2009-10 University Catalog
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Environmental Engineering
Environmental engineers play a vital role in maintaining the quality of both human environmental systems and the natural environment. Environmental engineering encompasses the scientific assessment and development of engineering solutions to environmental problems impacting the biosphere, land, water, and air quality. Environmental issues affect almost all commercial and industrial sectors, and are a central concern for the public, for all levels of government, and in international relations. These issues include safe drinking water, wastewater processing, solid and hazardous waste disposal, outdoor air pollution, indoor air pollution and transfer of infectious diseases, human health and ecological risk management, prevention of pollution through product or process design, and renewable and sustainable energy sources.
To address these challenges, environmental engineers often encounter challenging problems that must be solved in data-poor situations as members of multidisciplinary teams. Environmental problems require creative solutions blended with contributions from scientists, lawyers, business people, and the public. Good communication skills, as well as technical proficiency, are essential for success in this arena. In addition, technology designed to address environmental problems is marketed globally, opening up increasing opportunities for international work in the environmental engineering field.
The bachelor of science degree in environmental engineering (EVEN) at the University of Colorado provides preparation for professional proficiency or graduate training in environmental engineering in a four-year curriculum. The curriculum includes courses in engineering fundamentals and applications, advanced mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, geology, and the arts and humanities.
Courses specific to environmental engineering practice include water chemistry, microbiology, and air pollution control. In addition, environmental engineering requires hands-on laboratory experiences, up-to-date skills in the use of computers for modeling and data analysis, and experience in the design of environmental engineering systems. Many of the required engineering courses in the bachelor of science curriculum are culled from aerospace engineering sciences; chemical and biological engineering; civil, environmental, and architectural engineering; and mechanical engineering.
The curriculum also includes three option courses and four technical elective courses. The option courses represent an area of specialization in environmental engineering selected by the student beginning in the junior year. The curriculum includes six sets of options:
- Air Quality
- Applied Ecology
- Chemical Processing
- Energy
- Environmental Site Characterization and Remediation
- Water Resources and Treatment
In addition to these prescribed options, students may also formulate their own sequence of option courses (referred to as a "special option") representing an area of specialization not included in six sets of option courses listed above. This selection must be done by petition to the Environmental Engineering Program.
Students in the program are also encouraged to participate in research through independent study projects, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), or as undergraduate research assistants in sponsored research programs. Technical elective courses may include a broad range of science and engineering courses.
The educational objective of the environmental engineering bachelor of science degree is to produce students who reach the following achievements three to five years after graduation:
1. EVEN graduates have become established in professional careers and earned advanced degrees.
2. EVEN graduates have applied multidisciplinary approaches to manage the unique challenges and balance the competing social, political, economic, and technical goals of environmental problems and solutions.
3. EVEN graduates have served the needs of our society and protected the future of our planet in an ethical manner.
The EVEN faculty, its Professional Advisory Board (representing prospective employers of its graduates), and EVEN alumni and current students have contributed to the creation of the program's mission and the educational objectives of the EVEN BS degree.
The mission of the Environmental Engineering Program is to provide a multidisciplinary undergraduate environmental engineering education that emphasizes mastery of principles and practices, inspires service for the global public good, endows a desire for lifelong learning, and prepares students for broad and dynamic career paths in environmental engineering.
Curriculum for the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering +
| Required Courses | Semester Hours |
| Freshman Year | |
| Fall Semester | |
| APPM 1350 Calculus 1 for Engineers | 4 |
| CHEM 1211 General Chemistry for Engineers | 3 |
| CHEN 1221 General Chemistry Laboratory | 2 |
| EVEN 1000 Introduction to Environmental Engineering (Note 4) | 1 |
| GEEN 1300 Introduction to Engineering Computing (Note 4) | 3 |
| Humanities and social science elective (Note 1) | 3 |
| Spring Semester | |
| APPM 1360 Calculus 2 for Engineers | 4 |
| GEEN 1400 Engineering Projects | 3 |
| PHYS 1110 General Physics 1 | 4 |
| Humanities and social science elective (Note 1) | 3 |
| Technical elective (Note 2) | 3 |
| Sophomore Year | |
| Fall Semester | |
| APPM 2350 Calculus 3 for Engineers | 4 |
| CVEN 3414 Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering (Note 4) | 3 |
| PHYS 1120 General Physics 2 | 4 |
| PHYS 1140 Experimental Physics 1 | 1 |
| Humanities and social science elective (Note 1) | 3 |
| Spring Semester | |
| APPM 2360 Introduction to Differential Equations with Linear Algebra | 4 |
| CHEM 4521 Physical Chemistry for Engineers (Note 4) | 3 |
| CHEN 2120 Material and Energy Balances | 3 |
| Solid mechanics: CVEN 2121 Analytic Mechanics, GEEN 3851 Statics for Engineers, or MCEN 2023 Statics and Structures | 3 |
| Humanities and social science elective (Note 1) | 3 |
| Junior Year | |
| Fall Semester | |
| CVEN 3454 Water Chemistry (Note 4) | 4 |
| Engineering economics: CVEN 4147 Engineering Economy and System Design, EMEN 4100 Business Methods and Economics for Engineers,or EVEN 4830 Technoeconomic Analysis for Environmental Engineering. | 3 |
| Fluid mechanics: CHEN 3200 Chemical Engineering Fluid Mechanics, CVEN 3313 Theoretical Fluid Mechanics, GEEN 3853 Fluid Mechanics for Engineers, or MCEN 3021 Fluid Mechanics | 3 |
| Thermodynamics: AREN 2110 Thermodynamics, CHEN 3320 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics, GEEN 3852 Thermodynamics for Engineers, or MCEN 3012 Thermodynamics | 3 |
| Required communication course: WRTG 3030 Writing on Science and Society, WRTG 3035 Technical Communication and Design, GEEN 3000 Professional Communication for Engineers, HUEN 3100 Humanities for Engineers, or PHYS 3050 Writing in Physics | 3 |
| Spring Semester | |
| CVEN 4424 Environmental Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| Heat transfer: CHEN 3210 Chemical Engineering Heat Transfer or MCEN 3022 Heat Transfer | 3 |
| CVEN 4484 Introduction to Environmental Microbiology (Note 4) | 3 |
| MCEN 4121 Air Pollution Control (Note 4) | 3 |
| Probability and statistics: APPM 4570 Statistical Methods, CHEN 3010 Applied Data Analysis, or CVEN 3227 Probability, Statistics, and Decision | 3 |
| Senior Year | |
| Fall Semester | |
| CVEN 4444 Environmental Engineering Processes (Note 4) | 3 |
| Humanities and social science elective (Note 1) | 3 |
| Option course I (Note 3) | 3 |
| Option course II (Note 3) | 3 |
| Technical elective II (Note 2) | 3 |
| Technical elective III (Note 2) or Senior Thesis (Note 5) | 3 |
| Spring Semester | |
| CVEN 4333 Engineering Hydrology (Note 4) | 3 |
| CVEN 4434 Environmental Engineering Design (Note 4) | 3 |
| Air or earth science laboratory or field course | 3 |
| Option course III (Note 3) | 3 |
| Technical elective (Note 2)/Senior Thesis (Note 5) | 3 |
| Minimum total semester hours | 128 |
Curriculum Notes
1. A total of 18 credit hours of humanities and social sciences electives is required. At least 9 hours must be at the upper-division (3000 or 4000) level, including the required communication course.
2. A total of 12 credit hours of technical electives is required. Three technical elective credits may be lower-division (1000-2000-level). Three technical elective credits must be in the earth sciences, either lower or upper division. Remaining technical elective credits must be upper division in engineering, mathematics, or sciences. An independent study (EVEN 4840) may be completed as technical electives for up to 6 credits.
3. A list of courses for the Air Quality, Applied Ecology, Chemical Processing, Energy, Environmental Remediation, and Water and Wastewater Options is available in the program office.
4. Only offered in the semester shown (not including summer offerings).
5. A senior thesis may be completed with faculty approval if senior year technical electives are taken as independent studies on a single research topic.
