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What
does a Biosystems Engineer do?
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Emily
E. Godbold, E.I.T.
Assistant Project Engineer
STS Consultants, Ltd.
Biosystems Engineering (BS, '99)
Natural Resources & Environment
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I graduated
in May 1999 with a B.S. in Biosystems Engineering (Natural Resources
& Environment Concentration) and a minor in Environmental
Engineering. In July of 1999, I began working for STS Consultants,
Ltd. in Vernon Hills, Illinois, located just outside Chicago.
STS is a consulting firm that offers environmental science, geotechnical,
structural, and civil engineering services. We have approximately
400 employees in ten offices throughout the Midwest; the Vernon
Hills office is the corporate headquarters with approximately
150 employees.
I work in
the engineering department of STS, and split my time between water
resources projects and civil engineering projects. I have had
the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects since I
started work eight months ago; this variety of work was actually,
what made me accept a position with STS after graduation. I wanted
to do some water resources work, some environmental work, be involved
with other types of engineering such as civil projects, do some
field work, and have some office time. Following is a summary
of some of the projects to which I have contributed.
Water Resources
Projects
- Flood study
model for conceptual harbor design on the Mississippi River.
Regulations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
require that flood water conveyance cannot be decreased by structures
placed in the floodway of a river. STS's geotechnical engineers
are designing a barge on the river. My water resources portion
of the project is to model the harbor design and run a backwater
analysis on the river to show that the proposed conditions will
not worsen flood conditions during a storm rated with a 100-year
return period.
- Watershed
hydrology analysis of a small creek that feeds into the Mississippi
River. There is no published floodway area on this creek; I
am performing a watershed hydrology analysis to determine the
floodway boundaries of the creek. From this information, we
will know where to locate our client's buildings to minimize
flooding risks.
- Stormwater
management calculations (straight from Dr. Hayes' Small Watershed
Hydrology and Sedimentology class-BE 322) for a stormwater management
system at a landfill in Virginia. Regulations require that this
landfill's stormwater management system be able to handle a
100-year return period storm. These calculations allowed engineers
at another company to install the correct diameter of pipe on
the site to accommodate stormwater flow.
- Field support
for stormwater management design in a neighborhood outside Chicago.
STS is working with the neighborhood and the town through a
series of public meetings to design an improved drainage system
for the subdivision. The design options must respect existing
landscaping and be economical. Instead of using conventional
curb and gutter street drainage, STS is evaluating the use of
vegetated swales.
- Field support
for groundwater and surface water monitoring for sites in the
Chicagoland area.
- On
one site, an adjacent mining operation must perform quarterly
monitoring to show that their mining activities are not
negatively impacting water quality in this nature preserve.
I assist in monitoring, which consists of spending a day
at the site collecting water samples from twelve stream
and groundwater well sites.
- On
another site, a wetland area is utilized for stormwater
detention, which helps to reduce flooding in surrounding
areas. STS has installed data loggers that record water
levels daily at five sites in the wetland. I help with downloading
data, which means I spend a day trekking around a wetland
area in hip waders.
- Coastal
engineering for a shoreline restoration project in Wisconsin.
This mid-size city has a stretch of shoreline that has deteriorated
due to wave action. STS was hired to develop a restoration plan
for the shoreline and an offshore breakwater. Using years of
statistical data on wave height and lake levels for Lake Michigan,
I determined the offshore wave conditions we needed to design
for, how the design wave would diminish as it entered the nearshore
environment, how much run-up would occur as a result of the
wave, and therefore what size stones are needed to protect the
shoreline.
- Assistance
with design of shoreline restoration for Chicago's Lake Michigan
lakefront. The federal government has appropriated funds for
the restoration of the lakefront. STS is working with the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers to produce construction documents for
the shoreline.
Environmental
Projects
- Physical,
regulatory, and economic feasibility studies for clients interested
in siting industry in the Chicago area.
- One
project was for a client interested in purchasing a "brownfield"
site. This site is the home of an abandoned industrial mill,
and was being offered for sale at a reduced rate to encourage
growth in the area. A client was interested in the area
because of its close proximity to Lake Michigan. Before
purchasing the land, however, the client wanted to know
how much groundwater and surface water he could obtain at
the site, what regulations and permits would apply, where
his wastewater could be discharged, and what the relative
costs of all these options would be.
- Another
similar project involved a client interested in developing
a plant on a site north of Chicago. He was interested in
the groundwater resources available to him, as well as different
options for disposal of wastewater: land application, constructed
wetland treatment, seepage cells, and conventional sewer
discharge. For each of these options, we performed an analysis
of the economic, regulatory, and physical feasibility for
the given site.
- Field support
for wetland delineations. STS has wetland scientists who spend
significant field time identifying wetland areas for clients
interested in selling, buying, and developing property.
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Wetlands
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