2008 - 2009 SEAS Bulletin
Bulletin

Earth and Environmental Engineering

Henry Krumb School of Mines
918 S. W. Mudd, MC 4711, 212-854-2905
www.eee.columbia.edu

Earth Resources and the Environment

The Earth and environmental engineering program fosters education and research in the development and application of technology for the sustainable development, use, and integrated management of Earth’s resources. Resources are identified as minerals, energy, water, air, and land, as well as the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment. There is close collaboration with other engineering disciplines, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction, the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, and other Columbia Earth Institute units.

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The Henry Krumb School of Mines at Columbia University

The School of Mines of Columbia University was established in 1864 and was the first mining and metallurgy department in the U.S. It became the foundation for Columbia’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and has been a pioneer in many areas of mining and metallurgy, including the first mining (Peele) and mineral processing (Taggart) handbooks, flotation, chemical thermo-dynamics and kinetics, surface and colloid chemistry, and materials science.

Nearly one hundred years after its formation, the School of Mines was renamed Henry Krumb School of Mines (HKSM) in honor of the generous Columbia benefactor of the same name. The Henry Krumb School of Mines (SEAS) supports three components:

  • The Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering (EEE), one of the nine departments of SEAS.
  • Columbia’s interdepartmental program in Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). This program, administered by the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, is described in another section of this bulletin.
  • The Earth Engineering Center. The current research areas include energy, materials, and water resources.
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Earth and Environmental Engineering (EEE)

Starting in 1996, the educational programs of Columbia University in mining and mineral engineering were transformed into the present program in Earth and environmental engineering (EEE). This program is concerned with the environmentally sound extraction and processing of primary materials (minerals, fuels, water), the management and development of land and water resources, and the recycling or disposal of used materials. EEE offers the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Earth and Environmental Engineering, the Master of Science (M.S.) in Earth Resources Engineering, the professional degrees
of Engineer of Mines and Metallurgical Engineer, and the doctorate degrees (Ph.D., Eng.Sc.D.) in EEE.

The EEE program welcomes Combined Plan students. An EEE minor is offered to all Columbia engineering students who want to enrich their academic record by concentrating some of their technical electives on Earth/environment subjects. There is close collaboration between EEE and the Depart-ments of Civil Engineering and Earth and Environmental Sciences, including several joint appointments.

EEE and the Earth Engineering Center are the contributions of The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science to the Earth Institute of Columbia University, a major education and research initiative of the University. Earth and Environmental Engineering combines the longstanding and proud tradition of Columbia’s School of Mines with forward-thinking courses and programs, innovative research, and a deep concern for the environment.

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Research Centers Associated with Earth and Environmental Engineering

Columbia Water Center. The Columbia Water Center, in collaboration with other Earth Institute units and external partners, is leading intellectual inquiry into an assessment, prediction, and solution of the potentially global crisis of freshwater scarcity. Goals are to:

  • develop multiscale predictive capabilities (e.g., new data sets and modeling tools) for local, regional, and global water resource assessment, recognizing changing climate, demographic, and usage dynamics
  • arget analyses toward public and private investment in future water resource development, local and regional ecosystem services provided by water and the essential life-support water needs of societies
  • identify and test appropriate technologies for the storage, treatment, and conveyance of water to improve reliable, cost-efficient access
  • identify and compare locally appropriate policy instruments that facilitate the implementation of selected incentives for higher-value, higher-efficiency water use, while promoting equity of use and life support functions
  • test and demonstrate the applicability of the policy and technology developments in real-world settings, working with local institutions and private-sector developers or users in an open and public process
  • develop and disseminate the knowledge base that results from our activities to support global water resource development and decision making, including the development of a forum, the Global Roundtable on Water (GROW), to facilitate international policy and technical action to improve our collective water future.

For more information: www.water.columbia.edu

Earth Engineering Center. The mission of the Earth Engineering Center is to develop and promote engineering metho-dologies that provide essential material to humanity in ways that maintain the overall balance between the constantly increasing demand for materials, the finite resources of the Earth, and the need for clean water, soil, and air. The Center is dedicated to the advancement of industrial ecology, i.e., the reconfiguring of industrial activities and products with full knowledge of the environmental consequences. Research is being conducted on a variety of geoenvironmental issues with the intent to quantify, assess, and ultimately manage adverse human effects on the environment. Research areas include management of water and energy resources, hydrology and hydrogeology, numerical modeling of estuarine flow and transport processes, and integrated waste management. For more information: refer to its Web site: www.columbia.edu/cu/earth/.

Environmental Tracer Group. The Environmental Tracer Group uses natural and anthropogenic (frequently transient) tracers, as well as deliberately released tracers, to investigate the physics and chemistry of transport in environmental systems. The tracers include natural or anthropogenically produced isotopes (e.g., tritium or radioactive hydrogen,
helium and oxygen isotopes, or radiocarbon), as well as noble gases and chemical compounds (e.g., CFCs and SF6). The ETG analytical facilities include four mass spectrometric systems that can be used in the analysis of tritium and noble gases in water, sediments, and rocks. In addition to the mass spectrometric systems, there are several gas chromatographic systems equipped with electron capture detectors that are used for measurements of SF6 in continental waters and CFCs and SF6 in the atmosphere. GC/MS capability is being added to the spectrum of analytical capabilities. For more information: www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~noblegas/.

International Research Institute for Climate Prediction (IRI). The IRI (iri.columbia.edu) is the world’s leading institute for the development and application of seasonal to interannual climate forecasts. The mission of the IRI is to enhance society’s capability to understand, anticipate, and manage the impacts of seasonal climate fluctuations, in order to improve human welfare and the environment, especially in developing countries. This mission is to be conducted through strategic and applied research, education and capacity building, and provision of forecast and information products, with an emphasis on practical and verifiable utility and partnerships.

Langmuir Center for Colloids and Interfaces (LCCI). This Center brings together experts from mineral engineering, applied chemistry, chemical engineering, biological sciences, and chemistry to probe complex interactions of colloids and interfaces with surfactants and macromolecules. LCCI activities involve significant interaction with industrial sponsors and adopt an interdisciplinary approach toward state-of-the-art research on interfacial phenomena. Major areas of research at LCCI are thin films, surfactant and polymer adsorption, environmental problems, enhanced oil recovery, computer tomography, corrosion and catalysis mechanisms, membrane technology, novel separations of minerals, biocolloids, microbial surfaces, and interfacial spectroscopy.

Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy. The mission of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy is to develop technologies and institutions to ensure a sufficient supply of environmentally sustainable energy for all humanity. To meet this goal, the Center supports research programs in energy science, engineering, and policy across Columbia University to develop technical and policy solutions that will satisfy the world’s future energy needs without threatening to destabilize the Earth’s natural systems.

The mission of the Lenfest Center is shaped by two global challenges. First, the Center seeks to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and to forestall a disruption of global climate systems that would impose negative consequences for human welfare. Second, the Center seeks to create energy options that will meet the legitimate energy demands of a larger and increasingly wealthy world population. In order to meet these two challenges, the Center seeks to develop new sources, technologies, and infrastructures.

The Lenfest Center focuses primarily on the technological and institutional development of the three energy resources sufficient to support the world’s projected population in 2100 without increased carbon emissions: solar, nuclear, and fossil fuels combined with carbon capture and storage. Although each of these options can, in theory, be developed on a scale to satisfy global demand, they each face a combination of technological and institutional obstacles that demand research and development before they can be deployed.

The Center’s main activities are based within the range of natural science and engineering disciplines. At the same time, it integrates technological research with analysis of the institutional, economic, and political context within which energy technologies are commercialized and deployed.

NSF Industry/University Cooperative Center for Surfactants (IUCRC). This Center is sponsored by fifteen companies and has as its aim to develop and characterize novel surfactants for industrial applications, such as coatings, dispersions, personal car products, soil decon- tamination, and waste treatment.

For more information: www.columbia.edu/cu/iucrc.

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Scholarships, Fellowships, and Internships

The department arranges for undergraduate Earth engineering summer internships after the sophomore and junior years. Undergraduates can also participate in graduate research projects under the work-study program. Graduate research and teaching assistantships,
as well as fellowships funded by the Department, are available to qualified graduate students. GRE scores are required of all applicants for graduate studies.
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