Spring 2023, 3 credits
Instructor: Karl Linden
Environmental Engineering typically focuses on solutions to pollution for the most industrialized countries. We often end up engineering solutions to problems that were created by our modern society. The premise of this class is that more appropriate approaches to remediation and public health protection can be developed and implemented. Also – problems that exist in lesser-industrialized countries often demand completely alternative solutions to those developed for industrialized societies.
This course will explore environmental pollution and public health issues specific to lesser industrialized countries and solutions that have been developed to tackle these problems. Students will understand the water and sanitation challenges facing much of the world within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. We will explore fundamentals behind effective treatment processes and develop/design appropriate solutions for specific international problems. Students will be able to design various household and community-based systems for treating water and wastewater. Students will develop presentation and analysis skills around problems important to developing countries. This class includes a series of laboratories that will develop skills in water quality analysis and evaluating technologies for household water treatment, held during class periods.