Program Will Prepare Students for Jobs that Address Some of the World’s Most Pressing Problems
09/01/2018
By Karen Angelo
First-year engineering student Adriyanna Albert is passionate about preserving natural resources and wants a career where she can make a difference in protecting the environment. That’s why she enrolled in the Francis College of Engineering’s new bachelor of science in environmental engineering program.
“Due to my love of the environment, I decided that I wanted a major and a career that was meaningful,” says Albert, a 2018 Lowell High School graduate who was among the first group of students to begin the program when it launched in September. The program will prepare students like Albert for jobs in which they’ll address some of the world’s most pressing problems, from protecting water and air quality to figuring out how to remediate hazardous waste sites.
The program, the first and only public undergraduate degree program of its kind in the state, is taught by faculty who are topnotch researchers in their fields.
“Undergraduate students have opportunities to participate in cutting-edge research alongside graduate students and faculty members,” says Prof. Pradeep Kurup, chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, whose own research expertise includes intelligent sensing of organic and inorganic contaminants in soil, water and air.
Prof. Clifford Bruell, senior director of the Environmental Engineering B.S. program, led the effort to develop the new degree.
“By applying engineering principles, soil science, biology and chemistry to protect water, soil and air, environmental engineers develop solutions that make an impact on people’s lives,” Bruell says. “When clean water is flowing, we all take it for granted, but when something goes wrong, most likely the person who will fix the problem is an environmental engineer.”
Working with Bruell and Kurup on the proposal was Prof. Xiaoqi (Jackie) Zhang and Asst. Prof. Sheree Pagsuyoin.
Bruell says job opportunities in environmental engineering are on the rise due to population growth around the world, particularly in areas where people are living with limited resources. In the United States, environmental engineering jobs are expected to grow 8 percent between 2016 and 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Private companies, municipalities and government organizations need environmental engineers to solve complex problems related to water treatment, waste disposal and air pollution prevention to improve public health,” Bruell says. “They also solve environmental challenges related to climate change.”
For Albert, the degree will help prepare her to address those challenges.
“This career path is important to me because I understand that we’re harming the earth,” she says. “There are countries that lack clean water and even areas of our own country that have been introduced to varied types of pollutants. Everyone needs clean water and land to survive; therefore, my job will always be needed.”
In addition to foundation courses in writing, math and sciences, the program will include classes in energy and sustainability; groundwater hydrogeology and remediation; biological processes in environmental engineering; air quality; and solid waste engineering. During their final semester, seniors will complete an in-depth capstone design project that solves an environmental problem.
Examples of possible projects include teams of students producing a conceptual design of the components in a biological wastewater treatment plant or designing a groundwater remediation system to clean an aquifer contaminated by a leaking underground storage tank.
Students in the program will gain professional experience through the university’s longstanding partnerships with numerous national and local environmental engineering firms.
Students are expected to find internships, co-op placements and job opportunities with Massachusetts environmental firms such as CDM Smith, Weston & Sampson, Woodard & Curran, Tighe & Bond, Kleinfelder, Stantec and GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc. and others. Possible public sector employers in the area include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 1, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.