Statement of Objectives

I am a M.Sc. student in environmental engineering discipline in the department of Civil, Construction

and Environmental Engineering at the North Carolina State University (NCSU). The motivation and
directions to pursue my graduate studies in environmental engineering are influenced by the
prevailing environmental conditions of my country. A developing country like Bangladesh is facing
enormous challenges to control environmental pollution due to widespread arsenic contamination of
ground water, untreated disposal of industrial effluent, soil water intrusion in coastal areas, crude open
dumping of solid waste in low lying areas and lack of sewerage and sanitation system in different
parts of the country. About 80% of diseases in Bangladesh are originated from the unclean and
polluted water. The situation in the urban areas is more alarming. In the capital city of Dhaka about
20000 m3 wastewater with high pollution load (including heavy metals) is discharged daily in the
main river Buriganga from different leather tanning, textile, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
About 3000 ton of solid waste is dumped in the poorly managed and designed landfills and about
2000 ton of solid waste is disposed daily in drains and canals. According to a World Bank report about
15-thousand deaths could be avoided and about 800 million dollars could be saved a year if air
pollution in four major cities was reduced to acceptable limits in Bangladesh. Lack of proper and low-
cost technologies as well as paucity of local experts in the field of environmental engineering have
influenced me to pursue knowledge in similar fields so that I can contribute to improve such situations
in future.

This predilection was further reinforced during my undergraduate studies in Bangladesh University of
Engineering and Technology (BUET). I found the best place to strengthen my knowledge as BUET is
deemed as the best academic institution in our country and only the best students are enrolled here
after an extremely rigorous screening process. During my studies I came across interesting courses on
groundwater pollution, aquifer properties, ground water flow, water treatments, microbiology of
sewerage and wastewater, primary and secondary treatments of industrial effluents, sludge treatment
and disposal techniques etc. Especially the courses CE 331 (Environmental Engineering I), CE 333
(Environmental Engineering II) and CE 332 (Environmental Engineering Sessional I) taught me about
different processes of environment and thus I was able to perceive the importance of a well-managed
environment. Therefore I was totally convinced to pursue my higher studies in environmental
engineering.

I have always maintained a balance between thorough study and in-depth understanding of the course
in hand. This approach has paid rich dividends in my academic career. Maintaining a CGPA of 3.77 I
was able to secure the 9th position among 204 graduating students in my undergraduate studies. For
such result the degree was awarded with Honours. I got highest grade in “Project and Thesis Work”
where I needed to develop computer models using programming knowledge. The research which was
executed under the guidance of my research supervisor taught me the ability to take an idea and
follow it while at the same time maintaining a balancing act involved in allocating time, money and
energy to a project. My supervisor influenced me with his tenacious approach to perform a task under
limited resource and time.

With such motivation and objective I started my career in teaching. My penchant for teaching and
research in Environmental Engineering was further fulfilled when I taught several courses on
Environmental Pollution and its Control (Water and Air pollution), Environment Development
Projects, Design of Water Treatment Plant and Design of Sewerage System etc in the Department of
Civil Engineering in the University of Asia Pacific. My research experience with my senior faculty
members of the department has raised my confidence about the methods and techniques for pursuing
further research in the field of environmental engineering. While teaching a course on Computer
Application in Civil Engineering, I got opportunity to use and teach different software related to civil
engineering which I believe are required for computer aided research projects. Before coming in
NCSU I was enrolled in Masters program in Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
(BUET) where I completed courses titled “Theory of Water Treatment” and “Environmental Impact
Assessment”.
With such knowledge and motivation I started my graduate studies in NCSU in Fall 2005. Now I am
doing my masters research in solid waste investigating ‘Potential of landfill bio-cover to oxidize methane
in different laboratory conditions’. Column experiments are being conducted in three phases with ‘aged
green waste’ which is used as a daily cover in landfills. In each phase eight columns are being operated to
test methane oxidation for different experimental variables such as pressure gradient, methane flow
regime and moisture infiltration. My work in developing this experimental system has given me
confidence about laboratory scale research. I have learnt minute details in experimental work are really
important in obtaining good result which can validate the theory. I believe the process through which I
went through to develop a plausible system to investigate the potential of landfill bio-cover is a
resourceful experience to apply to other fields. Erection of columns with proper details, compaction of
compost inside the columns, controlling the gas and air flow to the columns, gas collection and analysis
techniques have also taught me how a system has to be implemented from a preliminary design. The
opportunity also experienced me to work with sensitive laboratory equipment and taught me to keep a
“Check and Balance System” to interpret the experimental result.
My course work in this discipline also provided me wide-span of knowledge in different fields of
environmental engineering. It was helpful for me to decide which field I want to pursue for my doctoral
research. I have taken the following courses: ‘Chemical Principles of Environmental Engineering’,
‘Biological Principles of Environmental Engineering’, ‘Ground Water Hydraulics’, ‘Physical Principles
of Environmental Engineering’, ‘Engineering Principles of Solid Waste Management’, ‘Environmental
Bioprocess Technology’, ‘Modeling and Analysis of Environmental Systems’ and ‘Engineering Principles
of Air Pollution Control’. Three fundamental courses Chemical, Biological and Physical Principles of
Environmental Engineering together with other supporting courses and respective term papers have
helped me a lot to understand the relationship among soil, water and air. I will be also taking a course
"Performance Monitoring at Bioreactor Landfills" and also auditing a course "Environmental Behavior of
Organic Contaminants" in Spring 2007 which I believe will widen my knowledge in environmental
engineering.

Through such knowledge and experiences I selected few research areas for my Ph.D. studies and I want to
pursue my research in any of these areas in University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I believe my
background and motivation will support to work in the following areas. I am interested in working in the
field of contaminant transport and fate of contaminants in water and sediments, groundwater hydrology,
source-zone remediation technologies, solid and hazardous waste management and remediation, and
wastewater and drinking water treatment.
The input, transport and fate of organic and chemical contaminants in groundwater, soils and sediments
are of particular importance to me. In order to remediate contaminated subsurface systems, it is
imperative to first characterize the contaminant source zone. Under the direct supervision of teachers of
such background in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, the goal of my research program can be to develop practical and reliable methods of
characterizing contaminant source zones, and determining the fate of these source zones, in subsurface
systems. These data are fundamental prerequisites to the development of new and innovative remedial
strategies, as well as the successful implementation of existing remedial strategies. Successful restoration
of groundwater resources depends on our understanding of the fundamental processes governing the
movement of water and chemicals in the soil. Modeling is an essential part of the risk assessment process
and any remediation of the subsurface. I believe my mathematical and programming knowledge will help
me to work in subsequent simulation and modeling if required.

Landfill has been the key disposal route for most of our waste including contaminated materials for many
years as it was very cheap. As the space for landfill is running out a more holistic approach in which the
landfill is operated as a biological system to enhance waste decomposition is now being adopted. The
approach referred to as a bioreactor landfill, involves controlling the distribution of liquids and gases in
the landfill to accelerate waste decomposition and stabilization. My research work can be to develop
quantitative, field-validated, engineering methods to improve the design and operation of solid waste and
hazardous waste landfills. It might also include sustainable waste management practices implemented
through fundamental contribution to increased recycling and composting, and increasing the recovery of
value from waste. The remediation of subsurface formations contaminated by non-aqueous phase liquids
(NAPLs) is also a major impediment to the restoration of many hazardous waste sites. Identifying the
relationships between NAPL mass depletion, contaminant mass flux from the source zone, and dissolved
plume properties through bench-scale experiments and numerical models can be also interesting fields of
research to me.
Biological wastewater treatment is more advantageous in comparison to physico-chemical treatment
systems from the view point of cost effectiveness and also less objectionable sludge production. I am
interested in Biological Nitrogen and Enhanced Biological phosphorous removal, microbiological
community analysis, treatment of landfill leachate, bioremediation process and hybrid system consisting
of biological and physicochemical treatment processes. As the conventional water treatment processes are
not able to address adequately the removal of a wide spectrum of toxic chemicals and pathogenic
microorganisms in raw water, the application of membrane technology and advanced oxidation processes
is important to ensure increasingly stringent regulations related to the drinking water quality. A membrane
hybrid process combined with other physicochemical processes such as ozonation, reverse osmosis
activated carbon adsorption, coagulation etc. is also very attractive to me as a research topic.

I wish that my research will combine both field work and controlled laboratory experiments in the well-
established infrastructure of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I believe the faculty members in
the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the university have in-depth knowledge and
experience in my intended fields of interests. The rich course contents and research facilities in the field
of Civil and Environmental Engineering encourage me to apply for my graduate studies in University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Up to now, I have always enrolled in the best institutions of my country
and I want to pursue my future studies in one of the best institutions of the world.

I think I would be able to render my services to the humankind most efficiently as a potential researcher
and an innovative engineer. After completing Ph.D., I wish to work as a research and teaching faculty in
universities as my future profession either here in USA or in Bangladesh. As a faculty member my
intention is to disseminate the knowledge of my degree to my students to make this world a better place
to live. I also want to invent new, effective and low-cost technologies with the knowledge in my research
area. I believe my research will of value to the people of my country and to the people of the world.