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

Two researchers core a tree in the Peruvian Amazon.

News

Tree rings track atmospheric mercury cheaply

Wild fig tree rings offer a cheap method for tracking toxic atmospheric mercury, a byproduct of gold mining in the Global South.

  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Environment
  • Planet
NSF logo

News

Researchers studying novel traits in organisms and the fundamental understanding of extreme weather are among the five Cornell assistant professors who've received National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Awards.

  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Blue lines streak across a black background

News

Researchers have identified exactly what happens when a microbe receives an electron from a quantum dot: The charge can either follow a direct pathway or be transferred indirectly via the microbe’s shuttle molecules.

  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Biology
  • Solar