Insight into environmental processes is often drawn from diverse disciplines. Fundamentals taught in this program provide a framework for evaluating information and solving new problems. Students with backgrounds in all areas of science and engineering who are interested in solving water problems are welcome. Students are encouraged to develop their own particular areas of expertise and apply them to the study of environmental processes. Coherent programs may be developed that include course work in other departments, particularly Chemical Engineering, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Chemistry, and various departments in the School of Hygiene and Public Health.
Research is a principal focus of the program.
Current areas of emphasis include natural chemical cycles, pollutant transformations and transport, subsurface contamination and remediation, and separation processes in water and wastewater treatment. Laboratories for water quality control and environmental chemistry are well equipped for advanced research and instruction. Geomorphology, Hydrology, and Ecology Understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes active at the surface of the earth provides the basis for evaluation and control of environmental quality. Underlying many of the technical aspects of environmental problems are chemical and biological processes that occur in the flowing fluids, water and air, such as photochemical oxidation of hydrocarbons in the atmosphere, biodegradation of waste matter, biological interactions at interfaces, the chemistry of natural water systems, and the response of aquatic organisms to water quality. Work in environmental science is aimed toward students with backgrounds in the physical, chemical, and biological sciences or in engineering who want to do research on the basic technical and scientific problems arising in the study of the environment.