September, 2004
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Volume 39, No. 3 Published three times yearly by the Association of Environmental Engineering & Science Professors September 2004 Environmental Engineering vs. environmental engineering In this issue... [President’s Note: Chuck Haas, who has been a driving force behind the 2005 AEESP Conference to be held at AEESP News..............2 Clarkson University, provides this newsletter’s commentary. - Marc Edwards, AEESP President] Member News............4 like? Clearly, Environmental Engineers need to know Employment revious dis- how to characterize the natural environment and its Opportunities...........6 Pcussions in variability (physical, chemical, and biological char- Programs...................7 these pages have acteristics). We need to know about basic conser- focused upon try- vation principles and how to apply them to achieve Book Reviews............8 ing to craft a defini- treatment goals. We need to know the capabilities Conferences/ tion of environmen- of some of the tools (processes) we have in our Call for Papers.......11 tal engineering. armamentarium. We need to understand how so- The striving to de- cial, political, legal, and cultural forces may con- fine our field has oc- strain or facilitate implementing solutions. We need cupied environmen- to know how to communicate with diverse constitu- tal engineering for encies. We need to understand economics, costs, 2005 AEESP Chuck Haas many years – why benefits, and risks associated with environmental Research and is this so? I would impacts (broadly defined, including human health), Education argue that a principal reason is that we are strug- and controversies associated with deciding on en- Conference gling against a possible loss of identity. vironmental policies (equity, precaution, justice, Since the 1970s, as society has increasingly etc.). We need to understand how developments in See page 13. recognized the need to seek solutions to envi- our ability to analyze and model various environ- ronmental problems, the challenges of solving mental features may change over time to impact the such problems have been taken up by many dis- nature of the problems that we may encounter and AEESP ciplines (e.g., chemical engineers design “green also our ability to design more effective solutions. Membership chemistry” processes, mechanical engineers de- We also need to know enough about other branches Application sign improved combustion systems). Engineers of engineering (and social, life and physical sci- who work to solve (or prevent) environmental ences, and health) with whom we frequently inter- The AEESP problems are more numerous than “Environmen- act to be able to understand when we need to “call membership tal Engineers.” in a specialist” and also to understand their lan- application is For “Environmental Engineering” to survive guages. We need to know how to manage a diverse available online at: as a discipline (differentiable from the broader team of individuals from many backgrounds to un- http://www.aeesp group of those who are engaging in engineering derstand a problem and to implement its solution. .org/org/ to solve environmental problems), we must not Can all this be done in the context of an under- membership.html only define what it is that we do, but also develop graduate degree – certainly not! In this regard, the a consensus on the body of knowledge (BOK) Environmental Engineering profession is to some that forms the core of our discipline and that dif- degree ahead of our civil engineering colleagues in ferentiates us from other branches of engineer- recognizing the importance of an M.S. or “equiva- ing. Other disciplines (e.g., civil and chemical en- lent” to engage in significant practice. What is the gineering) are similarly engaged in defining their best preparation for such an M.S.? In my opinion BOK. (and it is a point of controversy amongst us), it is an What might such a body of knowledge look Environmental Engineering B.S. As Environmental AEESP News Engineering educators, we need to rethink to carry out, we want to hear about it. Newsletter these issues (what we are, what is our BOK, To volunteer for the Publication Commit- and how do we best prepare those who will tee, or to propose ideas about topics or pub- submissions practice, teach, and research in the 21st cen- lications, please send an e-mail to the Publi- tury?) – the 2005 Conference at Clarkson cation Committee chair, Philippe Baveye, at Submissions may be sent would be an ideal venue to do so. [email protected]. electronically to: - Chuck Haas, Drexel University Amy E. Childress [email protected] Sponsors upgrade (775) 784-6942 AEESP Publication (775) 784-1390, fax AEESP Awards Committee CH2M Hill, Malcolm Pirnie, MHW, and Par- Letters to the president Call for volunteers and ideas sons have upgraded AEESP awards effective may be sent to: The AEESP Publication Committee is 2005. The upgrade is aimed at increasing the Marc A. Edwards planning to carry out three main projects over prestige and visibility for each award, enhanc- Virginia Polytechnic Institute the next two years. These projects are: ing attendance at the awards ceremony, and & State University streamlining award administration. To help 407 NEB • Finishing the Spanish translation of the achieve these objectives, our sponsors will Blacksburg, VA 24061-0246 Laboratory Processes Manual (edited by increase the financial backing for each award [email protected] Susan Powers et al.), and perhaps organizing by 333-500%. work toward its translation to other languages Future recipients of the CH2M Hill Out- Letters to the editor may (e.g., Russian or Chinese). standing Dissertation Awards, Malcolm Pirnie be sent to: • Editing a similar manual on methods for Frontier of Research Award, MHW Outstand- Amy E. Childress field observation and environmental ing Thesis Awards, or Parsons Outstanding University of Nevada, Reno assessment. This manual, to be used as a Dissertation Award will receive an allocation Department of Civil complement or a resource for college courses, of $750 to offset any travel expenses to the Engineering/258 would also include an introduction to teaching awards ceremony. Moreover, the typical stu- Reno, NV 89557-0152 via problem-based or case-based approaches, dent cash prizes will increase by 300% and [email protected] and a practical guide to their implementation the cash prize for the Frontier award will in- in courses on environmental assessment. crease by 400%. The cash prize for the advi- Address changes may be • Editing a manual on methods used in sor for Outstanding Dissertation and Out- sent to: environmental microbiology, including the standing Thesis Awards will remain un- Joanne Fetzner arsenal of gene probing and DNA changed. Specifics will be detailed in the Janu- AEESP Business Office fingerprinting techniques developed over the ary Newsletter. 2303 Naples Court last few years. As with previous manuals, The first AEESP award was given in 1966 Champaign, IL 61822 committee members will serve as co-editors. by Engineering Science (now Parsons) with a [email protected] cash prize of $1000 for “excellence in sanitary The committee is looking for a few individu- engineering education.” In 1982, the Parsons als who would be interested in joining the award was converted into an outstanding dis- AEESP committee and assisting with one or more of sertation award, with a cash prize of $1000 for Newsletters these projects. Beyond this call for member- the student and $1000 for the advisor. In 1988, ship, the committee is also welcoming ideas CH2M also started to sponsor a dissertation online on what should be included in the two manu- award, and prize amounts for each disserta- Current issue als on environmental assessment and envi- tion award were unchanged for the student ronmental microbiology. We want to hear from and were decreased to $500 for the advisor. www.uidaho.edu/ colleagues who currently teach courses in The first thesis award was given by JMM aeesp these areas and have ideas about chapter top- (now MHW) in 1991 with a total prize of $1500 Archived issues ics, names of individuals to write chapters on (split between the 1st and 2nd place advisors www.aeesp.org/pubs/ specific topics, and anything that would make and students). The Malcolm Pirnie Frontier NewsArch the manuals appealing to use in undergradu- of Research Award was first offered in 2000 .html ate and graduate courses. Also, if there is a with a prize of $1000. project that AEESP members feel that the Pub- As the field of Environmental Engineer- lication Committee should take the initiative ing has grown, the types of conferences at- 2 AEESP Newsletter / September 2004 AEESP News tended by AEESP members have become In memoriam... more numerous, and a lower percentage of Newsletter John Henry Austin, age 75, longtime resident our members attend WEFTEC each year. Con- of Arlington, VA, died peacefully at home with policies sequently, attendance at the WEFTEC cer- his wife at his side August 17, 2004, of colon emony by award recipients has been decreas- cancer. He studied engineering at Syracuse Submissions deadline ing due to the economic burden of travel. University where he earned his bachelor’s Moreover, over the years the monetary value The AEESP Newsletter is degree. He went on to obtain his master’s of some awards was substantially eroded by published three times a year from MIT and his doctorate from UC-Berke- inflation. The upgrades will directly address in January, April, and Septem- ley. Dr. Austin’s 50-year career as an environ- these concerns. ber. The deadline for newslet- mental engineer included academic positions We are deeply indebted to our award ter submissions is one month at the University of Illinois, Clemson Univer- sponsors for their continued financial and prior to the publication date. sity, the University of Maryland, Colorado logistical support, which allows AEESP to rec- Please keep in mind when sub- State University, and a Fulbright Scholarship ognize outstanding achievement by our mem- mitting items with deadline at Delft Technical University.