An interdisciplinary study of sustainable electronics in reliability, recycling, and STEM education

Our next-generation engineers must be able to design technologies and create partnerships for broad applications that sustain the environment and protect human health. This dissertation reports on technologies and partnerships that support sustainable electronics by (1) improving the reliability of Sn-alloys in electronics by understanding the formation of whiskers in Sn thin films under thermomechanical stresses, (2) assessing the social, political, and economic determinants of a town's transition to cleaner recycling of e-waste, and (3) establishing a framework highlighting the contextualization and shared value to integrate sustainability in STEM education.