We live in a time when no part of the natural environment is untouched by human activities. Great strides have been made in addressing many of the natural resources and environmental problems caused by human activities; however, population growth and rising standards of living continue to stress the natural environment and generate a spectrum of environmental problems that need to be solved.

Environmental engineers are called upon to understand, arrange and manipulate biological, chemical, ecological, economic, hydrological, physical and social processes to balance our material needs with our impacts on the environment. Such are the challenges of sustainability, while global climate makes these tasks all the more important.

At Cornell, environmental engineering majors pursue these challenges in a joint program of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and College of Engineering.

Environmental Engineering News

Cornell clock tower with cherry blossoms

News

Cornell researchers win Four Bezos Earth Fund Awards
Four Cornell faculty members have been awarded grants from the Bezos Earth Fund’s inaugural AI Grand Challenge for Climate and Nature. Among 1,200 global applicants, only 24 were selected – three from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences...
  • Lab of Ornithology
  • Animal Science
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
A mayfly sitting on the surface of water

News

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