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Environmental/Energy Engineering

Fueling our world while protecting our environment: It is perhaps the greatest challenge ever faced by our global society. Engineers studying energy typically focus on physics, chemistry and engineering systems to improve the acquisition, generation, delivery, usage and disposal of energy resources. On the other side of this issue, energy production and other industrial concerns create the need for engineers who creatively use biology, chemistry and systems research to prevent or solve problems involving water, air and soil purity. Lehigh's programs include courses in environmental science, chemical engineering, hydraulic engineering, mechanics, materials, pollution control and waste management.

Focus Areas

Environmental and energy engineers look to develop advanced, ecologically friendly energy sources and more efficient use, distribution and disposal of society's current energy and industrial materials. They also delve into process development and modeling related to issues of pollution detection, protection and mitigation.

Lehigh engineers interested in this area explore topics such as:

Environmental biotechnology and chemistry
Cutting-edge, non-polluting energy sources such as fuel cells and alternative fuels based on hydrogen, biodiesel and ethanol
Aerodynamics and energy-conversion processes
Air, soil and groundwater safety and restoration systems, including filtration and "clean air" technology
Environmentally sound civil and industrial infrastructure development and related issues of risk, regulation and policy

Some labs across campus seek to track and eradicate pathogens that lurk in the ground and in the sources of drinking water for industrialized cities and developing nations alike. Others use expertise in nanosystems to remove arsenic from well water in villages across India and Bangladesh, and to eliminate pollutants from EPA Superfund sites here in the United States. Another way Lehigh researchers solve problems in this area is in the design of control systems for next-generation chemical and fusion reactors, and better design and utilization for fuel-based engines and industrial turbines.

Research and Resources

Lehigh supports a wealth of faculty expertise, graduate student projects, and research information and instrumentation available to students interested in these pursuits. Examples of major initiatives include the following:

Lehigh's Energy Research Center is a multidisciplinary research group involving professional staff, faculty and students. As the focal point for energy-related research at Lehigh, the Center manages the University's energy research program and serves as the main energy research contact between the University, industry and government. Faculty, staff and students connected to the Center participate in many aspects of energy research, with major emphasis on energy conversion, power generation and environmental control.
The Environmental Initiative supports a variety of research projects across all four colleges of Lehigh University. EI-affiliated faculty, students and staff conduct research in areas as varied as communications, earth science, economics, policy and geoenvironmental engineering.

Success Stories

Expertise in the field of Environmental/Energy Engineering has never been more crucial than it is today; engineers in this area seek ways to improve the effectiveness and ecological implications of the materials and processes used to fuel the global economy.

	Lehigh's Science, Technology, Environment, Policy and Society (STEPS) facility has been awarded a 2011 Green Good Design Award for Green Urban Planning/Landscape Architecture. more >
	The LU Eco-Representatives (Eco-Reps) program was established by students two summers ago to teach students residing on campus how to live more sustainably. As part of the Eco-Reps initiative, the University has established a new course entitled Sustainability in Action. more >
	Arup K. SenGupta, professor of civil and environmental engineering and recipient of a Fulbright Environmental Leadership Award, is spending six months in the Center for Sustainable Technologies at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India. more >
	Michael Blades ’12, a senior electrical engineering and physics double-major, says that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have many unique optical, electrical and mechanical properties.more >
	Neal Melchionni ’12, an environmental engineering major, is applying what he learns in the classroom to the real-world problem of urban trash disposal. As an intern with Greeley and Hansen, a national engineering consulting firm, Melchionni recently tackled complex wastewater and infrastructure challenges in New York City. more >
	While he may not yet have found the secret of transforming water into fuel-ready hydrogen, Chris Keturakis '09 has been recognized by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers for his work in the field, and his Lehigh research led him to a summer program, funded by the National Science Foundation, at the Université de Caen Basse-Normandie in Caen, France. more >
	Nelson Tansu, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, insists that LEDs can outshine fluorescent lights, and is working towards improving the efficiency of white LEDs to bring the technology closer to widespread illumination. more >
	Sudhakar Neti, a professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics, and four other professors from across Lehigh Engineering are finding a way to trap the energy produced by sunlight. more >
	Eugenio Schuster, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics and recipient of an NSF CAREER Award, can look at any type of system and visualize how it is being controlled. more >