tu 9:00-11:50 |
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| ENV 737 Socio-ecology of Water in Eastern Africa |
Faculty W 1:30-3:20 |
Learning Community
There is a corresponding “Learning Community” for each specialization, where anyone interested in the topic can find related news, spotlights, colleagues, and events.
Faculty Coordinator
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