Evaluating Sustainability Trade-Offs in Engineering Design as System of Systems Using LLMs

Design thinking is a critical skill in 21st-century engineering education, fostering creative problem-solving and user-centered design approaches. When integrated with systems thinking, particularly the Distinctions, Systems, Relationships, and Perspectives (DSRP) framework, it equips engineers with a structured approach to tackling complex challenges. Sustainability, encompassing environmental, economic, and social dimensions, represents a crucial intersection of these frameworks. Despite the increasing incorporation of sustainability in engineering curricula, there is limited research on how students navigate trade-offs among these dimensions in practical applications. This study explores how engineering students internalize and apply sustainability principles in an energy-efficient housing design challenge. Using Energy3D software, students designed energy-efficient houses while balancing cost-effectiveness, environmental impact, and technical feasibility. We analyzed student reflections and design outcomes using OpenAI's ChatGPT-4.0 model to identify sustainability themes and assess trade-offs. Our findings reveal that while most students effectively balanced environmental and economic considerations, variations in prioritization led to distinct design strategies. The majority (52.4%) were classified as Balanced Sustainability Champions, excelling in both dimensions, while others emphasized either technological innovation or cost constraints. The results highlight disparities in environmental performance, suggesting opportunities for targeted instructional improvements. By leveraging large language models (LLMs) for thematic analysis, this study provides novel insights into sustainability education, demonstrating how integrating design thinking and systems thinking within experiential learning can enhance students' ability to address real-world sustainability challenges.