Engineering solutions for global challenges
It can feel overwhelming to consider the scale and complexity of the challenges facing our world – from the impacts of climate change and resource scarcity to the lasting effects of forever chemicals and the inequitable access to clean water. But if you choose to study engineering, you have a unique “in” for doing your part to make a big difference.
Engineers apply their knowledge of how the world works (there’s a reason you need a strong foundation in physics, chemistry and math to get into engineering!) to improve the health of people, communities and the planet. One of the most powerful things about engineering is that no matter which specialization you pursue, you can make meaningful contributions to big complex problems. And UBC – ranked one of the top universities in the world for sustainability impact – is the place to do it.
Case study: The sustainability challenge of AI data centres
Let’s look at artificial intelligence. AI is transforming industries and processes, from how we discover drugs and diagnose disease to strategies for optimizing energy grids, making manufacturing more efficient, supporting advances in robotics, enabling precision agriculture, and powering autonomous driving systems.
Engineers are active in all aspects of these incredible innovations. (You can read about two of many UBC Engineering researchers active in this area: Dr. Cyrus Neary, who leads the Artificial Intelligence in Robotics and Engineering Lab and Dr. Ilija Miskovic who is advancing AI-assisted geological resource modelling.)
Risks and environmental costs
But there are definitely negative impacts to consider with the exponential increase in AI, such as the rise of deepfakes and misinformation eroding public trust to concerns about its use in military applications.
One major concern is the need for more data centres, each of which consumes enormous amounts of water and electricity, and place significant stress on the electrical grid. Estimates are that by 2030, data centres could consume 20% of global electricity. With only about one-third of current generation coming from renewable sources, that means we’ll be relying even more on carbon-based sources that contribute to global warming.
And that’s a problem that needs addressing.
How engineers are supporting the push to electrification
Combined with the push to electrify transportation, heating and manufacturing, the increased demand for energy associated with AI has created an even bigger need to produce clean electricity.
It’s projected that the world’s electricity grid will need to double its capacity by 2050 to meet the growing demand for electricity.
That’s a challenge! And among other technical challenges that need to be addressed to make this happen, we’ll need to produce increasingly large amounts of copper, which is essential to electrification and the technologies that power our world. That’s because EVs and renewable energy infrastructure require considerably more copper than their conventional counterparts. Some researchers have estimated that we’ll need to mine more copper between now and 2050 than we have in the entire human history.
Engineers are on it. Just as with the data centre example, engineers from every discipline are working together to find ways to mine existing copper reserves, make the most of the copper we have and explore how to recycle copper:
- Mining engineers are optimizing existing mines and recovering copper from lower-grade ores
- Materials and chemical engineers are developing new technologies to reclaim copper that’s already in circulation
- Environmental engineers are developing remediation and mine reclamation plans.
Start your sustainability journey at UBC
UBC recently scored as the world’s fifth most sustainable university and the first in North America for social impact. We are recognized the world over for our commitment to ensuring students have the knowledge, skills and experience to live up to our motto – tuum est (“it’s up to you”) – to understand their responsibility to work for change.
Dr. Naoko Ellis, a leading researcher in clean energy systems, agrees.
“As a student, you have the opportunity to learn about sustainability from leaders in the field,” she says. “But you also have the opportunity to get involved and do sustainability – whether that’s being part of an undergraduate research project or taking part in one of the many clubs and design teams that focus on this area. UBC is a leader in sustainability education and our campus is a living lab for many initiatives – there’s no better place to both learn and do sustainability.”
