BRIDGES case study guides include a series of authentic learning experiences meant to provide equitable access to bioenergy education. They are designed for seamless use in various classroom settings, from virtual to in-person to hybrid learning, and can be used in any non-science courses and majors at the high school, technical/community college, or university level. Each case study should take at least 3 classroom hours to complete, depending on the student level. BRIDGES aims to provide adequate background and foundational materials for students and instructors with no prior bioenergy knowledge.
Students will first learn about bioenergy topics by being led through a series of curated industry and scientific resources selected by educational professionals. Students then will apply this knowledge in an authentic scenario based on actual bioenergy research conducted by DOE’s national laboratories.
The program currently features four case studies:
- Farm to Flight: Are Sustainable Aviation Fuels Good for The Environment? Use life cycle analysis of greenhouse gas emissions to evaluate biofuels versus petroleum fuel.
- Upcycling: Could My Plastic Bag Someday Become the Sustainable Alternative? Investigate how chemists find new ways to upcycle plastics for a circular economy.
- Regional Feedstocks: Are They the Answer to Achieving a Net Zero Future? Evaluate regional biomass and waste resources for conversion to transportation biofuels.
- Municipal Solid Waste-to-Energy: Traditional Ecology and Environmental Justice. Explore how the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes could transform their solid waste stream into biofuels and other products.
Each case study includes four documents:
- A fact sheet that contains an overview of the case study and corresponding materials.
- An instructor guide providing in-depth information on how to use the case study as a classroom lesson.
- A student guide that contains all information students need to complete the lesson.
- Supplemental materials including PowerPoint templates and data sets referenced within the instructor guides
Accessing the BRIDGES Materials
For access to the materials, please complete the following form with basic information about the educational setting in which you plan to use the materials and select which of the available case studies you would like to access. Once you have submitted the form, you will receive an email within five minutes with a download link and auto-generated password for the materials you selected.
Using this form system allows us to collect basic information to continue to improve the program, as well as to ensure that instructors are given access to the entire suite of materials.
If you do not receive an email or encounter any issues, contact us at Bioenergy_Bridges@ee.doe.gov.
