Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Courses

Below are the courses frequently offered in Environmental Engineering. For the most up-to-date course offerings and lecturer information, visit Yale University’s Online Course Information site. Click here for the listing of courses in Engineering & Applied Science (general courses for undergraduate students in any branch of Engineering).

ENVE 120a/CENG 120a/ENAS 120a, Introduction to Environmental Engineering
Introduction to engineering principles related to the environment, with emphasis on causes of problems and technologies for abatement. Topics include air and water pollution, global climate change, hazardous chemical and radioactive wastes, and green technology.

ENVE 210a/CENG 210a, Principles of Chemical Engineering and Process Modeling
For description see under Chemical Engineering.

ENVE 315b/CENG 315b, Transport Phenomena
For description see under Chemical Engineering.

ENVE 330b, Water for the World
Complex issues associated with water, global trends, and sustainability. Current water needs for human consumption, industry, agriculture, recreation, and ecosystem services; global warming, population growth, and the industrialization of developing nations. Fundamentals of water chemistry, water and wastewater treatment and distribution systems,
and innovations for future designs. Prerequisite: ENVE 120a.

ENVE 360b/ENAS 360b^G, Green Engineering and Sustainable Design
Study of green engineering, focusing on key approaches to advancing sustainability through engineering design. Topics include current design, manufacturing, and disposal processes; toxicity and benign alternatives; policy implications; pollution prevention and source reduction; separations and disassembly; material and energy efficiencies and flows; systems analysis; biomimicry; and life cycle design, management, and analysis. Prerequisites: CHEM 112a and 113b or 114a and 115b or permission of instructor.

ENVE 371a/ENAS 371a, Introduction to Hydrology and Water Resources
Constraints on permanent human settlements caused by limited availability of reliable water sources. Environmental problems that arise when the quality of naturally occurring water is deficient, or when its quantity is excessive (floods) or insufficient (droughts). The designing of modifications to supplement the natural hydrologic cycle at a specific location.

ENVE 373a/CENG 373a, Air Pollution Control
Kinetics, thermodynamics, and transport of chemical reactions of common air pollutants including suspended particulate matter. The role of surface chemistry and transport phenomena in air pollution. Pollutant dispersion modeling. Technology available to prevent or control air pollutants. Prerequisite: ENVE 210a or permission of instructor.

ENVE 377a/CENG 377a, Water Quality Control
Study of the preparation of water for domestic and other uses and treatment of wastewater for recycling or discharge to the environment. Topics include processes for removal of organics and inorganics, regulation of dissolved oxygen, and techniques such as ion exchange, electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, activated carbon adsorption, and biological methods. Prerequisite: ENVE 120a or permission of instructor.

ENVE 416b/CENG 416b, Chemical Engineering Process Design
For description see under Chemical Engineering.

ENVE 441a^G, Biological Processes in Environmental Engineering
Fundamental aspects of microbiology and biochemistry, including stoichiometry, kinetics, and energetics of biochemical reactions, microbial growth, and microbial ecology as they pertain to biological processes for the transformation of environmental contaminants; principles for analysis and design of aerobic and anaerobic processes, including suspended and attached-growth systems, for treatment of conventional and hazardous pollutants in municipal and industrial wastewaters and in groundwater. Prerequisites: CHEM 112a, 113b, or 114a, 115b, or 118a; MCDB 290b or equivalent; or with permission of instructor.

ENVE 443a^G/ENAS 443a/F&ES 380a^G, Greening Business Operations
Engineering, environmental, and financial perspectives applied to selected industries. Methods from operations management, industrial ecology, green chemistry and engineering, and accounting and finance are used to investigate sustainability approaches and the relationship between environmental and economic considerations. Tools include discounted cash-flow analysis, life-cycle assessment, and environmental cost accounting. Field trips to companies.

ENVE 448a^G, Environmental Transport Processes
Analysis of transport phenomena governing the fate of chemical and biological contaminants in environmental systems. Emphasis on quantifying contaminant transport rates and distributions in natural and engineered environments. Topics include distribution of chemicals between phases; diffusive and convective transport; interfacial mass transfer; contaminant transport in groundwater, lakes, and rivers; analysis of transport phenomena involving particulate and microbial contaminants. Prerequisite: ENVE 120a or permission of instructor.

ENVE 490a or b, Senior Project
Individual research and design projects supervised by a faculty member in Environmental Engineering, or in a related field with permission of the director of undergraduate studies.