2011-2012 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

sludge or cake that must be disposed
in some way. The IWM concentration
prepares engineers to deal with the
major problem of waste generation
by exposing them to environmentally
better means for dealing with wastes:
waste reduction, recycling, composting,
and waste-to-energy via combustion,
anaerobic digestion, or gasification.
Students are exposed not only to the
technical aspects of integrated waste
management but also to the associated
economic, policy, and urban planning
issues.
Since the initiation of the Earth and
environmental engineering program in
1996, there have been several graduate
research projects and theses that
exemplify the engineering problems
that will be encompassed in this
concentration:
• Of an automated materials recovery
facility
• Analysis of the bioreactor landfill
• Generation of methane by anaerobic
digestion of organic materials
• Design of corrosion inhibitors
• Flocculation modeling
• Analysis of formation of dioxins in
high-temperature processes
• Combination of waste-to-energy and
anaerobic digestion
• Application of GIS in siting new WTE
facilities
• Corrosion phenomena in WTE
• Combustion chambers
• Mathematical modeling of transport
phenomena in a combustion chamber
• Effect of oxygen enrichment on
• Combustion of paper and other types
of solid wastes
• Feasibility study and design of WTE
facilities
Environmental Health Engineering
The purpose of this concentration is to
train professionals who can address
both the public health and engineering
aspects of environmental problems.
The identification and evaluation of
environmental problems frequently
revolve around the risks to human
health, whereas the development of
remediation or prevention strategies
frequently involves engineering
approaches. Currently, these two critical
steps in addressing environmental
problems are handled by two separate
groups of professionals, public health
practitioners and engineers, who usually
have very little understanding of the role
of the other profession in this process.
The goal is to train those specialists
collaboratively, through the Departments
of Earth and Environmental Engineering
and Environmental Health Sciences.
Joint Degree Programs
The Graduate School of Business and
the School of Engineering and Applied
Science offer a joint program leading to
the M.B.A. degree from the Graduate
School of Business and the M.S. degree
in Earth resources engineering from
the School of Engineering and Applied
Science. The purpose of this program
is to train students who wish to pursue
Earth resource management careers.
Students are expected to register
full time for three terms in the Graduate
School of Business and for two terms in
the School of Engineering and Applied
Science. It is possible, however, to
study in the School of Engineering and
Applied Science part time. Interested
persons should contact Professor
Tuncel Yegulalp at 212-854-2984 or by
e-mail to: yegulalp@columbia.edu.
Doctoral Programs
EEE offers two doctoral degrees:
(1) the Eng.Sc.D. degree, administered
by Columbia Engineering; and (2) the
Ph.D. degree, administered by the
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Doctoral Qualifying Examination and
Research Proposal
Before the end of the first semester in
the doctoral program, the student and
her/his adviser will set up an advisory
committee of two or three faculty
members. This committee will meet
at least once a semester to assess
academic and research progress of the
student and to recommend corrective
action in case of emerging or existing
deficiencies.
Doctoral students are required
to pass a qualifying exam soon after
the completion of their first year into
the program (spring or fall). They will
submit and defend their research
proposal approximately one year after
successful completion of the qualifying
exam. Submission of the dissertation
and thesis defense will follow general
University rules.
The qualifying examination will be an
oral exam administered by four faculty
members. The adviser of the student will
be a member of the exam committee
but may not be the chair. The students
will be examined in their understanding
of fundamentals as they apply in the
four general areas of research of the
department: water resources, materials
processing, energy, and chemical and
biochemical processes. It is expected
that each question period will last about
20 minutes, of which 15 minutes will
be led by the faculty member from the
area and the remaining 5 minutes will be
open for questions by all faculty present
at the exam. There will be a final period
of 20 minutes for general questions.
All graduate students are expected
to have a background equivalent to
the required core of our undergraduate
program. They have, of course,
an opportunity to make up for any
deficiency in their master’s program.
In order to be prepared for the exam,
students can take at least one course
in each core area during their first two
semesters at Columbia (see website
for up-to-date course listing). In case
the student declares an explicit minor
in another department, the qualifying
exam requirements will be modified
in consultation with the graduate
committee. The minor has to be
approved by both departments.
The engineering objectives of EEE
research and education include:
• Provision and disposal of materials:
environmentally sustainable
extraction and processing of primary
materials; manufacturing of derivative
products; recycling of used materials;
management of industrial residues
and used products; materials-related
application of industrial ecology.
• Management of water resources:
understanding, prediction, and
management of the processes that
govern the quantity and quality of
water resources, including the role
of climate; development/operation of
water resource facilities; management
of water-related hazards.
• Energy resources and carbon
management: mitigation of
environmental impacts of energy
production; energy recovery from
waste materials; advancement of
energy efficient systems; new energy
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engineering 2011–2012