Master of Engineering - Environmental Engineering
The Environmental Engineering graduate program is divided into three areas of concentration: Environmental Processes, Groundwater and Soil Pollution Control, and Inland and Coastal Environmental Hydrodynamics.
- The Environmental Processes concentration addresses the treatment of industrial and domestic water and wastewater and hazardous wastes. Process fundamentals are integrated with a design approach to meeting treatment objectives. Students will be prepared for careers in both design and operation of facilities for pollution control.
- The Groundwater and Soil Pollution Control concentration emphasizes the transport and fate of contaminants in the subsurface environment and on engineering processes to mitigate their adverse environmental impact. Some specific areas of study in this option are the modeling of contaminant transport in local or regional geohydrologic systems, the impact of contamination in the subsurface environment, the management of municipal and industrial waste disposal, and the remediation of groundwater and soil.
- The Modeling of Environmental Systems concentration addresses the circulation and mixing processes in surface waters and the effect of such processes on the fate and transport of contaminants. Deterministic, stochastic and experimental techniques are emphasized.
Major areas of current faculty research include groundwater hydrology and pollution, water and wastewater treatment processes, design of waste disposal management, and environmental processes in coastal and estuarine waters. Master's candidates without a previous engineering degree may, on a case-by-case basis, be allowed to enroll for the Master of Engineering in Environmental Engineering if they have a bachelor's degree in a relevant science discipline. These students must also take CE 503, CE 504, and EN 505, or their equivalent, not for credit towards a degree. All applicants must have at least two years of calculus and one year of chemistry.
Core Courses
- CE 565 Numerical Methods for Civil and Environmental Engineering
An introduction to numerical and methods applied to civil and environmental engineering. Methods for solution of nonlinear equations, systems of linear equations, interpolation, regression, and solution of ordinary and partial differential equations. Applications include trusses, beams, river oxygen balances and adsorption isotherms. Several computer projects are required.
- EN 541 Fate and Transport of Environmental Contaminants
Description of fundamental processes in natural and engineered systems, including intermedia transport of contaminants between environmental compartments (air, water, soil, and biota) and chemical and biochemical transformations within these compartments.
- EN 570 Environmental Chemistry
Principles of environmental reactions with emphasis on aquatic chemistry; reaction and phase equilibria; acid-base and carbonate systems; oxidation-reduction; colloids; organic contaminants classes, sources, and fates; groundwater chemistry; and atmospheric chemistry.
Environmental Engineering Concentrations
Environmental Control Processes
- EN 570 Environmental Chemistry
Principles of environmental reactions with emphasis on aquatic chemistry; reaction and phase equilibria; acid-base and carbonate systems; oxidation-reduction; colloids; organic contaminants classes, sources, and fates; groundwater chemistry; and atmospheric chemistry.
- EN 571 Physicochemical Processes for Environmental Control
A study of the chemical and physical operation involved in treatment of potable water, industrial process water, and wastewater effluent; topics include chemical precipitation, coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, ion exchange, oxidation, adsorption, flotation, and membrane processes. A physical-chemical treatment plant design project is an integral part of the course. The approach of unit operations and unit processes is stressed.
- EN 573 Biological Processes for Environmental Control
Biological basis of wastewater treatment; river systems and wastewater treatment works analogy; population dynamics; food sources; aerobic and anaerobic systems; reaction kinetics and parameters affecting waste removal; fundamentals of mass transfer and gas transfer; trickling filter, and activated sludge process; aerated lagoons; stabilization ponds; nitrification; denitrification; sludge concentration; aerobic sludge digestion; anaerobic sludge digestio and sludge conditioning; sludge drying, vacuum filtration; and incineration and ocean disposal. A biological treatment plant design project is an integral part of the course.
- EN 575 Environmental Biology
A survey of biological topics concerning the environment: ecology, population dynamics, pollution microbiology, aquatic biology, bioconcentration, limnology, stream sanitation, nutrient cycles, and toxicology.
- EN 637 Environmental Control Laboratory
Laboratory verification of theoretical concepts involved in design and
analysis of unit operations and unit processes for environmental pollution
control and conservation. Laboratory investigations include mixing, coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, vacuum operations,
flotation, disinfection, corrosion control, chemical precipitation, adsorption, ion exchange, membrane processes, biological oxidation and
anaerobic digestion.
- EN 751 Design of Wastewater Facilities
Principles of process design and economics are integrated through open-ended problem-solving situations. Topics include process selection, feasibility studies, equipment design and scale-up, costing and economics, optimization, process identification and control, operation and maintenance, and permitting and other regulatory issues.
Groundwater and Soil Pollution Control
- EN 520 Soil Behavior and its Role in Environmental Applications
An overview of soil mineralogy, soil formation, chemistry, and composition. Influence of the above factors in environmental engineering properties; study of colloidal phenomena; fate and transport of trace metals in sediments, soil fabric, and structure; conduction phenomena; and compressibility, strength, deformation properties, and stress-strain-time effects, as they pertain to environmental geotechnology applications (i.e., contaminated soil remediation, soil/solid waste stabilization, waste containment alternatives, soil-water-contaminant interactions, and contaminant transport).
- EN 551 Environmental Chemistry of Soils and Natural Surfaces
Soil is a mixture of inorganic and organic solids, air, water, and microorganisms. Soil affects the environmental chemistry through the interactions at solution-solid and air-solid interfaces, and the soil in turn is affected by the environmental and human activities. Soil science is not only important to agriculture, but also to diverse fields, such as environmental engineering, biogeochemistry, and hydrology. This course will enable students to understand the chemical properties of soil, soil minerals, natural surfaces, and mechanisms regulating solute chemistry in soil solutions. The fate and transport of inorganic and organic pollutants in soil and soil remediation technologies are discussed. One year of introductory chemistry is required for students who want to take this course.
- EN 553 Groundwater Engineering
Fundamental and advanced topics in groundwater engineering analysis and design. Aquifers and well aquifer relationships; aquifer tests by well methods; in situ permeability determination; and flow nets. Seepage principles and seepage control measures; filter and drain design; and computer methods in groundwater engineering.
- EN 654 Environmental Geotechnology
The objective of the course is to provide the students with exposure to the geotechnical nature of environmental problems. The topics covered include: principles of geochemistry, contaminant transport, and hydrogeology; an overview of landfill liners and other disposal facilities and their design, construction, safe operation, performance monitoring, structural, and physicochemical stability; an overview of the general principles governing the design, implementation, and monitoring of existing remediation technologies with special emphasis on stabilization/solidification, vapor extraction, bioremediation, soil washing, pump and treat, cover systems, and alternative containment systems such as slurry walls. A concurrent laboratory section introduces the student to the chemical analyses, absorption behavior, mineralogical, and crystallographical identification and characterization of various waste forms as they pertain to surface chemistry considerations. The main emphasis of the course consists of providing hands-on experience with analyses involving the use of spectrometric, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscope equipment.
- EN 686 Groundwater Hydrology and Pollution
Fundamental concepts in groundwater hydrology and pollution, occurrence, and movement of groundwater; flow nets; well hydraulics; and numerical methods in groundwater hydraulics. Chemical properties of groundwater, sources, and effects of contamination; principles of mathematical modeling of containment transport in groundwater; and numerical methods in groundwater pollution.
- EN 690 Soil and Groundwater Remediation Technologies
This course will provide the student with a thorough understanding of soil and groundwater remediation technologies including fundamental principles, site applicability, remedial alternatives, and selection, planning and design of remedial systems, field implementation and economics.
Modeling of Environmental Systems
- CE 679 Regression and Stochastic Methods
An introduction to the applied nonlinear regression, multiple regression and time-series methods for modeling civil and environmental engineering processes. Topics include: coefficient estimation of linear and nonlinear models; construction of multivariate transfer function models; modeling of linear and nonlinear systems; forecast and prediction using multiple regression and time series models; statistical quality control techniques; ANOVA tables and analysis of model residuals. Applications include monitoring and control of wastewater treatment plants, hydrologic-climatic histories of watercourses, and curve-fitting of experimental and field data.
- CE 684 Mixing Processes in Inland and Coastal Waters
Development of advective-diffusion equations for conservative and non-conservative substances. Fickian diffusion, turbulent diffusion, shear flow dispersion. Description and specification of mixing processes in rivers, reservoirs and estuaries. Methods and analyses of conservative dye tracer studies. Monte Carlo simulations of diffusion processes, and numerical models for simulation of advection diffusion processes in rivers and estuaries.
- EN 680 Modeling of Environmental Systems
Incorporation of fundamental reaction and transport phenomena into mass balances to describe the fate and transport of contaminants in lakes, rivers, estuaries, groundwater, the atmosphere, and in pollution-control processes. Several computer projects involving numerical solutions of models are required.
- EN 780 Nonlinear Correlation and System Identification
An investigation of tools to identify nonlinear processes and relationships. Mathematical tools covered include nonlinear regression, artificial neural networks, and multivariate polynomial regression. Applications include mass transfer correlations, prediction of drinking water quality, and modeling of wastewater treatment processes. Prerequisites: CE 679 or equivalent, and permission of instructor.
The remaining courses are electives, which are selected in consultation with the academic adviser. Electives may be concentrated in specific areas, such as:
Inland and Coastal Environmental Hydrodynamics
- CE 525 Engineering Hydrology
Principles of hydrology and their application to engineering projects, including the hydrologic cycle, measurement and interpretation of hydrologic variables, stochastic hydrology, flood routing and computer simulations in hydrology.
- OE 501 Oceanography
Geophysical description of the earth; the extent, shape. and structure of ocean basins; relief of the sea floor; chemistry of sea water; geochemical balances; physical properties of water and sea water; solar and terrestrial radiation; evaporation and precipitation over the oceans; dissolved gases in sea water; distribution of variables; and general oceanic circulation.
- OE 616 Sediment Transport
Theory of sediment transport in open channel flow, including applications to riverine, ocean, and coastal environments. Topics covered include boundary layer dynamics, the initiation of motion, sediment characteristics, suspended load, and bed load. Applications include the estimation of transport rates in waves and currents, and the influence of hydraulic structures.
Water Resources
- CE 535 Stormwater Management
This course will be of significant importance in urbanplanning and construction management. The management of stormwater must be addressed for any modern development/construction project. This course will focus on the development of the runoff hydrograph, the design of storm drains and detention ponds, watershed characteristics for the existing and developed areas and regulations by both state and federal agencies.
- CE 685 Advanced Hydraulics
Fundamentals of open channel flows; types of open channels and their properties; velocity distribution in open channels. Specific energy, momentum and specific force principles; critical flows; principles of uniform flow and its computation. Gradually varied flow; channel transitions and controls. Rapidly varied flow; hydraulic jump and energy dissipaters. Unsteady flows; waves and wave propagation; flood routing. Applications of numerical methods in hydraulic engineering.
Air Pollution Control
- EN 505 Environmental Engineering
An introduction to environmental engineering, including: environmental legislation; water usage and conservation; water chemistry including pH and alkalinity relationships, solubility and phase equilibria; environmental biology; fate and transport of contaminants in lakes, streams and groundwater; design and analysis of mechanical, physicochemical and biochemical water and wastewater treatment processes.
- EN 550 Environmental Chemistry of Atmospheric Processes
An introduction to the science underlying the description of atmospheric processes and air pollution control, including: composition of atmosphere; sources, transport, and fate of pollutants; chemical and photochemical reactions; properties of aerosols and effects of air pollution on climate and water; and adsorption, absorption, filtration, and chemical destruction pollutants in air pollution control systems.
- OE 591 Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology
Introduction to meteorology presents a cogent explanation of the fundamentals of atmospheric dynamics. The course begins with a discussion of the Earth's atmospheric system, including global circulation, climate, and the greenhouse effect. The basic conservation laws and the applications of the basic equations of motion are discussed in the context of synoptic scale meteorology. The thermodynamics of the atmosphere are derived based on the equation of state of the atmosphere, with specific emphasis on adiabatic and pseudo-adiabatic motions. The concept of atmospheric stability is presented, in terms of the moist and dry lapse rate. The influence of the planetary boundary layer on atmospheric motions is presented with emphasis on topographic and open ocean frictional effects, temperature discontinuity between land and sea, and the generation of sea breezes. The mesoscale dynamics of tornadoes and hurricanes are discussed, as well as the cyclogenesis of extratropical coastal storms. The course makes use of a multitude of web-based products, including interactive learning sites, weather forecasts from the National Weather Service (NWS), tropical predictions from the National Hurricane Center, and NWS model outputs (AVN, NGM, ETA, and WAM).
Environmental Sustainability
- EN 545 Environmental Impact Analysis and Planning
The impact of engineering projects on the physical, cultural, and socioeconomic environment, and preparation of environmental impact statements, regulatory framework, and compliance procedures. Topics include: major federal and state environmental regulations, environmental permitting processes, environmental impact analysis and assessment, risk assessment and risk management, and regulatory compliance.
- EN 547 Project Life Cycle Management
This course addresses the environmental management of engineering projects from the research through the development, operation, maintenance, and ultimate disposal phases. Topics include: impacts of exploitation of raw materials and energy resources and transportation; pollution from use and ultimate disposal of products; and economics of environmental resources.
- EN 548 Environmental Compatibility in Design and Manufacturing
The purpose of this course is to teach engineers how to incorporate environmental principles in the design and manufacturing of various products and engineering systems. Topics include: economics and cost-benefit analysis, pollution prevention, recycling, concurrent design, facility citing, risk perception, and case studies.
