Minor in Environmental Engineering and Sustainability

Concern for the environment now influences a wide range of public, private and engineering decisions. Environmental Engineering is widely recognized as a discipline at the graduate and professional level, and undergraduate training in environmental issues and processes can provide the preparation necessary to pursue this career path, or serve as a useful complement to a career in any of the traditional areas of engineering. Sustainability issues are now considered critical across engineering disciplines. Effective preparation requires broad knowledge and skills in the areas of environmental engineering, sustainability, and environmental policy.


Director
Jeanne VanBriesen


Faculty Advisors
The Environmental Engineering and Sustainability Program is a focus for faculty members from diverse engineering backgrounds.  The faculty are actively engaged in teaching and conducting research in this field.  Current faculty advisors are:

Biomedical Engineering:  Robert Tilton
Chemical Engineering: Neil Donahue
Civil and Environmental Engineering:  Jeanne VanBriesen
Electrical and Computer Engineering: Marija Ilic
Engineering and Public Policy:  Mark Kieler and Edward Rubin
Mechanical Engineering:  Allen Robinson
Materials Science and Engineering:  Paul Salvador and Robert Heard


Course Requirements
The requirements include two core courses, three technical electives and two policy electives.

A1. Core Courses in Sustainability (12 units).
Select one set of two mini courses from:

19-622 (co-listed as 12-712)    Sustainability
19-623 (co-listed as 12-713)    Industrial Ecology
OR
19-614 (co-listed as 12-714)    Life Cycle Assessment
19-616 (co-listed as 12-715)    Case Studies in Sustainability


A2.  Core Courses in Environmental Engineering (9 units).
Select one NOT in your home major department from:

12-351        Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering
24-424 (co-listed as 19-424)    Energy and the Environment
12-651        Air Quality Engineering
24-425        Combustion and Air Pollution Control
12-702        Fundamentals of Water Quality Engineering
06-620        Global Atmospheric Chemistry: Fundamentals and Data Analysis
                   Methods
 

B. Technical Electives in Environmental Engineering and Sustainability (27 units):
Select three from the following list:

03-121        Modern Biology 
09-106        Modern Chemistry II
09-510        Introduction to Green Chemistry
06-620        Global Atmospheric Chemistry
12-351        Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering
12-651        Air Quality Engineering
12-702        Fundamentals of Water Quality Engineering (new course proposed by
                   CEE for Fall 2008)
12-657        Water Resources Engineering
12-658        Hydraulic Structures Design
24-424        Energy and the Environment
24-425        Combustion and Air Pollution Control
19-622        Sustainability (6 units; must be combined with additional 3 units; also
                   listed as12-712)
19-623        Industrial Ecology (6 units; must be combined with additional 3 units;
                   also listed as 12-713)
19-614        Life Cycle Assessment (6 units; must be combined with additional 3
                   units; also listed as 12-714)
19-616        Case Studies in Sustainability (6 units; must be combined with
                   additional 3 units; also listed as 12-715)
19-650        Climate and Energy: Science, Economics, and Public Policy
27-322        Processing of Metals (or 27-323 Powder Processing of Materials: but
                   not both)
27-323        Powder Processing of Materials (or 27-322 Processing of Metals: but
                   not both)
27-421        Processing Design (6 units; must be combined with three additional
                   units)
27-367        Selection and Performance of Materials (6 units; must be combined
                   with three additional units)
27-594        Electrochemical Processes in Materials
42-621        Biotechnology and Environmental Processes (also listed as 06-621)
48-315        Environment I: Climate and Energy
48-415        Advanced Building
48-596        LEED Building and Green Design Concepts
48-569        GIS/ CAFM (also listed as 90-784)
48-572        Zero Energy Housing


C. Policy Electives (18 units)
Select two from the following list of humanities/social science oriented courses:

12-608        Implications of Engineering in Global Society
19-448        Science, Technology and Ethics
19-626        Climate Science and Policy
48-567        Sustainable Design and Development
48-576        Mapping Urbanism
66-210        Science, Technology and the Environment
73-248        Environmental Economics
73-357        Regulation: Theory and Policy
73-358        Economics of the Environment and Natural Resources
73-359        Benefit-Cost Analysis
76-319        Environmental Rhetoric
79-111        Cultural Perspectives on the Environment   
79-300        Pittsburgh and the Transformation of Modern Urban America (6 unit mini)
79-263        From Soil to Oil:  Energy, Ecology, and Globalization
79-***        The Role of the Environment in the Collapse of Ancient Societies
79-383        Epidemic Disease and Public Health
79-***        Environmental Policy and Development in the Tropical World
79-374        American Environmental History: Critical Issues
79-***        Environmental History and Politics Since Silent Spring (also listed
                   as 88-346)
79-***        American Built Environment Since 1860
79-***        Disaster! Fires, Plagues, Hurricanes and Floods in American History
79-***        Disastrous Encounters: Technology and the Environment in Global
                   Historical Context
80-242        Conflict and Dispute Resolution
80-244        Environmental Management and Ethics
88-220        Policy Analysis I
88-221        Policy Analysis II

88-223        Decision Analysis and Decision Support Systems
80-340        Environmental Ethics and Decision Processes

99-522        Corporations and Environmental Responsibility

90-747        Cost-Benefit Analysis

90-758        Ethics and Public Policy in a Global Society

90-762        Perspectives on the City and the Environment

90-765        Cities, Technology and the Environment
90-789        Sustainable Community Development
90-798        Environmental Policy and Regulation
90-851        Environmental Policy
90-859        Environmental Conflict Resolution

NOTES:

1. The 48-xxx courses may not be acceptable as technical electives by some CIT engineering departments.  (At most one of these courses can be used as a Type B course and one as a Type C course.)
2. Course 12-351 Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering can be counted toward completion of the environmental engineering and sustainability course requirements for non-CEE students only.
3. Courses cannot be double-counted for lists A and B. 
4. Courses used to fulfill the basic science requirement for CIT cannot be double counted for list B requirements.  Courses required within a student’s CIT major can be double counted for list B requirements.
5. Students may take up to two list B courses in their home department. One list B course must be from outside their home department.  EPP double majors should NOT consider EPP their home department.
6. Other humanities and social science courses with similar or related content may be substituted for Type C courses with permission of the student’s departmental advisor and the Director.
7. A group of three environmental policy courses MAY be counted as fulfilling the H&SS depth requirement required of all CIT students.
8. A list of relevant courses for Type B and C in each semester is provided at the Environmental Engineering and Sustainability Minor web site.