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 29, 2024

Team "Carbonbusters" named EnergyTech UP Central Regional Finalists

An interdisciplinary team of Purdue engineering students, led by associate professor Zhi (George) Zhou, is one of the top 15 teams among 225 teams in the country selected as finalists in the EnergyTech University Prize 2024 competition. These teams have been awarded $3,000 for their business plans and will advance to compete in the National Pitch Event this April at the Energy Thought Summit in Austin, Texas.
November 14, 2023

When wildfires strike, Andrew Whelton goes into action

Purdue engineering professor Andrew Whelton is driven to help people, and has found an opportunity to do so through disaster response. In this short film from its series "The Climate and Us," BBC StoryWorks features Whelton's efforts to help citizens in Louisville and Superior, Colorado, in the wake of the Marshall Fire.
September 22, 2023

Ernest (Chip) Blatchley named President-Elect of IUVA

Ernest (Chip) Blatchley, Lee A. Rieth Professor in Environmental Engineering and Professor in Environmental and Ecological Engineering, has started a 2-year term as President-Elect of the International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA). This will be followed by a 2-year term as President.
July 25, 2023

Inez Hua inducted into Purdue's Book of Great Teachers

Inez Hua, Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental and Ecological Engineering, has been selected for induction into Purdue University's Book of Great Teachers. The Book of Great Teachers was dedicated in 1999 and currently holds the names of 428 distinguished faculty.
June 28, 2023

How wildfires contaminate drinking water

Andrew Whelton, a Purdue professor of civil engineering and environmental and ecological engineering, has traveled numerous times to the sites of wildfires, where he and his students collect water samples to help guide a community on the best way to restore its water systems.
June 23, 2023

Ernest (Chip) Blatchley receives funding from Air Force, DOE for next-generation PPE research

Ernest (Chip) Blatchley, Lee A. Rieth Professor in Environmental Engineering and Professor in Environmental and Ecological Engineering, has received funding from the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Department of Energy as part of a collaboration to develop next-generation personal protective equipment (PPE) that will provide protection against airborne pathogens.
June 16, 2023

Catastrophe in East Palestine

In this Bloomberg documentary on the environmental crisis following the train derailment and fire in East Palestine, Ohio, Andrew Whelton, Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental and Ecological Engineering, shares the experiences of his response team in their effort to assist local residents affected by the disaster.
March 1, 2023

Purdue researchers return from East Palestine after derailment

A Purdue CE research team is back in town after a trip to the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment. The team, led by CE/EEE Professor Andrew Whelton and several students, collected water samples from creeks and homes in East Palestine, Ohio, where a train derailed and spilled hazardous materials like vinyl chloride.
January 25, 2023

Study: How to apply lessons from Colorado's costliest wildfire to drinking water systems

At the request of two Colorado cities shortly following the Marshall Fire, Purdue University researchers led by Andrew Whelton provided onsite technical assistance and studied the scientific and policy needs specific to drinking water systems' resilience to wildfires. The goal was to better understand the decisions, resources, expertise and response limitations during and after the wildfire.
November 28, 2022

New book on photochemical reactors authored by Blatchley

A new book authored by Ernest Blatchley, Lee A. Rieth Professor in Environmental Engineering and Professor in Environmental and Ecological Engineering, provides comprehensive coverage of photochemical reactors and will be used as the text for a class to be taught in the spring.
November 17, 2022

Wildfire aftermath: Contaminated drinking water

Andrew J. Whelton, professor of civil engineering and environmental and ecological engineering, helps guide communities on how to rapidly find contamination, communicate warnings and inform strategies for returning damaged systems to safe use.
August 12, 2022

Wildfire, Water Systems & Public Health: Lessons from Recent Western Wildfires

In this webinar, Andrew Whelton, Professor of Civil, Environmental, and Ecological Engineering and Director of the Purdue Center for Plumbing Safety, joins a panel of experienced professionals who have helped communities throughout the West and Southwest US inspect, test and help guide the decontamination of water systems affected by wildfire events.
June 21, 2022

Chad Jafvert elected AEESP Fellow

Chad Jafvert, Lyles Family Professor of Civil Engineering and Professor of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, has been elected as a Fellow of the Association of Environmental Engineering & Science Professors (AEESP). The honor recognizes members who have exhibited exceptional long-term excellence in environmental research, teaching, or service to the environmental engineering and science community.
May 24, 2022

David Yu receives NSF CAREER Award for flood resilience research

David Yu, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, has received an Early CAREER Development Award of $546,668 from the National Science Foundation to fund research into the enormous complexity associated with how the connections among flood disturbances, flood protection infrastructure designs, decisions of diverse actors, forms of information transmission, and underlying social attributes interweave to shape people's awareness of flood risks and community resilience.
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