Learning From Nature: Building Sustainable Human Systems (HyFlex: Zoom)
Fall (11 hours to 14.5) | Registration opens 8/13/2026 12:00 AM EDT
THIS IS THE ZOOM REGISTRATION OPTION FOR THIS HYFLEX COURSE!
This course will focus on foundational physical and ecological laws that govern sustainability in all complex systems. To be examined will be principles that include: second law of thermodynamics, exponential and the limits to growth, self-organization and emergent qualities, nested systems, and the adaptive cycle. Biological, ecological, geological, and meteorological systems will provide examples of how such concepts are manifested at various spatial and temporal scales. These principles will then be applied to the group and organizational level to develop sustainable models. The course will close with the examination of potential leverage points to maintain a desired system, or moving it to a new state that is more resilient to the current circumstances.
Student Learning Outcomes:
-Grounding in the ecological principles of a resilient system-Apply complex systems theory to non-linear systems-Understand the manifestation of emergent qualities related to system scale-Understand leverage points that maintains or changes a system-Interpret the sustainability of human created social-constructs that must necessarily be bounded by physical and ecological principles.
This course will combine lecture with class discussions.
Michael Simpson
Michael Simpson has worked in the materials sustainability and water resource fields for over 40 years. He has been a senior environmental scientist for two environmental consulting firms and worked for two state governments. He is a Professor at Antioch University, where he has taught courses in sustainable systems, materials management, regenerative development, climate change adaptation, and wetlands ecology. His research has been at the intersection of land-use and climate change.