This course focuses on efficient resource utilization technologies for "urban minerals" (i.e., secondary resources such as waste electrical and electronic equipment, end-of-life vehicles, and industrial by-products) and their synergistic relationship with the environment across the full life cycle. The curriculum integrates knowledge systems from environmental science, computer science, and mechanical engineering. Through this course, students will learn about the origins and classification of urban minerals, become familiar with their fundamental properties, and master the principles and applications of processes such as material crushing, separation and enrichment, and refining. The course is designed to build an interdisciplinary knowledge framework that responds to the urgent global demands of transitioning to a circular economy and advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Instructor 1（PI）:Jia Li
Jia Li is associate professor of environmental engineering, assistant dean of China-UK Low Carbon College at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He received the “Excellent Doctoral Thesis” Award from Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, in 2009; and the “Morning Star” award from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in 2010, 2014 and 2017; and the Candle Light Award from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in 2017. In 2015, he won the first prize of technology invention from the Ministry of Education, China. In 2017, the teaching reform project "Relying on scientific research and industry to build an innovative experimental platform with environmental science and engineering characteristics" won the first prize of teaching achievement of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
He is the Assistant Editor in Chief of Carbon Neutrality and the deputy director of Research Center for Sustainable Technologies and Waste Resource Utilization at China-UK Low Carbon College. He serves on the technical committee for the National environmental protection waste electrical and electronic products recycling information and disposal engineering Technology Center.
He earned his doctorate in environmental engineering and his Bachelor of material science and engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong university, where he also earned a certificate in Business Administration. His articles have appeared in international journals including Environmental Science & Technology and Journal of Hazardous Materials.
Instructor 2: Lucian Dascalescu
Lucian Dascalescu (M'93-SM'95-F'09) graduated with first class honors from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in 1978, and received the Dr. Eng. degree from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest, Romania, in 1991. He received the Dr. Sci. degree in 1994, and then the "Habilitation à Diriger de Recherches" diploma in physics, both from the University "Joseph Fourier." Grenoble, France. His professional carrier began at CUG (HeavyEquipment Works), Cluj-Napoca, Romania. In 1983, he moved to the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, as Assistant Professor, later becoming an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering. From October 1991 to June 1992， he received a Research Fellowship at the Laboratory of Electrostatics and Dielectric Materials (LEMD), Grenoble, France, where he returned in January 1994, after one year as an Invited Research Associate and Lecturer at Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan, and three months as a Visiting Scientist at the University of Poitiers, France. For four years, he taught a course in electromechanical conversion of energy at the University Institute of Technology, Grenoble, France. In 1997, he was appointed Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University Institute of Technology, Angoulême, France. He is the author of several textbooks in the field of electrical engineering and ionized gases. He holds 15 patents, has written more than 130 papers, is member of the editorial board of several scientific journals and international conferences, and was invited to lecture on the electrostatics of granular materials at various universities and international conferences all over the world.
Dr. Dascalescu is the Technical Program Chair of the Electrostatics Processes Committee, and Vice-Chair of IEEE France section. He is a member of SEE and Club Electrotechnique, Electronique, Automatique (EEA), France.
Instructor 3: Weiqiang Chen
His main research fields include industrial ecology, environmental system engineering, and digital technology in resource and environment. He obtained a bachelor's degree (2004) and a doctoral degree (2010) from the School of Environment, Tsinghua University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Industrial Ecology at Yale University (2010-2013) and an associate researcher (2013-2015). Currently, he is an adjunct professor at Xiamen University and the University of Science and Technology of China, and also serves as an editor or associate editor for SCI journals such as “Resources, Conservation, and Recycling”, “Journal of Industrial Ecology”, “Frontiers of Engineering Management”, and domestic journals such as “Environmental Science & Technology” and “Chinese Academy of Sciences Journal”. He is the chairperson of the Industrial Ecology Special Committee of the Chinese Ecological Society and the Environmental Economy and Policy Special Committee of the China Rare Earth Society. In March 2025, he was elected as the interim president of the International Society for Industrial Ecology. He has led more than 20 research projects including key research projects of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and international cooperation projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. His research results have been published in top international journals such as PNAS, One Earth, Nature Climate Change, Nature Geoscience, Nature Communications, Environmental Science & Technology, and "Chinese Academy of Sciences Journal".
Instructor 4: Xianlai Zeng
He is an associate researcher at the School of Environment of Tsinghua University, holds a doctoral degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University, and has a master's degree in Environmental Engineering and a bachelor's degree in Environmental Ecology from Northwest A&F University. In 2005, he served as a research intern at the Energy Research Institute of Shandong Academy of Sciences. In 2008, he was a lecturer at the China Environmental Management Cadre College. In 2014, he began postdoctoral research at Tsinghua University. In 2015, he served as a technical advisor for the United Nations Development Program. Since 2016, he has held the current position. In 2021, he was appointed as the deputy director of the Tsinghua University Think Tank Center and visited Yale University as a Fulbright scholar. His main research fields are urban minerals, solid waste resource utilization, and circular economy. He has led projects such as the National Key Research and Development Program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and proposed a theoretical framework for evaluating the interactive attributes of solid waste environmental resources. ] Served as the deputy editor of "Carbon Footprint" and as a member of the editorial board of several SCI journals. Received honors such as the Academic Award of the Chinese Management Science Society and the Young Science and Technology Award of the China Circular Economy Association.
1. Master the main technical principles and process flows of urban mineral resource recycling.
2. Build interdisciplinary (environmental, engineering, information) systems thinking, and possess the ability to analyze and solve complex resource and environmental issues.
3. Evaluate and design resource recycling technology solutions and system strategies that align with the sustainable development goals.
4. Gain insights into the global trends of circular economy policies and the cutting-edge technologies, and become a reserve talent for driving the transformation of the green industry.
Lecture/ Discussion
Attendance: 40%;
Home work: 20%；
Group presentation: 40%;
Jia Li/weee@sjtu.edu.cn