Graduate Catalog
2020-2021
 
Policies, Procedures, Academic Programs
Environmental Sciences and Engineering
College of Engineering
Academics and miscellaneous use. Named after William MacFarland Patton (1845-1905) who was Chair of Civil Engineering from 1896 to 1905 and Dean of the Department of Engineering from 1904 to 1905.
750 Drillfield Dr, 200 Patton Hall MC:0105 Blacksburg VA 24061
Patton Hall
Degree(s) Offered:
• MS
MS Degree in Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Minimum GPA: 3.0
Offered In:
National Capital Region
Blacksburg
Email Contact(s):
Web Resource(s):
Phone Number(s):
540/231-6069
Application Deadlines:
Fall: Jan 15
Spring: Sep 01
Directions
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The Graduate School
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Patton Hall

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Department Head : Mark Widdowson
Graduate Program Director : William Knocke (Associate Department Head)
Emeriti Faculty: Gregory Boardman; William Cox; David Kibler; John Novak; Clifford Randall; Dusan Teodorovic
Professors: Andrea Dietrich; Marc Edwards; Daniel Gallagher; Stanley Grant (Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory); Jennifer Irish; William Knocke; John Little; Linsey Marr; Amy Pruden-Bagchi; Peter Vikesland; Mark Widdowson
Associate Professors: Erich Hester; Nina Stark; Kyle Strom
Assistant Professors: Hosein Foroutan; Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz; Landon Marston; Megan Rippy (Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory); Zhiwu Wang (Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory)
University Distinguished Professor: Marc Edwards
Research Associate Professors: Adil Godrej (Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory)
Charles E. Via Jr. Professor: John Little
Charles P. Lundsford Professor: Linsey Marr
W. Thomas Rice Professor: Amy Pruden-Bagchi
Nick Prillaman Professor: Peter Vikesland
Assistant Professor of Practice: Robert Scardina; Claire White; Kevin Young
Research Assistant Professors: Siddharth Saksena

Environmental Sciences and Engineering Introduction

The Environmental Science and Engineering (ESEN) program is designed to prepare undergraduates with a science background to work with engineers in various fields including, water supply, wastewater management, public health, watershed management, stream protection, groundwater remediation and air resource management. Appropriate disciplines include, but are not limited to biology, chemistry, geology, agronomy, soil science and environmental science. A wide range of courses can be taken to fulfill the degree requirements, depending on the background and interests of the student.

The purpose of the core curricula is to develop an understanding of the applicable chemical, physical, biological, and mathematical modeling fundamentals and then teach students how to apply these principles, along with their previous scientific training, to the solution of environmental problems. Appropriate employment is with consulting firms, regulatory agencies, municipalities and industry.

The program administratively is under the direction of the Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (http://www.cee.vt.edu/) and the program direction is by a faculty committee from Departments in the College of Engineering, Agriculture and Science.

Special Requirements

The master's programs have no foreign language requirement.
Offered In (National Capital Region, Blacksburg)

Degree Requirements

Minimum GPA: 3.0
Institution code: 5859
Testing Requirements:
  • TOEFL
    • iBT
      • 90.0
  • GRE
    • General
      • Verbal :
      • Quantitative :
      • Analytical :
MS ESEN degree may be taken either as coursework only or with the permission of the faculty may incorporate a project & report or a research thesis.

See Departmental Manual:
https://www.cee.vt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Graduate-Policies-and-Procedures-Manual-Departmental.pdf

Environmental Sciences and Engineering Facilities Introduction

CEE offers a variety of labs for students who are participating in research. Please see the information listed under facilities to read about our labs locations.

Computing Facilities

The Civil and Environmental Engineering Computer Lab (CEECL) is maintained as a state-of-the-art collaborative learning environment. The instructional lab provides excellent multimedia equipment for faculty to demonstrate and instruct students in the use of computing tools through the Department's curriculum. Faculty and students also have access to a variety of supercomputing facilities and data visualization capabilities through the computer resources of Virginia Tech.  

Experimental Facilities

Experimental Facilities

The Environmental Science and Engineering (ESEN) program occupies modern laboratories in Durham, Patton, Kelly, Steger and Hancock Halls. Laboratories and specialized experimental and analytical equipment support research programs related to areas such as water and wastewater treatment, hazardous and residuals waste management, water quality management, environmental chemistry, and air quality. Available equipment allows for the identification and quantification of most chemical and microbial environmental contaminants.

The water resources engineering laboratories support basic and applied research activities in the areas of water, sediment, and pollutant movement in surface and groundwater sources. The Kelso Baker Environmental Hydraulics Laboratory houses two large (each 70 ft. long) tilting flumes, a medium length tilting fume, a 3-D laser Doppler velocimeter, a hot film anemometer, and numerous pieces of support instrumentation.

Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory (Manassas, Virginia)

The environmental science and engineering program also includes the Occoquan Monitoring Laboratory (Manassas, Virginia), where research focuses on runoff pollutant effects on receiving waters, reservoir eutrophiction control, and watershed monitoring and management.

Web site:  www.owml.vt.edu

Potomac Aquifer Recharge Monitoring Laboratory (Hampton, Virginia)

The PARML, Hampton, is responsible for making determinations in a number of areas critical to the ongoing management of water quality in the Potomac aquifer, situated in the Hampton Roads area of Southeast Virginia.  This work is in association with managed aquifer recharge associated with the $1 billion SWIFT (Sustainable Water Initiative For Tomorrow) project.