Environmental Engineering
With only one world to live in, environmental engineers are helping make sure we handle it with care. The skills of environmental engineers are
becoming increasingly important as we attempt to protect the fragile resources of our planet. Students in Environmental Engineering will have the
opportunity to apply science and engineering principles to improve the environment, water, air and land.
In Civil Engineering you can prepare for a great future with an environmental engineering career that offers a remarkable opportunity to positively affect the quality of life in our communities, our country, and our planet. Check out the Environmental Engineering area and join in on the excitement! You will have opportunities for research and education in a wide range of issues, including remediation of contaminated soils and sediments, industrial and solid waste treatment, water and wastewater treatment, air pollution measurement and control, urban and agricultural air and water quality management, understanding the environmental fate of pollutants, and sustainable engineering. Other options are also available through the
Division of Environmental and Ecological Engineering.
Our Environmental Engineering faculty have leadership roles and participate in numerous national and campus centers and institutes. We offer flexible academic options and research opportunities in our top
environmental facilities for undergraduate students, as well as MS and PhD graduate degree programs. The Purdue Air & Waste Management Association also offers opportunities for student involvement in the advancement of environmental knowledge.
Spotlights
February 12, 2014
Congratulations to Prof. Chip Blatchley on being elected a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineering.
October 24, 2013
Ernest "Chip" R. Blatchley III, professor of civil engineering and environmental and ecological engineering, and other researchers are working to provide safe water supplies for millions of people by using ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun to purify water.
April 25, 2013
Congratulations to Larry Nies on receiving the 2013 Dean Marion B. Scott Outstanding Professor Award, presented by the Purdue chapter of Tau Beta Pi.
March 18, 2013
Prof. Larry Nies has been teaching students about the importance of sustainability for more than a decade. Though the significance of enduring, productive systems is typically discussed in an engineering context in his classes, sustainability and productivity also characterize the instructional technology Nies has incorporated into coursework in recent semesters, notably his use of instructor- and student-produced online video.
March 8, 2013
Prof. Chip Blatchley is working with a team built across several of Purdue's disciplines to create lasting solutions for clean water in developing countries.
January 22, 2013
Prof. Chad Jafvert was awarded "Honorary Guest Professor" at Southeast University in Nanjing, China on January 9, 2013.
November 21, 2012
The School of Civil Engineering dedicated a new green roof laboratory on Oct. 12 as part of the University's Homecoming and the school's 125th anniversary celebration.
January 27, 2012
Prof. Larry Nies is one of 27 instructors at Purdue participating in the IMPACT program (Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation) in an effort to improve rates of course completion and retention in foundational courses.
November 9, 2011
A team of Purdue University researchers has invented a prototype water-disinfection system that could help the world's 800 million people who lack safe drinking water.
November 1, 2011
Prof. Chad Jafvert was the first recipient of the inaugural Richard L. Valentine Distinguished Award and Lecture, held Friday, Oct. 28th at the University of Iowa.
June 27, 2011
Purdue University students are improving the quality of drinking water for rural Colombians through the university's Global Engineering Program in a project sponsored by Kimberly-Clark Corp.
April 5, 2011
Dr. Kathy Banks has been awarded the 2011 ASCE Margaret Petersen Outstanding Woman of the Year Award. This award is presented annually to a female member of ASCE who has demonstrated exemplary service to the water resources and environmental community.
November 5, 2010
Dr. Martin Doyle of the Univ. of North Carolina will present two lectures: "America's Rivers & the American Experiment" on Mon 11/15, and "Bringing Ecosystem Services to the Market" on Tues 11/16.
February 15, 2010
The 2010 Rudolph Hering Medal has been awarded to Kathy Banks, Sybil Sharvelle, Mazdak Arabi, and Eric McLamore for the paper "Model Development for Biotrickling Filter Treatment of Graywater Simulant and Waste Gas: I."
February 9, 2007
Civil and mechanical engineering undergraduates are teaming with students from University Puerto Rico Mayagüez to develop a new water system for a rural community in Puerto Rico.
February 9, 2007
On January 24, 2007 U.S. Senator Dick Lugar welcomed the collaboration of Purdue University, Clinton County, the city of Frankfort, Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), and Indiana Clean Energy LLC (ICE) to produce methane for conversion to electricity. Senator Lugar's announcement praised the contribution to helping achieve energy independence and economic development. Professor Ron F. Turco, Agronomy, and Professor Loring F. Nies, Civil Engineering, are part of the Purdue team assisting in this project.
August 2, 2006
Sybil Sharvelle, environmental graduate student, received the Greeley and Hansen Elmer F. Ballotti Memorial Fellowship and the Association of University Women Dissertation Fellowship.