ERE MESSENGER 1

ERE MESSENGERSTUDENT CHAPTER

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS

ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES ENGINEERING

Volume 14, Number 2 Spring 2001

ERE Grad Finds Niche in Egyptby

Jeff Hendrich (ERE 1997)Environmental Engineer

Harza Environmental Services, Inc.Fayoum, Egypt

I came to Humboldt in 1988 inpursuit of an engineering degreeas a transfer student from the

University of Georgia. Having attend-ing a large southern university, I wassurprised and refreshed to find theatmosphere at Humboldt to be verypersonal, open, and easy-going, yetchallenging in every respect. I cannot say that engineering course workcame to me naturally, nor will I attestto having been one of the most disci-plined students. Nonetheless, asformer ERE professor Mac McKeetold me after reviewing my Georgiatranscripts, "The fact that you havetaken every college mathematicscourse twice is not a good measure ofyour mathematical aptitude, but itcertainly does demonstrate some te-nacity. I think we can make an engi-neer out of you." Four (and bit more)

years later with the help and daunt-less efforts of some special membersof the ERE faculty (to which I ameternally grateful), I graduated. In-spiration came to me when I first sawa small constructed wetland gray-water system at CCAT. I thought,�how elegant and effective�. Aftertwo years of getting in the muck withDr. Bob, I was convinced and I be-came a wetland disciple.

My first assignment took my goodfriend Piete and me to Mexico as vol-unteers by invitation. I traveled bybus with Piete to the southern state ofChiapis to design and construct asmall, demonstration wetland treat-ment system for a technical second-ary school. I can say today that it isperhaps the most exciting and reward-ing project with which I have beeninvolved. With the generous support

� continued on page 4

EREnewal ......................................... 2Mike Anderson

Why is SD 17 Empty? .................... 3Lynn McIndoo and Sangam Tiwari

Expanding Your Horizons ............ 4Jillian Gayheart

Building Big .................................... 5Heidi Gehlhaar

Alumni Profile ................................ 5

Former IDT Student PresentsProjects in Honduras ..................... 6Lincoln Balassa

IDT Student Explores Cuba'sPotential ........................................... 7Lynn McIndoo and Sangam Tiwari

Wetland Database Improved forEPA .................................................... 8Brad Finney

SWE Flume Provides Fun for AllOn Your Marks, Get Wet, Learn! ........ 9Lynn McIndoo and Sangam Tiwari

What do YOU Think About theERE Website? ................................ 1 0Beth Eschenbach

What Did ERE Students Do LastSummer? ........................................ 1 1

Find Out What Some GraduatePrograms Have to Offer YOU! .. 1 2

In This Issue

Jeff Hendrich (center) and friends.

ERE MESSENGER2

S T A F FEDITORS

Lynn McIndooSangam Tiwari

DESIGN AND LAYOUTMike Anderson

PRINTINGUniversity Graphic Services

For comments or subscriptions:ERESA@axe.humboldt.edu

T he HSU ERE program is at acritical point in its history interms of facilities, equipment,

and accreditation. Consequently, overthis past year I worked with RichCorsi (ERE 1983), University of Texasat Austin Professor of Civil Engineer-ing and Director of the Texas Insti-tute for the Indoor Environment, toform the EREnewal Committee andcreate the EREnewal Fund. Criticalassistance was also provided by MaryWells, HSU Senior Development Of-ficer. The committee is made up ofseventeen ERE alumni volunteers andis chaired by Rich Corsi. It intends toraise $400,000 from ERE students,parents, alumni, employers, and otherindividuals and corporations to helprenew and reinvigorate the ERE Pro-gram.

This is a very ambitious under-taking, but we know it will be worththe effort. Donations to the EREnewalFund are tax deductible as allowedby law, and go entirely to the EREDepartment. Funds will be depositedin HSU Foundation trust accountsthat are administered by the EREChair. The EREnewal Committee willmail support request letters to morethan 800 ERE alumni in January 2001,with requests to other potential do-nors later in the year. Recently, a

member of the EREnewal committeeand spouse made the first donationto the fund: $4,000 cash, plus a $12,000employer 3-to-1 matching equipmentgift from IBM!

With approximately 200 majorstudents, ERE is the largest and sixtholdest of the 27 (five on the westcoast) accredited, undergraduateenvironmental engineering pro-grams in the U.S. The program�s his-torical success is due in large part tofour factors: the number and qualityof ERE faculty members, the EREcurriculum, enthusiastic and dedi-cated ERE students, and the outstand-ing professional contributions of EREgraduates working productively ev-ery day in the real world. But pro-gram success is vulnerable to weak-nesses associated with these andother factors.

The ERE program has been ac-credited by the Accreditation Boardfor Engineering and Technology(ABET) since 1981. ABET Accredita-tion enhances ERE�s academic andprofessional standing in the commu-nity, and increases employment andgraduate school opportunities forERE graduates. However, the pastseveral ABET evaluation reports,spanning more than a decade, havebeen critical of ERE facilities andequipment, and of university admin-istration financial commitment to theprogram, especially support for fa-cilities and equipment. The programis significantly short of laboratoryspace (by about 50%) and does notreceive enough annual funding toupgrade and maintain state-of-the-art equipment and instrumentationnecessary to sustain its position asthe preeminent undergraduate envi-ronmental engineering program inthe country. Something must be donesoon to change this situation, not

merely to maintain minimum accredi-tation standards, but to continue tooffer a truly excellent education toERE students. While CSU and HSUadministrators must increase finan-cial support of the program, it is clearthat a world class ERE Program can-not be sustained at HSU by state fundsalone. Additional support must beobtained from other sources, includ-ing ERE alumni and friends.

Fortunately, there is some goodnews in all of this. Last summer, wewere finally able to upgrade the eight-year-old computers in the ERE Com-putation Laboratory, and this semes-ter, with the support of the HSU ad-ministration and funding from theCalifornia Workforce Initiative, thedepartment will regain control of theentire bottom floor of Science-D andadd a much-needed ERE Design Stu-dio there. In addition, quality spacein a nearby building is being madeavailable for a modern thermody-namics and renewable energy labo-ratory. However, this is simply a longoverdue good start, and much moreis required.

To help renew and reinvigoratethe ERE Program and provide EREstudents with a world-class educa-tion, EREnewal funds will be used to:• Upgrade and maintain ERE facili-ties. We need to add a second designstudio, expand and upgrade our wa-ter and air quality lab, add a �dirty�water lab facility, add a space forconducting long-term experiments,and relocate our thermodynamicsand energy resources lab. In addi-tion, the main ERE Science-D entrancelooks like a loading dock and needs a�face lift� so as to invite people in.• Locate all ERE facilities in a singlegeographic area of campus. To en-courage and support interaction (ad-vising, group projects, collaborativeresearch, etc.) among and betweenstudents and faculty, and to promoteconvenient and safe travel betweenfacilities around the clock, all EREfacilities must be located in a singlegeographic area of campus. The EREDepartment supports locating all EREfacilities in one or two adjoining or

byC. Mike Anderson

ERE Professor and Chair

EREnewal

ERE MESSENGER 3

Top Ten Reasons toDate an Engineer

10. The world does revolvearound us... we choose the co-ordinate system.

9. No �couple� enjoys a bet-ter �moment�.

8. We know how to handlestress and strain in a rela-tionship.

7. We have significant fig-ures.

6. EK301: The motion of rigidbodies.

5. Projectile motion: Do weneed to say more?

4. Engineers do it to specifi-cation.

3. According to Newton, iftwo bodies interact, theirforces are equal and oppo-site.

2. We know it�s not the lengthof the vector that counts, buthow you apply the force.

And the number one reasonto date an engineer:

1. WE KNOW THE RIGHT-HAND RULE!

CALENDARJoin us and take part in these

Spring 2001 activities.

JANUARYSpring Tutoring Program Begins

FEBRUARYMathCOUNTS

ASCE Nat'l Engineering WeekASCE Design Competition

MARCHComedy Night

ASCE Mock InterviewsExpanding Your Horizons

APRILERESA Annual Rafting Trip

ASCE/ERESA Awards BanquetASCE Water Treatment Competition

MAYGood Luck Grads!

neighboring buildings.• Upgrade and maintain ERE equip-ment. Much of ERE�s current labora-tory and field equipment is old and inneed of repair or replacement, andnot sufficient in quantity to supportindividual student work stations.

Additionally, new or replacementcomputers are needed for ERE labsand faculty offices, and additional soft-ware is needed for ERE computers.Student access to appropriate com-puting facilities outside class hours(for homework, projects, etc.) is a par-ticularly significant problem.• Design and implement a depart-ment-level student recruiting pro-gram. Both ERE major enrollment andFTES decreased significantly over thepast five years. While both appear tohave bottomed out, some new effortsare needed to attract additional qual-ity students. Currently, most recruit-ing is carried out by the Office ofEnrollment Management; we plan afour-pronged recruiting effort that di-rectly involves ERE faculty, studentsand alumni.• Maintain ABET accreditation.

For additional information onEREnewal, please contact EREnewalCommittee Chair Rich Corsi at<corsi@mail.utexas.edu>, or EREChair Mike Anderson at 707-826-3617<cma2@humboldt.edu>.

EREnewal Committee members:

Richard Corsi (ERE 1983)Mark Dubrow (ERE 1991)Sarina Ergas (ERE 1988)Michael Garello (ERE 1999)Wendy Humphries (ERE 1996)Tony Llanos (ERE 1996)Daene McKinney (ERE 1983)Martha Moore (ERE 1985)Karen Murphy (ERE 1983)Peggy Olofson (ERE 1992)Tony Petroccitto (ERE 1984)Eric Polson (ERE 1984)Patrick Sullivan (ERE 1996)Elizabeth Smith (ERE 1986)Todd Thalhammer (ERE 1992)Robert Wienke (ERE 1984)Suzanne Wienke(Shelton) (ERE 1984)

ERESA

D uring the last ABET accreditation visit, it was recommended that the admin-

istration increase the size and im-prove the quality of the ERE labora-tory facilities. The response of theadministration was to return ScienceD 17 to the ERE department. SD 17will be used as a design studio,equipped with 12 to13 new comput-ers, similar to those in SD 15. The labwill also have a new scanner, plotter,and color laser printer.

The ERE department is still in theprocess of designing the layout of theroom. They want the room to be flex-ible, allowing for dynamic groupwork while still providing a settingfor more traditional classroom lec-tures. Student input for the layout isgreatly encouraged. Access to the lab

WHY IS SCIENCE D 17 EMPTY?by

Lynn McIndoo and Sangam TiwariERE students

will be available sometime this se-mester, although specific dates arestill pending. ERESA

ERE MESSENGER4

of the local government and the ef-forts of many young ambitious hands,a small wetland was constructed toshow how low cost it can be to usenatural systems in order to clean do-mestic sewage. It became clear thatwith common support and enthusi-asm nearly anything was possible.

My second assignment was ofquite another flavor. After returningto Humboldt, I met with an old ac-quaintance that was involved in refu-gee relief work in Africa. After beingcompletely intrigued by tales of hisexperiences, I contacted several reliefagencies and was quickly hired as awater and sanitation field engineer. Iwas shipped out to rural Tanzaniawhere I was posted to construct wa-ter and latrine facilities, and imple-ment malaria control programs forthe refugees fleeing Rwanda andBurundi. These were trying times forthe people of central Africa. I learnedmany lessons about survival and thewill of people. I made many friends.One experiences the best and worstthat a person can be in such situa-tions. I realized the significance ofclean water and good sanitation. Atthe completion of my stay in Tanza-nia I declined a second assignment inAzerbaijian, deciding instead to en-ter into the private sector. I becameinvolved briefly in a family construc-tion enterprise that took me to Tur-key. There I learned to enjoy the manyfine aspects of the Middle East thatyou so rarely see on the nightly newsand learned a bit about private inter-national business and the food chain.

Interested in continuing to workinternationally, specifically theMiddle East, I joined Harza Environ-mental Services, a division of HarzaEngineering Services, in 1998. Harzaneeded an environmental engineerto work on overseas assignments in�challenging� regions. They took in-terest in me because of my uniqueinternational work experience in thewater, sanitation, and constructionfield. My first assignment with Harzawas a potable water loss study in the

Eastern Turkish capital of Diyarbakir.This assignment required intensivedaily contact with not only the waterauthority and local government au-thorities, but also the people ofDiyarbakir. Through my work, I wasafforded a unique insight into thelives and homes of the Turkishpeople, again making many friends.I realized then what water means ina place such as the Middle East. In1999, I was transferred to Egyptwhere I served as Environmental En-gineer under a USAID Water andWastewater Master Planning Con-tract for Middle Egypt. My specifictasks under the project were varied.Highlights included researchingwetland applications to treat ruralwastewater, contributing to a WaterQuality Management FeasibilityStudy of Lake Qarun, monitoringexisting water and wastewater facili-ties, and conducting village waterand wastewater service assessments,and hob-knobbing with some gov-ernment types. Currently, Harza con-tinues work in Egypt. I am presentlybased in the Harza/Egypt home of-fice in Cairo ramping up for a con-struction management contract over-seeing water and wastewater infra-structure improvements recom-mended under the Middle EgyptMaster Plan.

This is my story. I hope you en-joyed it. In closing, I offer a few wordsof advice and incentive as one whohasn�t followed a traditional path. Iwould like to say to all you EREstudents who are wondering whatit's all about after graduation andconsidering international careers:Hang in there and if you feel the urgeto work and travel as an environ-mental resources engineer then its�Wide Open�. Be inclined to take afew risks, try different things, and beopen to new experiences, cultures,and customs but remember that en-gineering is for people and the envi-ronment. Based upon my short expe-rience, communication, observation,and friends are the most importantelements to a successful internationalengineering experience. Also a hobbyhelps. Cheers! ERESA

H umboldt State Universitywill be hosting the Expanding Your Horizons (EYH)

conference for young women onMarch 31, 2001. Expanding YourHorizons is a conference for 6th � 8th

grade girls that is presented everyother year. The conference encour-ages the girls to consider careers thatrequire math and science. The work-shops provide fun and exciting, hands-on experience in the math and sciencefields.

Local women professionals andcollege students present the work-shops. Each girls selects 2 of 50 work-shops from 15 different categories.During lunch, the participants attendthe science mall where local profes-sionals have informational booths onmath and science-related careers andmore hands-on activities. Parents andteachers are welcome to attend adultworkshops that focus on helping thegirls to succeed. The workshops covercollege preparation and other usefulinformation.

The upcoming conference willmark the third generation of SWE in-volvement with EYH. This year, SWEwill be developing and facilitatingthree different workshops. One in-volves river hydraulics, where the girlsdesign, construct, and test their ownflume inserts made of Styrofoam.Another workshop will be related toactivities from last semester�s Build-ing Big. For example, the participantsmay design and test their own bridges.The third workshop may allow thegirls to build their own simple circuitsthat are powered with photovoltaiccells.

The Expanding your Horizonsconference is expecting anywherefrom 300 to 400 young women, com-ing from all over Northern California.If you would like to participate, pleasecontact swe@humboldt.edu or see theEYH web page at <http://www.humboldt.edu/~eyh>. ERESA

Expand Your Horizonsby

Jillian GayheartERE Student

� continued from page 1

Egypt

ERE MESSENGER 5

Building Big Brings Awareness ofEngineering to the Public

L ast fall, a national project calledBuilding Big was launched toeducate the public about civil

engineering. Building Big is spon-sored by WGBH in Boston, the larg-est PBS station in the country. WGBHproduced a five part miniseries onmegastructures and the people whohave designed and built them. Fiveone hour-long programs on Bridges,Domes, Skyscrapers, Dams, and Tun-nels aired throughout October.

WGBH also awarded one of ten$13,000 grants to our local PBS sta-tion, KEET-TV of Eureka. KEETformed a model community withpartners including the North CoastBranch of ASCE, the HumboldtCounty Office of Education, and theBoys and Girls Club Eureka TeenCenter to educate local children aboutthe world of civil engineering.

During September and October,professionals and ERE students fromour local engineering community vis-ited 7th and 8th grade classrooms inHumboldt and Del Norte Counties.The classes had an opportunity to dohands-on activities that introducedthem to concepts such as tension,compression, and load.

Each class was also given an in-structional video describing how todevelop a concrete mix and how tocreate a concrete test cylinder. Thecylinders created by local classes weretested in the SHN Consulting Engi-neers� laboratory to determine theircompressive strength. The winningclass (Mr. McCullough�s class atLoleta School) received T-shirts, anice cream social, and $500 for instruc-tional materials.

In addition, a Build-A-Thon washeld at the Bayshore Mall on Novem-ber 11th. The Build-A-Thon was a one-day community event meant to high-

light the profession of civil engineer-ing. Hands-on activities, videos, andthe SWE flume were on display. Alarge number of HSU ERE studentsand faculty participated. Many thanksto all of you who visited classroomsand assisted at the Build-A-Thon!

The Building Big project culmi-nated on November 14 with the debutof the local television program on en-gineering wonders. The hour-longspecial Engineering Is Everywhere washosted by ERE student HeidiGehlhaar, along with local 7th and 8th

graders, and featured ERE professorRobert Gearheart. The program ex-plores the engineering and the his-tory behind Fernbridge, the HumboldtBay dredging project, the ArcataMarsh and Wildlife Sanctuary, RuthDam, and the Crescent City Breakwa-ter. The challenges and triumphs ofeach engineering wonder are ex-plored, along with their importanceto the North Coast community today.Engineering Is Everywhere was recentlynominated for a local Emmy Award.The program was chosen from amonga number of educational programsfrom the Northern California area,including San Francisco and Sacra-mento.

Building Big continues into 2001with an essay contest on local engi-neering wonders for 7th and 8th gradestudents. More than 30 entries havebeen received and are currently beingjudged. The writers of the top 7th and8th grade essays will each receive apersonal computer. The nationalBulding Big series and the local pro-gram, Engineering is Everywhere, willbe rebroadcast during KEET�s pledgedrive in March. Local engineers andstudents plan to help work the KEETphones during the drive.

If you are interested in volunteer-

ing during the KEET pledge drive orwould like to get a video copy ofEngineering Is Everywhere, contactHeidi at <hmg4@humboldt.edu>.ERESAby

Heidi GehlhaarERE Student Alumni Profile

Jennifer Petrik (ERE 1998)EngineerSchiller AssociatesBoulder, CO

I work for Schiller Associates, anengineering firm that deals withlarge-scale energy conservation withutilities in California, Wisconsin, andTexas. We develop and implementmonetary incentive programs for theutilities. We have offices in Boulder,Colorado, and Oakland and LongBeach, California. I work in a cubicalin front of a computer all day. I checkenergy savings calculations of En-ergy Saving Companies (ESCOs) whoare applying for incentive dollars inexchange for kW and kWh savingsthat ultimately show up at the powerplant.

I do regression models to findcorrelations between weather dataand Schiller kW usage. I write up myfindings and recommendations forapproval or rejection for a particularproject and send it to the utility com-pany. This is a niche in the energyindustry. There are many ESCOs outthere that solicit potential sites (gro-cery stores, hotels, hospitals, etc.) forwork. In exchange they guarantee acertain percentage of energy savingsthat show up in the site�s utility bill.

Schiller (www.schiller.com) iscurrently hiring engineers. Contactme at <jenniferp@schiller.com> forinformation. ERESA

There is the possibility that atwo week design course intreatment wetlands may beoffered by Dr. Gearheartshortly after the spring se-mester ends.

NOTE:

ERE MESSENGER6

Former IDT Student PresentsProjects in Honduras

byLincoln Balassa

� continued on page 10

H onduras is by most indicesone of the least developedcountries in the western

hemisphere. It is also a country ofmajestic beauty and friendly culture.A mountainous terrain, little infra-structure development, and an un-stable political environment have hadimplications on the ability of Hondu-ras to create employment and eco-nomic stability, and thereby utilizeits natural resources. The opportu-nity that comes with this crisis is thatHonduras is still 50 percent forestedand the population is still at 50 per-cent of its potential. Most familieslive on a combination of subsistenceagriculture, hiring out their labor, andexchanging of goods and services.

Like the rest of the world, urban-ization is steadily growing. Peopleare drawn to the cities to gain accessto jobs, health care, and educationalfacilities. What they often find in-stead is under-employment while liv-ing in violent slums without sanita-tion and traditional safety nets suchas family support, community iden-tity, and land on which to grow staplefoods.

Health care in Honduras is ad-equate even by standards for devel-oped countries, but only for the fewpeople who can afford it and live in ornear urban centers such as San PedroSula and the capital, Tegucigalpa. Formost people, health care is limited toillness or injury that is life- threaten-ing. Traditional therapies based uponherbal remedies and indigenoushealth practices play a significant rolein the health care system of Hondu-ras. However, what makes traditionaltherapies inexpensive and accessiblehave also lead to practitioners thathave had no standardized training atbest. Acute injuries and illnesses are

frequently treated improperly be-cause emergency medical services aredifficult, if not impossible, to obtain.

This paints a rather harsh pic-ture, but the experiences I have had inHonduras over the last six years haveshown me a country rich in scenicbeauty, people that are kind and gen-erous, and an opportunity to stepoutside �normal� life and act with asmall measure of heroism. This is notto say international development isabout saving the world or sticking afeather in one�s cap. The model is notsuperman. The type of heroism towhich I refer is more like a socialworker, a person that works very hardto solve intractable problems far be-yond their resources for little rewardand no recognition. That is what I amtalking about. But it feels right andlittle problems solved sometimes turninto real solutions.

My involvement in Hondurasbegan in 1995 when I helped teach aWilderness First Responder courseto rural health practitioners spon-sored by the Central Dioces of theEpiscopal Church of North Carolinaand Appalachia State University.During this first trip I conducted awater use survey in El Corpus, a vil-lage in the southern Department ofCholuteca from which five of theworkshop participants hailed. Efflu-ent from the sewage collection sys-tem was straight-piped into a streamthat was a tributary for the watersource of a community further downthe mountain.

Leaders in El Corpus had beenconcerned about the untreated efflu-ent for a number of years but couldnot afford the system analysis re-quired by the government to secure alow interest loan. Over the next year,we collaborated on a design of a bio-

logical sewage treatment facility thatwould be inexpensive, low mainte-nance, and use locally available ma-terials and craftsmanship. The sys-tem was built the summer of 1996using a rock filtration tank, a settlingtank, and a massive tank for 24 cubicmeters of gravel substrate for biologi-cal treatment. A small water qualitylaboratory was set up to collect BOD,nitrate, phosphate, fecal coliform, DO,settlable matter, and clarity data fromthe treatment facility and naturalstreams used as potable watersources. In addition to the EpiscopalChurch and ASU, a grant was se-cured from the Cern Foundation toassist with chemical supplies, con-struction materials, and plane fare.

In June of 1998 I drove a dieseltruck with humanitarian supplies forthe orphanage, Nuestro PequenoHermanos (Our Little Bothers andSisters), and trained a water qualitytechnician to conduct extension workin communities neighboring El Cor-pus. Subsequent to Hurricane Mitch,I collected medical supplies andhelped distribute them into villagesthat had up to that point, been inac-cessible to humanitarian aid.

At the time of writing this article,I am a week from driving a smalldiesel truck to Honduras to finish updata collection on the sewage treat-ment facility, buy a 6 hectare farm,and meet with a Honduran non-profitby the name of Los CommunidadesUnidas (The United Communities) tojointly plan future projects in Hondu-ras. My intention is to develop a non-profit that incorporates aspects ofsustainable agriculture, water qual-ity advocacy, and ecotourism. Theseare just some of the areas that TheUnited Communities has expressed

ERE MESSENGER 7

Currently 96% of Cuba is connected to the electri-cal grid. However, imported petroleum is expen-sive and the Cuban government is aware thatthey must search for their own alternative sourcesof energy, especially as a result of the total U.S.embargo. One step in this direction is their use ofthe byproduct of sugar cane harvesting, calledbagasse. From this product they are able to de-rive 30% of their energy needs during harvesttime. Furthermore, they have recognized thepotential for biogas. Another development to-wards relying on renewable energies is theirdesire to electrify the remaining 4% of the coun-try with solar panels. The rural electrificationprojects are often funded by international non-profit agencies and NGOs; however the Cubangovernment is also providing financial, infra-structure, and logistical support.

Did you know...

IDT Student ExploresCuba's Potential

byLynn McIndoo and Sangam Tiwari

ERE Students

R achel Brunhke is currently agraduate student in Environmental Systems with an em-

phasis in International DevelopmentTechnology (IDT) program at HSU.Rachel has always felt a connectionwith Latin America; as an under-graduate at Long Beach State Univer-sity she studied political science withan emphasis in Latin Ameri-can studies. She spent her jun-ior year in a study-abroad pro-gram in Peru. She was also theEcuador coordinator for Glo-bal Routes, a non-profit educa-tional program providing U.S.college students opportunitiesto participate in grassroots in-ternational development. Af-ter these experiences she joinedthe Peace Corps where shespent three years in Honduraspromoting environmentalawareness.

Rachel learned about theIDT program at Humboldtfrom the Peace Corps Newslet-ter Hotline. She says the pro-gram is best suited for thosewho are independent and self-motivated. She believes the IDTprogram is on the cutting edgeof international sustainable develop-ment theory. She feels that the focuson the human as well as the techno-logical parameters is the most realis-tic way of working sustainably andjustly in Third World societies.

Rachel�s Environmental Sys-tems/IDT thesis involves the studyof consciousness-raising in Cuba as-sociated with energy problems andthe use of Cuba�s educational systemto teach about renewable energy. Hertwo semesters of work at CampusCenter of Appropriate Technology(CCAT) greatly influenced her studyof alternative energy systems. She

has chosen to focus on Cuba becauseof the friendliness of the people andfact that they are intent on retainingtheir independence, both economi-cally and politically. She has visitedCuba on four occasions thus far. Onher first visit, she established contactwith Cubasolar, a Cuban NGO thatdeals specifically with renewable

energy development and promotion.She received an invitation and re-turned four months later to make apresentation on HSU�s CCAT as aworking model of appropriate tech-nology at the �Cubasolar 2000� in-ternational conference on renewableenergies.

Her presentation of CCAT wasvery well received and initial con-tacts were made for collaboration ona �Casa Solar� at the University ofSantiago, which will be similar toCCAT. Another success at this con-ference was that Rachel representedHSU in front of the many other coun-

tries that attended the conference:Italy, France, Germany, Venezuela,and Kazakhstan, to name a few.

In the summer of 2000, Rachelagain returned to Cuba to meet withprofessors at the University ofSantiago. She was told that they al-ready have a designated house forthe appropriate technology project.

Rachel�s last visit to Cuba wasfrom November 8-24, 2000. Four HSUstudents from various fields of studyaccompanied her. They spent the firstfive days participating in the SecondWorld Conference on Solidarity andFriendship with Cuba. More than4,000 people attended representing118 different countries; more than

600 Americans attended theconference to defend the sov-ereignty of Cuba. Rachel andthe students then traveled tothe colonial city of Santiago deCuba to meet with studentsand faculty from the univer-sity. They brought a suitcasefull of tools and literature onappropriate technology.

Currently, Rachel is lookingfor those who are interested injoining her for three weeks onher next trip to Cuba this sum-mer. The trip will coincide withthe UN celebration of WorldEnvironment in Havana onJune 5. Anyone interested insustainable development is en-couraged to consider this nexttrip as she will be re-visitingthe University of Santiago deCuba and working with theengineering students to install

PV panels on the Casa Solar, as wellas visiting rural solar-powered vil-lages. The recently returned studentsare planning to start a Cuba Friend-ship Club here on campus to raisemoney and awareness. Finally,Rachel is organizing lectures by aCuban scientist in the field of renew-able energy here on campus sometime this spring.

If you are interested in learningmore about Cuba, attend one ormore of the Cuba talks or events thissemester, or contact Rachel at<sojournerrb@yahoo.com>. ERESA

ERE MESSENGER8

Y ou probably think that a sab-batical leave is equivalent to avacation for faculty members.

Well, I only wish it were true! Thefollowing is an overview of one of theprojects I worked on for the US EPAduring my �vacation�. It was an in-teresting education in SQL databaseprogramming, HTML, Javascript,VBScript, ASP (Active Server Pages),Apache Web Servers, Linux, VisualBasic, and of course treatment wet-lands. About 10,000 lines of codelater, I managed to finish enough ofthe database and the associated website to fool the EPA and call it quits.You can visit the final product at http://firehole.humboldt.edu/wetland/twdb.html. Now I AM ready for avacation!

Information concerning the de-sign and operational performance ofconstructed treatment wetlands hasbeen accumulating, resulting in thedevelopment of a rapidly growingbody of literature available to indi-viduals who are interested in apply-ing this technology for water qualitytreatment. Easy access to design andperformance characteristics of exist-ing wetlands is critical so that plan-ners, design engineers, and systemoperators can avoid past mistakes andemulate successes in new systems.

A number of efforts have beenundertaken to assess the effective-ness of treatment wetlands, and tosummarize information from diversedata sources into a collection of per-formance descriptions. One of themost comprehensive summarizationefforts to date was the developmentof the North American Wetlands forWater Quality Data Base (NADB),funded by the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA). A majorityof the data came from well-fundedprojects (i.e., large-scale pilotprojects), and the data quality can beconsidered to be good. However,other NADB data contains question-

able flow rates and constituent con-centration values. In most cases, thedata are not raw observed measure-ments, but aggregated monthly andseasonal averages.

The NADB has failed to serve asan effective tool for distributing in-formation on constructed wetlandtreatment performance, because mostof the data contained in the NADB isnot readily accessible without addi-tional software and programming ex-perience beyond the reach of mostusers. In addition, no mechanism isprovided to continue to update thedatabase with additional data at ex-isting sites, or to add new sites.

The Treatment Wetland Data-base (TWDB) was developed to buildupon the NADB data while address-ing some of the deficiencies of theNADB. The design objectives of theTWDB are to:• utilize a modern, efficient data-base structure• allow easily expandable datatables with no preset limit on thenumber of water quality parameters,plant types, and similar system de-scriptors• include wetland characterizationdescriptors beyond those in theNADB, including design nutrientloading rates, O/M costs, monthlymeteorological data for the site, andphotos and drawings of the facility• incorporate all of the NADB datafor constructed and natural wetlands• allow users to submit new data atexisting facilities and to add newfacilities• provide a query tool to identify awetland that meets search criteria• export data that can be easily im-ported into a data analysis tool suchas a spreadsheet• provide access from a web browser

All user access to the TWDB isvia a standard web browser. Thehome page for the site is http://firehole.humboldt.edu/wetland/

twdb.html. Two basic modes of ac-cess are available, data query anddata upload. The data query modeallows the user to select a wetlandthat matches a defined set of searchcriteria. The search criteria used bythe query tool include wetland name,state, EPA region, hydraulic flowtype, wastewater source, type of pre-treatment, and water quality constitu-ent. After a specific wetland is cho-sen, a detail page is displayed, whichprovides access to all of the informa-tion provided in the wetland over-view database table. The user canalso view publications, graphics, andmultimedia files associated with thewetland. After selecting a samplepoint and a sample parameter, theuser can download operational data.The data are given as comma delim-ited text for easy importing into adata analysis tool such as a spread-sheet.

The user can also add descriptiveand operational data for a wetlandthat already exists in the database, oradd a new wetland to the database.Data entry is from a password pro-tected web page, to insure that onlyauthorized users submit data for anyparticular wetland. The data receivesa simple integrity check prior to be-ing added to the database. Data entrypasswords are obtained from the website administrator upon written re-quest.

The TWDB contains more than85,000 data entries from more than350 treatment wetlands in the UnitedStates and Canada. With the excep-tion of bio-monitoring data, all of thedata contained in the NADB VersionII (MS Windows Access engine) arecontained in the TWDB. Data fromadditional wetlands has been entered,and future efforts will be directed atidentifying new data sources. Futureefforts will also be directed at encour-aging individuals responsible forwetlands contained within the TWDBto complete the entry of the descrip-tive data associated with their wet-land, and to begin to submit newoperational data on a regular basis.ERESA

Wetland Database Improved for EPAby

Brad FinneyERE Professor

ERE MESSENGER 9

A s the children played withthe flume at the Build-A-Thon at the Bayshore Mall in

Eureka, California on Saturday, No-vember 11, 2000, they watched whathappened as water flowed past bridgeinserts at different flow levels,slammed rubber-duckies against theend of the flume using rapid flows,and watched with awe as eddies andhydraulic jumps developed. Whatseemed like a lot of fun was really anintroduction to fluid mechanics andriver hydraulics. This fun way of in-troducing fundamental engineeringapplications to children was the goalbehind creating the flume.

The Humboldt State UniversitySociety of Women Engineers flume isan interactive water physics displaythat will be donated to the RedwoodDiscovery Museum, a local children�sscience museum. The purpose of theflume is to demonstrate basic envi-ronmental resources engineeringprinciples to children. In the fall of1998, under the direction of the SWEclub and the Environmental Re-sources Engineering faculty, HSUfluid mechanics students designedthe flume. SWE then raised funds vialocal donations and a $3500 grantfrom SWE National in order to com-plete the flume project. The flumewas built by ERE Technician, CliffSorensen. In addition, more than 70ERE students have completed classprojests associated with the flume.

The flume is approximately 8 ft

long, 3 ft wide, and consists of aPlexiglas tank, aluminum siding, anda steel base that serves as the reservoir.It holds 100 gallons and circulateswater with a 1.0 HP pump. A singlesheet of Plexiglas is used to separatetwo six-inch wide channels. The chan-nel slope is adjustable using an airjack. The flow rates of each channelmay be controlled by opening or clos-ing the sluice gates at the entrance.The outflow is made adjustable usinghinged doors that may be lifted orlowered.

In the fall of 2000, the ENGR 448River Hydraulics class designed andbuilt inserts for the flume. The insertsinclude a spring-loaded gate, 2 differ-ent bridges; (one with multiple piers,the other with a single pier founda-tion), velocity meters made out of plas-tic toy water-wheels, a broad-crestedweir, and simulations of natural chan-nel bottoms and obstructions. Ping-pong balls and two rubber-duckiesalso are used.

In addition, thirteen Fall 2000ENGR 111 students developed webpages and display boards to accom-pany the flume and the inserts. TheENGR 111 students worked with theENGR 448 students to learn more aboutthe flume and the inserts. These webpages and boards will be used to ex-plain fluid mechanics topics to stu-dents and teachers that are interestedin the flume.

This semester, the flume will beused for a minimum of eight different

outreach events in order to educateyouth about environmental re-sources engineering. The goal is toreach a wide range of students in-cluding elementary, middle, andhigh school levels as well as the localGirl Scout chapter, youth residing inthe Hoopa Reservation, and the chil-dren who receive services fromHumboldt Women for Shelter.Meanwhile, the flume will be a per-manent learning tool for children ofall ages in the Redwood DiscoveryMuseum, which is planning its re-opening in Eureka�s Old Town Dis-trict in February, 2001.

The mission of the Society ofWomen Engineers is to promote di-versity in the field of engineering byencouraging young women (andyoung men) to study math and sci-ence. The flume is one of many modesof engineering outreach used to meetthis objective. In order to accom-plish our goal of presenting theflume, we need your participation!Not only is playing with the flume agood learning experience for engi-neering students, but playing withchildren can be rewarding (and re-ally fun!). It is a means to excite themabout all of the possibilities in theirfuture and to make them more awareof the physical phenomena sur-rounding them that may be ex-plained by engineering concepts.Feel free to contact SWE atSWE@humboldt.edu or drop in toany of our weekly meetings. ERESA

SWE FLUME PROJECT FUN FOR ALL:On Your Marks, Get Wet, Learn!

byLynn McIndoo and Sangam Tiwari

ERE Students

Many thanks to everyone who donated money last semester for the holiday gifts. We wereable to buy eight presents for abused and neglected children between the ages of 3-12years. The gifts were given to the children through the local non-profit group CASA.

ERE MESSENGER10

D uring the first eight weeksof the Fall 2000 semester, agroup of ERE students

(Brett Bateman, Ben Bray, MelissaClark, Olivia Magaña, Monica Mar-tin, Tully McCarthy, Tien Tai, andBecky Teasley) and myself met onThursday evenings at 6 pm in SD 15.We ate pizza and drank soda, butmost of all we worked on the rede-sign of the ERE department web site.

The ERE web pages are beingredesigned to update the content andimprove the appearance and ease ofuse of the site. We hope the rede-signed site will lead to improved com-munication between the ERE pro-gram and: (1) current and prospec-tive students and their parents, (2)our graduates, and (3) current andprospective employers of our gradu-ates. The redesigned site should beimplemented by May 2001, as wewill be receiving a visit by an ABETaccreditation team in the fall of 2001.The template for the new pages is at:< h t t p : / / w w w . h u m b o l d t . e d u /~eae1/eretemplate.html>. Also,some of the new pages have alreadybeen implemented by ERE students,and they can be found at <http://www.humboldt.edu/~ere_dept/re-design>.

History of the ERE Web SiteENGR 111 students designed the

What Do YOU Think Aboutthe ERE Web Site?

interest in developing, and they arethe areas I believe can be of someassistance.

I believe this is a critical momentin the history of Honduras, a momentof pause and then rapid action. Thetransition was already in progress,but Hurricane Mitch has catapultedHonduras into a sink or swim mode.The macroeconomic and social envi-ronments that appear to be headingtoward urbanization and internation-alization are likely to continue. To theextent that self-sufficiency can be cre-ated in the rural areas is the extent towhich the process can be slowed. Andin slowing there is a chance thesecommunities can learn to control thetype of development that occurs.

The International DevelopmentTechnology curriculum at HSU pro-vided me the flexibility to pursuecourse work in water quality analy-sis, management of potable andwastewater systems, microbiology,remote energy supplies such as pho-tovoltaics and hydroelectric genera-tors, and the integration of technolo-gies into areas experiencing economic,cultural, and environmental changes.In addition, I have worked as an RNin Public Health and was the Assis-tant Education Manager at ClagettFarm, a sustainable agriculture re-search facility.

Working in international devel-opment has created many challeng-ing and wonderful opportunities forme. I would like to extend an invita-tion to those seeking a connection inCentral America to do some academicor pragmatic work to contact me at<adelante@bellsouth.net>. ERESA

� continued from page 6Honduras

byBeth Eschenbach

ERE Associate Professor

If you chuckle whenever anyone says �centrifugal force.�If you know how to integrate a chicken and can take the derivative of water.If you have to bring a jacket with you, in the middle of summer, becausethere�s a wind-chill factor in the lab.If you are completely addicted to caffeine.If you avoid doing anything because you don�t want to contribute to theeventual heat-death of the universe.If you consider ANY non-science course �easy�.If you make a hard copy of this list, and post it on your door.

You Might Be an Engineering Major...

original web site in the spring of 1995.The site was implemented in thespring of 1996 by several ERE stu-dent volunteers. Over the years, vari-ous ERE students have developednew content for the web site: StevenBradley, Summer Bundy, CarenCoonrod, Carl Fiorica, Mike Garello,Joelle Geppert, Rico Lara, JeniMcGregor, Joe Riess, and Lisa Vossler.

In the summer of 2000, MikeAnderson and I met with an on-cam-pus consultant to get ideas about howto improve the ERE web site. EREstudent Monica Martin then tookthose ideas and developed a tem-plate for the site. The URL for thetemplate that Monica developed islisted above.

How to Get InvolvedWe need your input on how to

improve the ERE web site. Or betteryet, consider joining our web pagedevelopment team. You do not needto be a web page expert to help. Askany of those that have helped withthe project. We especially need thosethat are good at editing images tohelp us. Our team will meet oneevening a week for the first eightweeks of the spring semester. I willprovide dinner for those that come tothe meeting. Students who work onweb pages will be compensated onaverage $10 per web page. (MikeAnderson has donated funds to sup-port this project).

If you have ideas of how the webpages can be improved to meet theneeds of our current and prospectivestudents, their parents, our alumnior employers, or if you want to helpdevelop the ERE department site,then please send an email to me at<eae1@humbolt.edu>. ERESA

ERE MESSENGER 11

What Did ERE Students do Last Summer?

I spent this past summer work-ing for Vector Engineering Inc., anenvironmental and geotechnical con-sulting firm located in Grass Valley,California. Vector has offices through-out South America, the Philippines,and in Houston, Texas. I spent myfirst week at Vector updating con-struction drawings for a landfill us-ing AutoCAD. I then became the siteinspector on the construction of a newliner system at a landfill in Sacra-mento. Once the liner system wascompleted I worked along the Ameri-can River in Sacramento where aslurry was being installed in the leveealong the river. At this site I per-formed all of the soils tests requiredby the contractor.

If this type of work interests you,I recommend that you apply. I foundthe notice for this job posted on thefish bowl window. The two things Iwish I had before going to work arethe ability to speak Spanish and apassport so that I might have had theopportunity to work at one of theiroverseas offices. I also recommendthat you be ready to work a lot - it wasnot uncommon to work as much asseventeen hours in a day. I wouldrecommend Vector to anyone; thepeople and the work environmentare great and the different jobs pro-vided me with a rewarding, personalchallenge.

Californians for Alternatives toToxics (CATs) is a non-profit organi-zation dedicated to reducing theamount of toxic chemicals used indaily activities. CATs primarily fo-cuses on reducing the use of pesti-cides; therefore, the organizationregularly monitors herbicide use bylocal timber industries as well as byCalifornia roadside managementagencies, which contribute some of

Last summer I worked for theURS Corporation in San Diego. URSis a large engineering and geologicconsulting firm. The company hasmuch work and is looking forengineers, (www.urscorp.com). Themain projects I worked on included:urban surface water quality, highwaylitter management, and highway cut/fill slope sediment erosion. In thearea of surface water quality, I helpedwith the company's contracts withthe cities and port district of San Diego

John Allen

Katie Bowman

Tully McCarthy

I had a really good experienceworking for Caltrans last summer. Itwas the first time I actually workedin the field of my studies, and I wasexcited and worried about what toexpect. I had the fortune to work fora resident engineer who was under-standing and who, when the timecame, gave me responsibilities thatgave me real engineering experience.

I was placed in the constructionbranch. I worked out of the Hydesvillefield office. My supervisor began mytraining by having me spend a weekwith each of the members of his staff.For the first couple of projects I wasbasically asking questions and tag-ging along with the Caltrans inspec-tors, who always gave me good ad-vice on what to look for and how todeal with contractors. As time wentby, they would give me the clipboardand let me �inspect�. The key to theseinspections, I learned, was simply tofollow the state regulations, the plans,

Domingo Cordoza

and the special provisions that comewith every project. Whenever I had aquestion about paperwork or legali-ties, the office staff would gladly showme how to get the answers.

Around the sixth week of work,my supervisor gave me full responsi-bility of a minor Caltrans project in-volving the placement of concrete andfish baffles in a concrete culvert. I hadto contact the contractor and coordi-nate the beginning of the construc-tion. Unfortunately, I soon learnedthat some contractors cut corners andignore specifications to make the jobcheaper. For example, the contractcalled for cleaning the culvert beforepouring any concrete. I reminded theforeman several times of this (therewas rust, garbage, and sand fromyears before). However, when thetime came to pour, the foreman sim-ply told me that he will just clean as�we go along�. I had to make thedifficult decision to turn the concretetruck away and enforce the specifica-tions of the contract. The foremancomplained to my boss, but I had hisfull support.

Dealing with this particular con-tractor taught me about the role of aninspecting engineer, the scope of his/her authority, and about being care-ful when dealing with unknown con-tractors. Overall, last summer wasfor me a good opportunity to learnand gain valuable experience.

the highest amounts of pesticides.CATs is one of the key componentsfor reducing the amount of herbicidessprayed along Humboldt and DelNorte counties� roadways. CATs hasalso been instrumental in banning theuse of pesticides in the city of Arcata.

I have interned with CATs forseveral years, and my regular dutiesinclude web site design, assisting theexecutive director with projects andreports, and responding to informa-tion requests, which includes provid-ing the public with information onalternative means of pest control.CATs serves as a clearinghouse forinformation; therefore, we are con-stantly researching the effects of newand already existing chemicals, andgenerating reports to inform the pub-lic about how they may be exposed totoxics. Much of the data compiled byCATs as well as many of our reportscan be viewed on the CATs web site.<www.reninet.com/catz>.

ERE MESSENGER12

Lynn McIndoo

My experience last summer wasnot associated with paid work, yet Ifeel that I learned many invaluablelessons that are seldom taught in aclassroom or typical job-like setting. Ispent three months in Costa Rica,Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala,and Belize with my boyfriend Tomvisiting rainforests, tropical beacheswhere with went scuba diving on theworld�s second largest reef, activevolcanoes, caves, and Mayan ruins.We also spent three weeks in Arcata�ssister city-Camoapa, Nicaragua. Eachyear a group of students and commu-

Sangam Tiwari

Last summer, I assisted ERE sec-retary Barbara Smith and professorBob Gearheart in organizing andplanning �A Short Course on the Roleof Wetlands in Watershed Manage-ment� which was held May 16-17,2000. The course consisted of variouslectures, trips to the Arcata Marshand the Manila Treatment facilities,and was followed by a conferencecomprised of a series of lectures givenby guest speakers. Some topics cov-ered included methodology and casestudies of specific wetland systems,design approaches to constructedwetlands, wetland restoration, andmosquito control.

After the wetland course ended,I worked at the Arcata Marsh, canoe-ing around each of the four differentmarshes testing for DO, temperature,salinity, and conductivity. The ideabehind the testing was to look forseasonal changes in these parameters.

I enjoyedthis work because it hashelped me to learn more about myareas of interest. ERESA

County. The project was an on-going(seventh year) NPDES monitoringprogram that reported to the SDRegional Water Quality Control.

My job was to basically organizeand report the results of an insecticideuse survey within the county of bothhomeowners and businesses and theirusing and selling practices. Theprimary constituent of interest wasDiazinon that is used to kill ants. It ismade by Ortho (a subsidiary ofMonsanto), and is present in a greatnumber of insecticide products.

Both the litter and sedimenterosion projects were completed forcontracts with CalTrans. I was incharge of creating databases in MSAccess, quality assurance and control(QA/QC) of data and photo records,and assisting in reproduction of bothdocuments and electronic records (onCDs). All of their contracts werecompleted for litigation and thereforedrawing conclusions or reportinginformation outside of their field ofexpertise was not done.

I was surprised that the level ofdifficulty and detail was below whatI had come to expect from my yearshere at HSU. I found that theeducation provided at HSU more thanprepared me for the work there. Ilearned some important skills of timemanagement, billing procedures, andprofessional interaction. I woulddefinitely return.

nity members visit our sister city fora cultural exchange to make newfriends, live with local families, andwork on projects. Funding is pro-vided by Arcata Sister City project.Furthermore, HSU�s Sister City Clubalso raises money. Last year duringEarth Day festivities on campus, weraised enough money to provide oneCamoapan student a full year�s uni-versity tuition, a new fax machine,and new books for the school library.

We lived with a wonderful fam-ily and spent the mornings workingwith Eduardo and his crew construct-ing a stairway into a steep, ruggedhill that led to the entrance of theAdult Education Center, also underconstruction. I believe it is very easyto overlook the ease at which simplestructures such as stairs are made inFirst World societies. This fact be-came quite aparent to me as we spenthours digging deep trenches, hand-mixing concrete, pounding and bend-ing re-bar, and carrying endless buck-ets of concrete, water, or heavyearthen blocks up the hill. I was theonly female in the group and thusprovided much amusement to themale workers who were not accus-tomed to watching a woman do �aman�s job.�

In the afternoons we visited localareas including a waterfall, cloud for-est, a sustainable farm and orphan-age, a dam project funded by theEuropean Union to provideCamoapans with running water, andprevious Sister City projects such aslatrines and central washing stations.We also conducted interviews andhung out with the Camoapan univer-sity students. Tom and I also spentthree days with a local ecologist whowalked us through remote country-sides teaching us about local floraand fauna, herbal remedies, and tell-ing us about the war in the 1980s. Healso took us to visit a number of localfamilies who live in single or two-room thatched huts. These were un-doubtedly the warmest people wemet, showering us with gifts such asmangoes and flowers. The purposeof the visits was to invite the families

to an ecological workshop to teachthem organic, sustainable agriculturetechniques-something that has beenall too forgotten in the age of chemi-cal dependency and use of monocul-tures. We attended the workshop andwere impressed how open the peoplewere to these ideas. It was a promis-ing sight, and this was just the first ofan on-going series of about ten simi-lar workshops.

We all had a number of unforget-table, wonderful memories inCamoapa. If you think you would beinterested in being a part of HSU�sSister City Club, the meetings are onThursday nights at 5 pm in front ofthe AS office.

For me, there are few things asrewarding as widening my view ofthe world through travel. It is a meansof appreciating and becoming awareof other lands and cultures, livingsimply, and where everyday is a newadventure.

ERE MESSENGER 13

For the past 30 years HumboldtState graduates have been makingcontributions to the development ofthe environmental engineering pro-gram at UC Davis. The two pro-grams seem to be a good cultural fitdespite the differences in climate.Humboldt-Davis graduates are nowon the faculties at Massachusetts andTexas at Austin and making outstand-ing contributions at major consultingfirms and in public agencies. JuanaEweis, the most recent Humboldtgraduate to complete a Ph.D. at Davis,became one of the most widely recog-nized experts on MTBE degradation,was senior author on a textbook, pub-lished numerous papers and, withher husband, ERE graduate EricLaBolle, became the parent of threesons while a student here. We as-sume that students from Humboldtwill thrive at Davis!

The UC Davis program in envi-ronmental engineering is housed inthe Department of Civil & Environ-mental Engineering. Participatingfaculty include approximately 10members of the department plus fac-ulty in the Departments of Biologicaland Agricultural, Chemical, and Me-chanical engineering and Land, Air,and Water Science. Each student�sacademic program is developed in-dividually with the guidance of a fac-ulty mentor and the approval of theCollege Graduate Study Committee.Students are strongly encouraged toemphasize the development of fun-damental understanding of physical,chemical, and biological processes innatural and engineered systemsthrough taking advanced courses inmathematics,engineering, and bio-logical science. Three general areas ofemphasis exist: water quality, air qual-ity, and environmental quality policy.

In each area there is a focus on im-proving environmental quality tomeet societal needs.

Some current areas of faculty re-search include atmospheric contami-nant transport mechanisms and mod-eling, sorption and desorption pro-cesses in soil systems, subsurface con-taminant transport, nutrient removalfrom water, biological methods of aircleaning, disinfection and reactiva-tion of viruses and bacteria in UVsystems, control of combustion prod-uct formation, identification of patho-gens in urban drainage, biodegrada-tion of xenobiotic compounds suchas MTBE and methylene chloride,destratification of lakes, modeling ofwater quality in lakes, streams andnear shore waters, and biologicalnutrient removal. Research facilitiesinclude new laboratories (September2000) in EU III, pilot facilities at thecampus treatment plant, facilities atregional POTWs, boats and equip-ment for field monitoring and sam-pling. Program laboratories includeequipment for use of molecular bio-logical techniques such as PCR andFISH and analytical tools such as GC/MS, HPLC, LC/MS, particle analy-sis, and much more. Available cam-pus facilities include CLS, scanning,electron microscopy, and NMR.

We strongly encourage interestedstudents to visit the campus, meet thefaculty and students, and learn whygraduate program participants workso hard and are so excited about theirwork.• • Edward W. SchroederProfessor of Civil and EnvironmentalEngineeringUniversity of California, Davis

Find Out What Some GraduatePrograms Have to Offer YOU!

University of California, Davis

Stanford University

Stanford offers graduate studiesin two environmental engineeringareas within the Civil &

Environmental EngineeringDepartment. One program, calledEnvironmental Fluid Mechanics andHydrology, considers the fluidmechanical and hydrological aspectsof environmental problems, with afocus on modeling the transport ofenvironmental contaminants instreams, reservoirs, estuaries,groundwater, and the atmosphere.

The other program, calledEnvironmental Engineering andScience, focuses on the chemical andbiological processes affectingenvironmental pollutants andmicrobial pathogens, with anemphasis on treatment processes, thefate of contaminants in the air, water,and soil environments, molecularenvironmental biotechnology, andhazardous waste management.

Briefly, our Master of Sciencedegree requires 45 quarter-units ofclasses (no thesis), and can typicallybe completed in 3 quarters (9 months)of study. Curricular requirements forboth MS programs are quite flexible,allowing for intensive study in a singlearea, or studies providing a broaderbackground. Two post-MS degreesare offered: the degree of Engineering,which usually takes 1-1/2 to 2 yearsof additional study (30 qtr-units ofclasses plus at least 15 qtr-units ofresearch leading to a short thesis);and a Doctor of Philosophy, whichtypically takes 3 or more years ofpost-MS study (36 qtr-units of classesplus at least 54 qtr-units of researchleading to a substantive thesis), andrequires that the student pass aGeneral Qualifying Exam as well asan Oral Thesis Exam.

Graduate students in ourenvironmental programs at Stanfordvalue the tremendous flexibilityoffered in setting up their curriculum- students do not need to preregister,but rather can �shop around� duringthe first week of classes before makinga decision on which courses to take.They also are pleased by the varietyof students our programs attract: non-engineers as well as engineers, someindividuals who have gained workexperience in a variety of fields(ranging from engineering to the

ERE MESSENGER14

The merger and emphasis of anenvironmental engineering programwith a chemical engineering programis the unique feature of the environ-mental engineering graduate pro-gram at the University of California,Riverside. This program is differentfrom the other environmental engi-neering degrees around the nationthat have the environmental engineer-ing aligned with civil or mechanicalengineering. The present shift of thefocus from the �end-of-pipe� solu-tions to one on pollution preventionand waste minimization requiresknowledge of process and unit op-erations, i.e. chemical engineering,environmental chemistry, and trans-port processes.

The ten full time faculty mem-bers of the Chemical and Environ-mental Engineering Department havestrong, well-funded, nationally rec-ognized research programs in Bio-

chemical Engineering, Environmen-tal Biotechnology, Air Quality Sys-tems Engineering, Advanced Materi-als, and Water Quality Systems Engi-neering.

Biochemical Engineering and En-vironmental Biotechnology has beena central focus in the department.Remediation of hazardous waste sites,degradation of recalcitrant organiccompounds such as pesticides,biosensors, waste gas treatment, fuelproduction, and organic phasebiocatalysis are just a few of the areaswhere application of environmentalbiotechnology is being investigated.

In conjunction with the Collegeof Engineering Center for Environ-mental Research and Technology (CE-CERT), research in the Air QualitySystems Engineering includes a bet-ter understanding of atmosphericprocesses, the chemical and physicalcharacterization of emissions for allsources, the development of technol-ogy to minimize or eliminate theseemissions, and the development ofanalytical tools needed to assess theimpact of the implementation of thistechnology.

Advanced Materials research in-cludes synthesis, electronic structure,magnetism, superconductivity ofmolecules and materials such asfullerenes and carbon nanotubes. Alsobeing explored are potential of meanforce between colloidal particles inelectrolyte solutions, programmedassembly of colloidal particles for fab-rication of photonic-band-gap mate-rials, and design and synthesis of lowk zeolite thin films by in-situ crystal-lization and by evaporation-drivenself-assembly of zeolite nanocrystalsfor next generation computer micro-processors.

The Water Quality Systems En-gineering research program is ori-ented towards the analysis and de-sign of water quality systems, bothengineered and natural. It is interdis-ciplinary, comprising aspects of en-vironmental and chemical engineer-ing, as well as environmental toxicol-ogy, environmental sciences, andwater resources planning and man-agement.

The department is housed in therecently opened $41 million, 105,000square-foot modern engineeringcomplex, Bourns Hall. Currently,we occupy 2,000 square feet of teach-ing lab space, 8,500 square feet ofresearch lab space, and 1,600 squarefeet of computing lab space.

Financial supports are availablein the forms of teaching assistant-ships, fellowships, or graduate stu-dent researchers. Support is morethan adequate and is typically around$17,000 per calendar year, and is ac-companied by a waiver of nonresi-dent tuition. Fellowships and schol-arships at substantially higher levelsare available for outstanding stu-dents.

For additional information pleasevisit our website atwww.engr.ucr.edu/chemical/• • Ashok MulchandaniProfessor and ChairDepartment of Chemical and Envi-ronmental EngineeringUniversity of California, Riverside

University of California, Riverside

The University of Texas at Austin

• • Lynn HildemannAssociate Professor, Associate ChairCivil and Environmental Engineer-ingStanford University

Just add Water� ERE to EWRE

As a graduate of the Environ-mental Resources Engineering (ERE)program (class of �83), I am familiarwith the personal and high qualityeducation that students in the pro-gram receive. I am also familiar withthe well-rounded education and tech-nical skills centered on fundamentalengineering and science you receive.As such, I appreciate the opportunityto encourage qualified ERE studentsto consider graduate studies in theEnvironmental and Water ResourcesEngineering (EWRE) program at TheUniversity of Texas at Austin (UT). Ihave listed below several reasons whythose ERE students who are inter-ested in continuing their educationshould consider the EWRE programat UT:

High Quality Faculty: The EWREprogram is comprised of a large group(15) of high quality faculty. Many

Peace Corps) before returning toschool, and classmates whose careerinterests range from academia toconsulting engineering, the publicsector, the business world, andenvironmental activist groups. Andfinally, our students enjoy the wealthof extracurricular opportunitiesavailable at Stanford: foothillssurrounding the campus for hikingand biking; a climate hospitable tooutdoor activities year-round, a largenumber of campus clubs offeringactivities ranging from sports andmusic to community service; andconvenient access to entertainmentand cultural opportunities in SanFrancisco and San Jose.

For further information on ourprograms, faculty, resources, andcourse offerings, please visit ourwebsite at: <http://www-seep-server .stanford.edu/SEEPWeb/ews/EWSBROCH/overview.html>

ERE MESSENGER 15

EWRE faculty members have beenhonored as recipients of universityand college-wide teaching and re-search awards, and have also receivednational and international awards forexcellence in research and generalcontributions to the greater environ-mental community.

High Quality and EnvironmentallyConscious Students: There is great simi-larity between EWRE graduate stu-dents and ERE undergraduate stu-dents in terms of both quality andenvironmental awareness. We attractexceptional students from universi-ties across the United States and theworld. The fact that we draw stu-dents with diverse educational back-grounds and social and professionalexperiences lends greatly to the qual-ity of the EWRE program and gradu-ate experience for EWRE students.Many of our students have been orcurrently are very active in environ-mental causes, including those thatallow them opportunities for travel-ing abroad and helping those whoare less privileged.

Students and Faculty as a Family:One of the greatest strengths of theEWRE program is also a strength ofthe ERE program, the student/fac-ulty rapport. While our 100+ gradu-ate students actively engage in manyprofessional and social activities, in-cluding hiking and backpacking trips,river rafting, and music festivals,EWRE faculty are often by their side.Similar to the crab feeds and spa-ghetti feeds that I fondly rememberas a student in the ERE program,EWRE faculty and students exist as afamily that goes well beyond interac-tion in the classroom.

Breadth of Education: Because ofthe large size of the EWRE faculty, weoffer a wide range of courses to choosefrom, research areas to work within,and opportunities for employmentafter graduation. Students in theEWRE program have tremendousflexibility in the courses that they com-plete and in course availability.Course topic areas range from waterand wastewater treatment to waterresources planning and management,hazardous waste management, wa-

ter quality, environmental fluid me-chanics, air pollution control, indoorair quality, engineering microbiol-ogy, and more. In fact, we offer morethan 20 graduate courses on a regu-lar basis just within EWRE. Our stu-dents also complete courses in otherprograms within the Department ofCivil Engineering, and other depart-ments at UT. Popular courses out-side of EWRE include those relatedto pollution prevention, radiologi-cal risk assessment, environmentalpolicy analysis, and more. Similarly,EWRE students are involved with atremendous spectrum of researchprojects. These projects range fromthe biodegradation of MTBE, natu-ral attenuation of hydrocarbons insoil, treatment of TCE contaminatedgroundwater, effects of chlorine us-age in households, removal of leadfrom carpet, biological air filtration,pollution prevention in high techindustries, application of geographicinformation systems (GIS) in hydro-logical modeling and planning, andmany more.

Facilities: The EWRE programhas a wide range of analytical, ex-perimental and computational fa-cilities that are used by students forboth coursework and research. Theseinclude advanced instrumentationfor detecting trace levels of a widerange of pollutants in water, air, andsoil. EWRE students and faculty useadvanced computer facilities forstate-of-the-art modeling and appli-cation of geographic informationsystems related to water and air pol-lution transport, and experimentalfacilities that include pilot-scalesewer systems, meandering riverchannels, and more.

Rankings: The EWRE programis consistently rated in the top 3 to 7Environmental Engineering pro-grams in the U.S. as published byU.S. News and World Report.

Opportunities Beyond GraduateSchools: Because of our national repu-tation, EWRE graduates are normallyfaced with a large number of oppor-tunities once they have graduated.Many opt to stay in Austin. Othersmove on to just about every corner

of the United States and beyond. Ourstudents often accept employmentwith environmental consulting firmsranging in size from large (CH2M-Hill, Malcolm Pirnie, Camp DresserMcKee) to small. Others accept posi-tions in industry or opt for positionswith government agencies.

A Wonderful Living Experience: Asa native Californian, I would not betelling the truth if I said that I was a bitapprehensive about moving to Texas.Let�s face it, growing up in Californiaone learns that Texas is basically abunch of dust, oil, tumbleweeds, andColt 45s. Right? Wrong. In fact, paint-ing such a picture of Texas is likepainting California as (fill in this blankwith a part of California you do not like).When my wife Regina and I first vis-ited Austin we fell in love with thecity. Austin is green (both physicallyand consciously). It is a city of trees,water, hiking trails, and a citizenrythat takes great pride in environmen-tal protection and awareness. Out-door activities range from hiking tobiking, spelunking (some very im-pressive natural caverns), and evenwhitewater rafting and kayaking.Austin is also a city for young people.It is known for its incredible musicscene and dozens of live music ven-ues. There is NEVER a shortage offun things to do in Austin.

I encourage all interested EREstudents to consider adding a �W� toyour future. You can learn more aboutthe EWRE program by visiting ourweb-site at www.ce.utexas.edu/dept/area/ewre/welcome.html .And don't hesitate to contact me atcorsi@mail.utexas.edu if you wouldlike additional information. Youmight also have an opportunity tospeak with me in person this semes-ter, since I will be teaching a Fridaymorning course on Indoor Air Qual-ity at HSU. I hope to meet many ofyou then!• • Richard L. CorsiAssociate Professorand Leland Barclay FellowEnvironmental and Water ResourcesEngineeringThe University of Texas at AustinERESA

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ERE Student Association, ASCE Student ChapterDepartment of Environmental Resources EngineeringHumboldt State UniversityArcata, CA 95521-8299eresa@axe.humboldt.edu

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