Environmental Engineering (EVEN) : ABET Definition of Engineering

Environmental
Engineering (EVEN)
What is EVEN?
What can you do as an
Environmental Engineer?
• “Engineers solve ill-defined problems

that have no single “right” answer but
many better or worse solutions….”
– Engineering and the Mind’s Eye, Ferguson
ABET Definition of Engineering:

• Engineering is the profession in which
knowledge of math and sciences,
• gained by study, experience, and practice,
• is applied with judgment to develop ways to
economically utilize the materials and forces
of nature to benefit mankind
Profession = knowledge, organization, public good
1
What new engineers need to
know? (industry surveys)
Skills Ranks % important
Communication 1 / 1 89
Teamwork 3/4 94
Ethics 2 85
Creative 3 85
thinking
Design 7/2 88
Fundamentals 5 73
Also: business skills (3), computing (5)
What is Environ. Engineering?

• Deals with study and design of facilities that fulfill
basic needs (air, water) while ensuring that the
quality of the natural environment is not degraded
• Sub-areas
– WATER
• Water supply
• Drinking Water Treatment
• Sanitation (sewers, wastewater treatment)
– Air pollution
– Solid Waste Management
– Industrial Waste Management
– Site Remediation
– Ecological Effects
– Public Health
2
Sectors where Env Engrs Work
• Federal, state, local government ~28%
– Environmental Protection Agency
– CO Dept of Public Health and the Environment
– Municipality (Denver Metro)
• Consulting firms ~33%
– From international to single office
• Industry ~27%
– Oil companies, manufacturing, etc.
• Private business / self employed
• Non-profit organizations (NGOs), Peace
Corps, social service abroad
Job market HOT for Env Eng

• fastest growing professional job over the next 10
years with a projected demand increase of 54%, the
largest of any job (Fortune Magazine, Mar 21, 2005)
• US Department of Labor: favorable job
opportunities, with employment expected to increase
FASTER THAN AVERAGE through 2014.
– More environmental engineers needed to comply with
environmental regulations and to develop methods of
cleaning up existing hazards.
– A shift in emphasis toward preventing problems rather than
controlling those that already exist, as well as increasing
public health concerns, also will spur demand.
– Employment less affected by economic conditions than that
of most other types of engineers
• Listed in Fast Company Top 25 Jobs 2005 – 2009;
www.fastcompany.com/articles/2005/01/top-jobs-main.html
3
Overview
• What is safe?
– Pathogens and disease-causing bacteria...
– Chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects...
– Human safety vs fish, frogs, birds, etc.
• Balancing different needs
– Drinking water vs Irrigation vs Ecosystem
– Water rights (Colorado River for US vs Mexico)
EVEN vs Civil & Chemical Eng?

• Historically, civil engineers handled “sanitary”
engineering
– Public infrastructure for drinking water, wastewater, solid
waste
• 1970 EPA formed; environmental regulation era
begins
– Industries have to comply with env. regulations such as
RCRA, etc. so chemical engrs already employed at those
companies take on those jobs
– Combustion power plants designed by mechanical
engineers must add air pollution control equipment
• ~2000: Environmental has enough demand and
specialized enough needs to become its own
“licensed” professional engineering discipline
4
Water Resources
• Supply enough water for
public use & ecological needs
– determine water sources
(surface, ground)
– transmit and collect water
through pipes, ditches, culverts
• Predict flood and drought
conditions
– operate dams to ensure
capacity for droughts and floods
– design run-off structures (storm
sewers) and detention basins
• Model watershed effects
Drinking Water Treatment

• Collect ground water or
surface water
• Remove pathogenic
microorganisms,
pesticides, metals
(arsenic), etc. from water
• Distribute to public…
without allowing
recontamination
5
Municipal Wastewater
Treatment
• Sewer design (sanitary + storm
water)
• Remove organics, nutrients (N, P),
pathogens from water
– biological processes
– physical/chemical processes
– chlorine, UV light, ...
• Treat sludge (biosolids)
– make compost, etc.
Sanitation
• Decentralized, local treatment
6
Air Pollution
• Industry: coal-fired power
plants, etc.
– Treatment before release to
environment
• Indoor air pollution
– Sources, treatment
(hospitals, airplanes)
• Global impacts
Solid Waste
• Waste: quantities,
properties
• Avoiding waste
– Industrial processes
– Green design
– Life cycle assessment
• Waste collection
• Waste reprocessing
7
Landfills
• Understand the
properties of soils &
waste
– Stability,
mechanical
properties, ...
• Work with
geotechnical (civil)
engineers,
groundwater
hydrologists, etc.
Waste tires fuel
power plant in
Westley, CA
Site Remediation
• Locations
contaminated by
previous activities
• Evaluate soil, water,
air pollution; local
ecology, etc
Pollution in under-
ground river, KY
(dye added to
track water flow)
8
Site Remediation
• Design methods to clean-up site so it is safe
for humans & the environment
Baku, Azerbaijan
Run-off from oil rigs
contaminate the
water
• Most major engineering projects today are

multi-disciplinary so you will work with other
engineers and non-engineers
– Wastewater tmt plant = environmental, structural,
electrical, mechanical, ….
– Site remediation = hydrologist, geologist, chemist,
environmental, construction,...
• Government regulations, public input
9
What can you DO as an
environmental engineer?
• Design a water treatment plant,
landfill, etc.
• Talk with the public, clients, etc. to
determine their needs
• Field work - collect samples,
measure water quality,….
• Work with a TEAM to complete
complex tasks
…what else can you DO?

• Write technical reports, expert
opinions, etc.
• Work with computer-aided
design programs
• Travel to job sites
• Have meetings with clients,
etc.
• Give oral presentations to
public, answer questions, ….
• Do research in a laboratory
10
Helping protect public health and the
environmental is the KEY goal.
Find what fits your personality the best!
Many Environmental Engineers will do all of

the previously listed tasks over a career….
Environmental Engineering at
CU
• Multi-disciplinary
• Faculty in 4 departments
– Civil, Environmental, & Architectural Engineering
(CEAE Dept; Civil Eng degree = CVEN)
• Water resources, water treatment, sanitation, waste
management, remediation
– Mechanical Engineering (MCEN) air pollution
– Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE)
• Industrial waste treatment
– Aerospace Engineering - remote sensing, GIS
• Courses combined from many disciplines
• Combined BS EVEN/MS CVEN possible
11
After you graduate:
• Life long learning!
– Improvements in technology
– Changes in regulations
• Becoming a registered Professional
Engineer (PE) is important
There is always a need for

Environmental Engineers
• We always need clean water to drink
• We always have wastes to treat and dispose
• We always need clean air to breathe
• …we always want cheaper and better ways to

improve all of the above….
….job security!
12
• “ultimately, what most satisfies
engineers is complex, technical
problem-solving and the
opportunity to work with stimulating
colleagues and to make a
meaningful contribution to society”
– The Civilized Engineer, S.C. Florman
For more information:

http://www.colorado.edu/engineering/EnvEng/
13

Environmental Engineering (EVEN) : ABET Definition of Engineering

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Environmental Engineering (EVEN) : ABET Definition of Engineering

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Environmental

• “Engineers solve ill-defined problems

ABET Definition of Engineering:

What is Environ. Engineering?

Job market HOT for Env Eng

EVEN vs Civil & Chemical Eng?

Drinking Water Treatment

• Most major engineering projects today are

…what else can you DO?

Find what fits your personality the best!

Many Environmental Engineers will do all of

There is always a need for

• …we always want cheaper and better ways to

For more information:

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