We bring life to engineering

Our unique focus to design and develop processes, products and systems using basic biological, environmental science and engineering tools generates solutions to societal problems involving water, food, energy and public health. Students increasingly need to participate in problem-solving across traditional boundaries. Rapid technological changes are an added challenge, with implications driven by diminishing resources and a growing population. We aim to enable our students to drive innovation as our discipline continues to be transformed by our changing world.

Undergraduate research

News

A mayfly sitting on the surface of water

News

Mayflies accumulate more mercury when selenium is added to polluted water

Researchers found that at low levels of mercury, selenium additions did seem to help mayfly larva from accumulating mercury. But at high mercury levels – the condition in which environmental remediation is most needed – selenium actually made...

  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Water
  • Ecosystems
Manoj Karkee Headshot

Spotlight

Academic focus: Artificial intelligence (AI), automation and robotics in agriculture Research summary: My research program focuses on innovating AI, machine learning and robotics solutions for agricultural applications, aiming to reduce resource...
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Agriculture
Rosa Santomartino Headshot

Spotlight

Academic focus: Biotechnologies for sustainable solutions in space and on Earth Research summary: In the coming decades, space exploration will take us beyond Earth’s orbit, demanding highly efficient closed-loop systems to reduce costs and...
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering