Over recent years, the number of students interested in preserving and protecting the environment has significantly increased. Likewise, North Carolina industry is demanding more licensed engineers and solutions that support green production, processes and the environment.
To address these trends, in 2023 William States Lee College of Engineering hired nationally-respected researcher and hydrologist Glenn Moglen from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lead the department of civil and environmental engineering and launch the new Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering.
“Just consider all the challenges of our urban area: climate change, aging infrastructure, population growth, traffic, pollution. These are complex problems. My vision is that our graduates are the ones leading the agencies that are tasked to solve these problems. Such solutions are critical for America’s largest urban areas, like Charlotte.”
– Glenn Moglen on future of solutions
One of only three such undergraduate programs in the UNC system, the new B.S. in Environmental Engineering curriculum was informed by industry partners, including Charlotte Water. Its students learn how to address growing issues with water, the soil and the atmosphere through experiential learning in topics including fluid hydraulics, surface water hydrology and stormwater control. Graduates from this program will continue the long tradition of Niner Engineers being prepared for industry, as evidenced by their consistently above-average performance on the Fundamentals of Engineering exam.
“Our graduates will be the guardians of our community’s natural resources,” said Moglen. “They’ll develop novel ways to ensure water supply, protect farms from soil erosion, mitigate mudslides in residential areas and more. They are ready for this challenge.”
One such guardian is Jordan Landis who graduated in May 2024 with a B.S.in Civil Engineering. She is currently partnering with Charlotte Water to research microplastics in wastewater, but her interest developed during her undergraduate experience at UNC Charlotte where she began the civil engineering program and enrolled in courses aligned with her environmental interests.
“I wanted to pursue a nature-based approach, bridging earth sciences and engineering to design real-world solutions that will combat society’s huge issues,” she explained. “That was a perspective that not a lot of engineering programs offer.”
These environmental courses included hands-on activities in the lab of Olya Keen, who became Landis’ professor and advisor. Here, the determined student leveraged the high-tech equipment and lab resources as she worked under Keen’s leadership to explore emerging contaminants and sustainable infrastructure.
“This experiential learning, along with Jordan’s motivation, gave her the springboard needed to dive into the deep end of environmental engineering research with Charlotte Water,” said Keen, “and the competitive advantage for top-notch graduate schools.”
North Carolina’s largest city resides squarely between coast and mountains, with immediate access to both urban and rural settings and a broad spectrum of elevations, geologic settings and water resources. UNC Charlotte is situated in the midst of this natural ecosystem.
“This unique and diverse region is the ultimate, real-world lab for our students to apply their classroom lessons,” says Moglen. “Our Queen City is a beautiful petri dish for environmental stewardship.”