Students in BEE3299 are sophomores, juniors, and seniors (along with a few extramural students and even an occasional advanced first-year) from across the university. A science/engineering/technical background is NOT required. As noted above, grad/professional students now register in the integrated BEE5299, following the same course flow but with a few deeper requirements. Students are grouped into peer groups (with typically around 11-12 members). Peer group members learn the diversity of their peers' projects, and provide constructive feedback from a range of majors and backgrounds.
Each peer group has a permanent Undergrad TA who will be your first point of contact if you have questions. Your team of TAs previously excelled in BEE3299 but also remember what it was like to go through the course. The Undergrad TA team is absolutely essential to the success of BEE3299! Several Head TAs (undergrads who previously excelled as TAs) and a Grad TA help guide and train the TA team and also help answer some of the more challenging questions that arise.
Your instructor is Dr. Brian K. Richards from the Department of Biological & Environmental Engineering. He has over 40 years experience in carrying out sustainability-oriented research at the agriculture-environment interface. He has led the course since 2019. It is important to acknowledge the years of work invested in visionary course development beginning in 1998 by Dr. Norman Scott, then by Dr. Michael Walter, and most recently by Dr. Allison Truhlar. Over time they forged the extremely effective pedagogical approach that is the core of the course's success.
