Civil & Environmental Engr: Environmental Systems

Systems thinking and the systems approach as applied to environmental systems; sustainability, mass and energy balances, kinetics, ecosystem health and the public welfare, environmental risk, green engineering, water and wastewater treatment, air resources engineering, solid-waste management. Prerequisites: CHEM 1400; MATH 1212 or MATH 1234.

Prereqs enforced by the system: CHEM 1400, MATH 1212 or 1234 Open to Degree and PACE students

This course covers the fundamental science and engineering principles as applicable to environmental systems. Topics include: environmental systems and sustainability, systems thinking, mass and energy balances, water chemistry, risk assessment, water resources, water & wastewater engineering, waste management, and air quality engineering. Prerequisites: CHEM 031; MATH 019 or MATH 021.

At the completion of this course students will be able to: 1. Describe and discuss contemporary environmental engineering and science issues in quantitative terms recognizing the multiple dimensions and complexity of environmental systems; 2. Apply material and energy balance concepts to engineered and natural systems and evaluate their sustainability using an evidence-based approach. 3. Apply the principles of chemical equilibria, reaction kinetics, and fate and transport phenomena related to environmental systems to solve engineering problems; 4. Apply probability and risk concepts to water and air quality engineering, waste management, pollution prevention and sustainability assessment; 5. Evaluate energy conservation measures in water and wastewater treatment systems design; 6. Analyze and interpret data obtained from textbook case studies to evaluate the design and operation of water and wastewater unit operations; 7. Recognize how sustainability impacts their own lives and how their actions impact system sustainability. 8. Understand the non-technical factors that affect environmental management decisions to explain sustainability in the context of ecological, economic and societal perspectives. 9. Think critically about sustainability across a diversity of cultural values and multiple scales of relevance (local to global).

Homework: 10% Active Learning Participation: 20% Viewpoint paper: 15% Quizzes/Exams: 40% Final project: 15%