2008-2009 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

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:
• design 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 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 The Fu Foundation School of
Engineering and Applied Science; and
(2) the Ph.D. degree, administered by
the Graduate School of Arts and
Sciences. Qualifying examinations and
all other intellectual and performance
requirements for these degrees are the
same. All applicants should use the
School of Engineering forms. The scope
includes the design and use of sensors
for measurement at molecular scale; the
understanding of surface, colloid, aqueous,
and high-temperature phenomena;
the integrated management of multiple
resources and the mitigation of natural
and environmental hazards, at regional
to global scales. The management of
the interaction between human activities,
Earth resources, and ecosystems is of
primary interest.
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 sources; development of
carbon sequestration strategies.
• sensing and remediation: understanding
of transport processes at
different scales and in different media;
containment systems; modeling flow
and transport in surface and subsurface
systems; soil/water decontamination
and bioremediation.
The Professional Degrees
The department offers the professional
degrees of Engineer of Mines (E.M.) and
Metallurgical Engineer (Met.E.). In order
to gain admission to both degree programs,
students must have an undergraduate
degree in engineering and
complete at least 30 credits of graduate
work beyond the M.S. degree, or 60
credits of graduate work beyond the
B.S. degree. These programs are
planned for engineers who wish to do
advanced work beyond the level of the
M.S. degree but who do not desire to
emphasize research.
The professional degrees are awarded
for satisfactory completion of a graduate
program at a higher level of course work
than is normally completed for the M.S.
degree. Students who find it necessary
to include master’s-level courses in their
professional degree program will, in
general, take such courses as deficiency
courses. A candidate is required to
maintain a grade-point average of at
least 3.0. A student who, at the end of
any term, has not attained the gradepoint
average required for the degree
may be asked to withdraw. The final
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SEAS 2008–2009