Earth and Environmental Engineering

• Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, 2026-
• Nevada Gold Mines Professor and Associate Professor, University of Nevada, Reno, 2025-2025
• Nevada Gold Mines Professor and Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Reno, 2020-2025

• Society of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME)
• American Chemical Society (ACS)

• PhD, Materials Engineering, McGill University
• MEng, Mechanical Engineering, McGill University
• BEng, Mechanical Engineering, McGill University

• Jason Geddes Regents’ Rising Researchers Award, Board of Regents, Nevada Systems of Higher Education, 2025
• Excellent Contribution Award, Editorial Office of Green and Smart Mining Engineering, 2025
• Mousel-Feltner Award for Excellence in Research and/or Creative Activity, College of Science, University of Nevada, Reno, 2024
• Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology Sustainability Leader of the Year Award, 2024
• Doctoral Award, Fonds de recherche du Québec Nature et Technologies, 2014
• Fellow of Brace Water Resources Foundation, McGill University, 2013
• MEDA Doctoral Award, McGill University, 2012
• International SAG Conference Postgraduate Award, SAG Conference, 2011
• BMP Industrial Innovation Scholarship, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, 2010

Tackle the pressing challenge of sourcing minerals for renewable energy technologies and infrastructure.

Our curriculum has been specially designed to reflect current industry practices, incorporating technical advances, emerging trends and vital soft skills such as strong teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills.

Columbia's School of Mines, founded in 1864, laid the groundwork for engineering education in the U.S. Our Mining program continues that tradition with a renewed focus on climate and sustainability.

Learn to integrate environmental stewardship and community engagement into every phase of the mining lifecycle.

This specialized training will distinguish you from other engineering graduates, making you a highly sought-after professional in the mining industry.

Our dedicated Assistant Director of Graduate Career Placement can provide you with expert advice both during your studies and after graduation. You’ll receive personalized career guidance, application support, tailored workshops, and access to exclusive job opportunities within the earth and environmental engineering sector and beyond. 

With strong industry connections, we also facilitate networking events and internships that give you the experience and confidence to stand out in the competitive job market.

If you are interested in our department but want to major in another field, you can still minor in Mining Engineering. Due to our broad and multidisciplinary scope, a number of our courses are already required across other engineering departments. As well as developing interdisciplinary knowledge, this structure will ensure your workload is manageable.

What we look for:

• Transcripts and school reports. We accept all secondary school qualifications (AP, International Baccalaureate, Cambridge A Levels, National School curricula, etc.). We do not have standardized requirements or “cut-off” test scores for first-year admission but we do expect to see coursework in physics and calculus.
• Teacher recommendations. We would like to learn more about your contributions in the classroom and at school, as well as what you might offer to your Columbia classmates.
• Responses to our Columbia-specific application questions. Your answers will provide us with insight into your intellectual interests and the way in which your curiosity and sense of community might translate to Columbia’s campus.
• A personal statement. We review applications in context, taking into account the multiple, intersecting ways that you have been shaped by your family circumstances. Understanding who you are, what your home responsibilities are, whether you have experienced any systemic and situational barriers and advantages will ensure we can review your application fairly and accurately.
• English language proficiency. If your home language is not English or if your secondary school studies were predominantly in another language, you will need to provide evidence of your English language proficiency. Visit our English Proficiency Requirements for accepted exams and minimum score requirements.

How to Apply

BS in Mining Engineering

To graduate from our BS program you must complete:

• 18 credits (approximately six courses) of technical Mining Engineering electives during your final two years.
• The Columbia liberal arts core. This is typically satisfied during the first two years, although you can undertake non-technical electives during your final two years.

Minor in Mining Engineering

To earn a minor in Mining Engineering, you must complete:

• Six courses selected from a specified list approved by your undergraduate advisor.

Mandatory requirements:

• Online application form
• MS and BS degrees from accredited institutions in engineering or a related science discipline, such as earth, climate, environmental science, chemistry, biology, physics, or hydrology.
• Transcripts from every post-secondary institution attended
• Three letters of recommendation
• Resumé or CV
• Personal statement
• $85 non-refundable application fee
• International applicants, or applicants whose undergraduate and/or master’s degree was received in a country in which English is not the official spoken language, must submit:
  • Results of an English language test. Accepted tests include the Test of English as a Foreign Language iBT (TOEFL) - including TOEFL iBT Home Edition, International English Language Testing System Academic (IELTS), Pearson Test of English (PTE Academic), or Duolingo English Test (DET). The ETS School Code for the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science is 2111.
  • Translation of the official transcript(s) and degree/diploma certificate(s) if the institution(s) attended does not issue transcripts in English. The translation must be conducted by a reputable service provider. 

Optional Requirements

• Any publications that you have written. Whilst this is not mandatory research, this experience is valued.
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test Scores (School Code: 2111)
• You may be invited to an interview

To earn your PhD, you must:

• Complete 60 credits, with up to 30 credits transferable from previous graduate coursework
• Pass a qualifying examination
• Successfully defend your research proposal

This program will provide you with the engineering expertise and strategic vision needed to drive sustainable solutions that tackle the global energy crisis, cut carbon emissions, and ensure long-term ecological stability.

You will receive a Certificate in Carbon Management as well as an MS degree from the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering.

You’ll undertake hands-on research and collaborate with faculty to help develop solutions and technologies that address multiscale carbon capture, conversion, utilization, and storage research.

The MS program is part of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy. As well as access to pioneering research, you’ll have opportunities to attend specialist carbon management events held by the Center, including colloquiums, research conferences and guest lectures.

Our classes will teach you to critically examine challenging industrial problems and proposed solutions through the application of numerical, experimental, and theoretical frameworks.

You will be learning with peers from a wide range of disciplines, professional experiences, and geographic locations. This exposure will help you develop a broad and interdisciplinary understanding of carbon management and its extensive societal implications.

Our dedicated Assistant Director of Graduate Career Placement can provide you with expert advice both during your studies and after graduation. You’ll receive personalized career guidance, application support, tailored workshops, and access to exclusive job opportunities within the earth and environmental engineering sector and beyond.

• A Better Planet by Design
• Carbon Capture
• Carbon Storage
• CO₂ Utilization and Conversion
• Introduction to Carbon Management

• Alternative Energy Resources
• Closing the Carbon Cycle
• Earth and Environmental Engineering Research
• Earth and Environmental Engineering Thesis
• Earth Resources and Sustainable Development
• Energy Sources and Conversion
• Energy System Economics and Optimization
• Humans and the Carbon Cycle
• Industrial Ecology of Manufacturing
• Machine Learning for Environmental Engineering
• Solar Fuels
• Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
• Uncertainty/Risk – Civil Infrastructure Systems

Mandatory requirements:

• Online application form
• A bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field from an accredited institution
• Transcripts from every post-secondary institution attended
• Three letters of recommendation
• Resumé or CV
• Personal statement
• $85 non-refundable application fee
• International applicants, or applicants whose undergraduate degree was received in a country in which English is not the official spoken language, must submit:
  • Results of an English language test. Accepted tests include the Test of English as a Foreign Language iBT (TOEFL) - including TOEFL iBT Home Edition, International English Language Testing System Academic (IELTS), Pearson Test of English (PTE Academic), or Duolingo English Test (DET). The ETS School Code for the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science is 2111.
  • Translation of the official transcript(s) and degree/diploma certificate(s) if the institution(s) attended does not issue transcripts in English. The translation must be conducted by a reputable service provider. 

Optional requirements:

• Any publications that you have written
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test Scores (School Code: 2111)
• You may be invited to an interview

See full application instructions

To graduate from our MS Carbon Management program, you must complete:

• 30 credits of graduate coursework
• Additional undergraduate level science courses depending on your academic background
• The combination of credits can either be:
  • 24 credits of lecture courses and 6 credits of research culminating in a Master’s Thesis.
  • 27 credits of lecture courses, 3 credits of research which involves assisting a faculty member with ongoing analytical or experimental research, and a term paper describing your part in that research.
  • 30 credits of lecture courses approved by the Advisor. However, a thesis is strongly recommended.

Your academic plan of studies must be approved by the faculty by the second month of your first semester at Columbia.