About EEES

Welcome to the Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at Clemson University.

Our Department has a synergistic blend of environmental engineering, biosystems engineering, environmental science, geology and earth sciences, and nuclear environmental engineering and science. We offer several academic options to our students.

At the undergraduate level, we are committed to providing the next generation of environmental engineers and earth scientists a comprehensive understanding and skill set to tackle complex environmental issues and challenges as well as earth processes.  Our environmental engineering curriculum is versatile, allowing students to pursue a core curriculum that emphasizes areas that are traditionally associated with environmental engineering (e.g., water and wastewater treatment, solid and hazardous waste management, air pollution control, pollution prevention, natural systems, and risk assessment).  Biosystems engineering combines the application of engineering science and design with biological and agricultural sciences. Environmental quality and natural resources are important aspects of the discipline, and we have a focus in one of two emphasis areas – bioprocessing and ecological engineering. Specialization tracks in traditional geology, environmental science, and hydrogeology allow students to focus their coursework in areas of particular interest to them. Unique to Clemson, all of our undergraduate geology students participate in research with a faculty member from their sophomore through senior year.

At the graduate level, we have three distinct programs: Environmental Engineering & Science (EE&S), Biosystems engineering (BE) and Hydrogeology. The EE&S and BE programs offer MS and PhD degrees, while the Hydrogeology program offers a MS degree. We also have an EE&S MEngr degree. Our programs are nationally recognized for their quality. The environmental engineering graduate program has been continuously ranked in the top 25 programs by U.S. News and World Report. Our graduates are sought out by employers across the United States. Today, there are more than 1000 EEES graduates in the US and around the world.

As you will observe while exploring our web page, teaching and research activities in EEES reflect a comprehensive and highly interdisciplinary approach to studying environment. Areas of focus include biosystems engineering, environmental chemistry, environmental fate and transport, hydrogeology, nuclear environmental engineering and science (targeted at environmental health physics (ABET accredited) and environmental radiochemistry), process engineering (targeted at water, wastewater and air treatment, and soil and groundwater remediation), and sustainable systems and environmental assessment. Our diversity and depth are our major strengths. One uniqueness of Clemson, environmental engineering, biosystems engineering and earth sciences are under one department (i.e., EEES). We believe, this presents an innovative approach and synergy for preparing our students to tackle immensely complex environmental problems in both engineered and natural systems in the 21st century. Another unique feature of our program is the nuclear environmental engineering and science concentration which only exists in a handful of universities around the country.

The department has 24 full-time faculty members, more than 20 adjunct faculty, more than 120 graduate students, and 150 undergraduate students. Excellence in environmental engineering has been a tradition at Clemson University for many years. It is the only program in the nation with three faculty members (Linvil G. Rich, Thomas M. Keinath, and C.P. Leslie Grady. Jr, who are emeritus now, but all still active with the Department) who have been honored with the prestigious Founders Award by the American Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors. Currently, six faculty members serve as editors or on the editorial advisory boards of prominent journals. The department houses four National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award recipients, the highest honor given to the young faculty by NSF. EEES faculty also published five books in the past decade.

The Hydrogeology graduate program is one of only a few programs in the country to offer a degree specifically in hydrogeology. Students and faculty associated with this program perform research on a diverse range of topics that have included contaminant transport and remediation, surface and groundwater interactions, enhanced oil recovery and natural gas storage, advanced well testing, constructed wetlands, geophysics, and mathematical modeling. We offer a unique summer hydrogeology field course that gives graduate and undergraduate students hands-on experience with field methods for vadose zone and groundwater system characterization, geophysics, and contaminated site characterization. This course is based in Clemson, where we have access to our own well field, and instrumented watersheds in the Clemson Forest.

Overall, our diverse, dynamic and talented faculty and rich curriculum provide a rich, scholarly and challenging educational experience to our students. I invite you to explore our web site. If you would like to discuss your educational options or consider joining our department, please feel free to contact me (tkaranf@clemson.edu) or one of our graduate or undergraduate coordinators. If you happen to be close to Clemson, please do not hesitate to stop by and visit us.