Please browse through the content (and related links) below, and please feel free to contact us at dogee@jhu.edu or (410) 516-5533 for questions or to arrange a visit (Johns Hopkins University, 313 Ames Hall in Baltimore, Maryland).

Please be sure to view the following undergraduate information:

• Undergraduate Brochure


• Undergraduate Program Mission and Objectives
• Undergraduate Program Description
• Job Opportunities / Outlook

Following is a list of example problems. All these topics are subject of ongoing research of faculty and graduate students at the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering.

• Designing innovative approaches for providing clean drinking water/purifying wastewater.
• Optimal treatment of contaminated groundwater.
• Effects of climate change on vector and waterborne disease
• Modeling and multiobjective risk decision tools for managing great lakes ecosystems
• Experimental studies of atmospheric/particulate transport.
  

In terms of manpower, research and courses are currently supported by 19 faculty members, and 4 administrative employees.

In 2003, the department initiated an undergraduate degree program in environmental engineering and graduated its first class of environmental engineers (4 students) in 2005. In 2006 the program was reviewed and accredited by ABET, Inc., which is a professional board representing the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), and other professional organizations.

Undergraduate Program Description

The undergraduate program in environmental engineering is an ABET-accredited program within the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, offering an undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree. As of the time of writing (December, 2006), with 100% of our students who have taken the "Fundamentals of Engineering" (FE) exam from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) have passed. Click here to learn more about the mission and objectives of the undergraduate program. More information about the program and its course offerings can be found in the university catalogue.

Job Opportunities / Outlook
The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook states the following about the employement outlook for Environmental Engineers:


Environmental engineering graduates should have favorable job opportunities. Employment of environmental engineers is expected to increase much faster than the average for all occupations through 2012. Much of the expected growth will be due to the emergence of this occupation as a widely recognized engineering specialty rather than as an area that other engineering specialties, such as civil engineers, specialize in. More environmental engineers will be needed to comply with environmental regulations and to develop methods of cleaning up existing hazards. A shift in emphasis toward preventing problems rather than controlling those that already exist, as well as increasing public health concerns, also will spur demand for environmental engineers. However, political factors determine the job outlook for environmental engineers more than that for other engineers. Looser environmental regulations would reduce job opportunities; stricter regulations would enhance opportunities.

Even though employment of environmental engineers should be less affected by economic conditions than that of most other types of engineers, a significant economic downturn could reduce the emphasis on environmental protection, reducing employment opportunities. Environmental engineers need to keep abreast of a range of environmental issues to ensure their steady employment because their area of focus may change frequently—for example, from hazardous waste cleanup to the prevention of water pollution.


[Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2004-05 Edition, Environmental Engineers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos263.htm (visited May 19, 2004).]