Environmental Science And Engineering
Integrating science & engineering to achieve sustainable development and stewardship of the environment
The Environmental Science and Engineering Division (ESE) is a degree-granting academic program at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), a top-ranked public university located in Golden, Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains. CSM is a world-class institution with a focus on engineering and applied science related to earth, energy, materials and environment. The current enrollment of 4,200 students includes those seeking B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.
The ESE Program is nationally ranked for its character and quality. The programs of study are interdisciplinary in scope and designed to prepare students to investigate and analyze environmental systems as well as evaluate and design natural and engineered solutions to protect, preserve, and benefit from the earth's resources.
ESE faculty and staff are diverse in their backgrounds and expertise, spanning civil and environmental engineering, environmental chemistry, soil science, hydrology, ecology, microbiology, toxicology, and environmental law. Students in ESE also have varied backgrounds in the physical and life sciences and most engineering disciplines; they come to ESE from across the U.S. and abroad. ESE prides itself in the diversity within the Program and the strong interactions encompassing both intellectual and social aspects of the university educational experience.
Please note that Fall 2010 ESE graduate fellowship reviews will begin January 15, 2010.
For fullest consideration graduate applications
should be received by this date.
NEWS
WRGP Program Expanded to include applicants from California in the Fall of 2010 -The Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) makes high-quality, distinctive graduate programs available to students of the West at the resident tuition rate. Through WRGP, residents of Alaska, Arizona, California (effective for fall 2010 enrollment) Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming are eligible to enroll in available programs outside of their home state at resident tuition rates. Students need not demonstrate financial need. The Environmental Science and Engineering graduate program at CSM is a WRGP approved program. More information
Dr Tissa Illangasekare, ESE professor and AMAX Chair professor will receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Uppsala in Sweden. He is one of two honorary doctorates this year in the area of Natural Science. The University of Uppsala was founded in 1477 and is one of the oldest and highly rated European universities. Fifteen Nobel Laureates have been from Uppsala.
A United States Patent has recently been awarded to Drs. Pamela Dugan, Robert Siegrist, and Michelle Crimi: "Method and compositions for treatment of subsurface contaminants", U.S. Patent No. 7,553,105. Drs. Dugan and Crimi earned their Ph.D.'s in ESE while studying with Dr. Siegrist. Dr. Dugan is currently Technology Development Manager for Carus Corporation and Dr. Crimi is an Assistant Professor at Clarkson University.
Calendar Year 2008 was an exemplary year of activity and accomplishment for ESE as reflected by the following highlights:
Degrees awarded = 5 Ph.D., 41 M.S., 14 B.S.
Research expenditures = $4.6M
Journal papers in print = 35; in press = 10
Abstracts associated with presentations = 93
Full conference papers published = 47
Invited talks across the U.S. and abroad = 50
Editorships = 8
PhD Fellowships in Environmental Stewardship of Nuclear Resources (ESNR) for the 2009/2010 academic year
Funding is available for students interested in pursuing a PhD in the area of Environmental Stewardship of Nuclear resources.
The program is supported by a grant received from the Department of Education's Graduate Assistantships in Areas of National Needs (GAANN) Program
Objectives of the ESNR-GAANN program at CSM:
- Provide an outstanding educational experience and research program in integrated environmental management of the nuclear fuel cycle.
- Bolster U.S. technical and economic leadership in environmental management of the nuclear fuel cycle in areas including modeling of radionuclide mobility and increased efficiency in radioactive waste treatment technologies.
- Address the current and future shortage of U.S. engineers and scientists who are trained for teaching and research in ESNR
- Attract and foster exceptionally talented students who would otherwise be unable to pursue full-time study in a world-class graduate program due to financial difficulties.
Dr. Linda Figueroa is the program director and Drs. McCray and Ranville are the co-directors. A flyer with additional information is available at http://inside.mines.edu/~lfiguero/ESNR GAANN 09.pdf.
Student News and Awards
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has selected Merika Treants from the Colorado School of Mines as a 2009 award recipient of the ASM Microbiology Undergraduate Research Fellowship. This fellowship is aimed to increase the number of underrepresented undergraduate students who wish to, and have demonstrated the ability to pursue graduate careers (Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D.) in microbiology. Fellows have the opportunity to conduct full time summer research at their home institution or at a host U.S. institution with an ASM mentor, and present their research results at the 2010 ASM General Meeting in San Diego, CA if their abstract is accepted. Dr. John Spear from the Environmental Science & Engineering Division is Merika Treants’s home mentor. The title of Treants’s summer research was: Role of Co-Stimulatory Molecules on the Status, Activation, and Apoptosis of Natural Killer T (NKT) Cells. The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the oldest and largest single biological membership organization, with over 40,000 members worldwide. Please visit www.asm.org/students for more information on this fellowship.
ESE Graduate Student Medals at World Championships in Canoe - Hannah Menke, a member of Team USA and and a new ESE Graduate Student, took home two silver medals in women's sprint canoe from the International Canoe Federation's World Championships, held August 12-16 in Nova Scotia. Sprint canoe is an Olympic sport that is distinguished from rowing by its forward-looking stance and from kayak by its use of a single-bladed, as contrasted to double-bladed, paddle.
HSE PhD student Megan Smith, who was recently awarded a National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation scholarship for best student presentation at the recent annual meeting of the National Ground Water association.
ESE MS student Shannon Ulrich from the Spear Group has been selected for a NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) Scholarship to participate in the NAI-CAB International Summer School of Astrobiology "Josep Comas i Solà" on Earth's Extremophiles and the Habitability of Extraterrestrial Environments, June 22-26, to be held at the summer campus of the Spanish National University, UIMP, Santander, Spain. The scholarship covers all expenses and affords Shannon the opportunity to expand her knowledge of microbes in extreme environments which are the focus of her graduate studies.