Engineering a Sustainable Future: Integrating Carbon Neutrality and Research-Based Learning into First-Year Engineering Courses

This study presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a sustainability-centered Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) embedded within a first-year engineering course at North Carolina State University. The goal of the intervention was to introduce authentic, project-based inquiry early in the engineering curriculum while aligning student work with the institutional carbon neutrality goals. Over 100 students participated in semester-long projects addressing campus sustainability challenges in energy efficiency, waste management, and biodiversity. A structured instructional framework guided students through each phase of the engineering design cycle, integrating a literature review, data analysis, iterative prototyping, and knowledge transfer. Instructional tools such as worksheets, templates, and design frameworks scaffolded student progress, while ensuring alignment with defined course competencies. To assess the impact of this approach, pre- and post course surveys were administered to measure changes in students’ self-reported confidence, interdisciplinary collaboration, and perceptions of sustainability in engineering. Statistically significant gains were observed in competencies related to research, design, and project planning. Students also reported increased recognition of sustainability’s relevance to engineering practice and a greater preference for hands-on, collaborative learning environments. By embedding sustainability as a central axis of inquiry and positioning students as contributors to real campus challenges, this course model offers a scalable framework for integrating systems thinking and research-based learning into early engineering education. The findings provide insight into how first-year CUREs can support the simultaneous development of technical competencies and environmentally conscious mindsets in future engineers. The approach may serve as a replicable model for embedding systems thinking and carbon neutrality into introductory STEM curricula.