WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR

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WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL
ENGINEERING IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND
EDUCATION A VIEW FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE
FOUNDATION
Patrick L. Brezonik Program Director,
Environmental Engineering Technology National
Science Foundation On leave from University of
Minnesota
Anniversary Colloquium Fifty Years of
Environmental Engineering Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute March 29, 2005
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Topics of recent NSF CAREER awards
Interfacial processes affecting chemical fate of
organic contaminants Effects of particle
aggregation/disaggregation and precipitation on
sediment and contaminant transport in
rivers Mercury methylation in sulfate-reducing
biofilms Influence of soil morphology,
application rate and wind velocity on emission
fluxes of biosolid-derived microbial
aerosols Microbial transport and adhesion a
multi-scale approach Formation and reactivity of
nanoscale corrosion products Uncertainty
analysis and modeling of biodegradation of
synthetic organic compounds in activated
sludge Microbial storage products and density
overlooked fundamentals and promising
opportunities in biological solids
separation Application of nanotechnology in cell
entrapment for water pollution control Hydroxyl
and sulfate radicals for advanced oxidation
nano-technologies for destruction of toxins
in water
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Inter- and Multi- disciplinary
Been there all along and still doing that.
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Future trends More involvement with the social
sciences, including urban planning, sociology,
resource economics, information management and
decision sciences
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Technology developer
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Technology developer
modifier and applier

• Future trends e.g.,
• membrane and separation technology
• nano-science and technology
• cyberinfrastructure

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• Science-Driven
• Aquatic and atmospheric chemistry
• Trace analytical chemistry
• Molecular biology/genomics
• Microbiology
• Ecology

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Environmental engineering in the future will
have increasing focus on
? Issues of environmental sustainability
? Efficient use of energy
? Large-scale problems (in terms of
complexity and spatial scale)
? Developing a holistic understanding and
comprehensive solutions (e.g., to multi-media
problems)
? Natural systems (especially human- dominated
ones)a return to its early days
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CLEANER The grand idea Brief history
Steps to implemention
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1. The Idea
CLEANER will Consist of (a) groups of
investigators studying human-stressed
landscapes (b) a national network of
interacting field sites (c) specialized
support personnel and technology and (d)
integrative cyberinfrastructure to provide a
shared-use network as the framework for
collaborative analysis Transform environmental
engineering research/education by (i)
providing advanced sensors for data collection
and informatics tools for data mining,
analysis, visualization, and modeling of
large-scale environmental issues and (ii)
engaging academics collaboratively in real-world
problems Promote participation across the
engineering and science communities. Enable
more effective adaptive-management of
human-dominated, environments based on
observations, experimentation, modeling,
engineering analysis, and design.
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2. Distinguishing Characteristics of CLEANER
among Proposed Environmental Observing Systems
As an engineering-oriented initiative, CLEANER
will
? Focus on environments heavily impacted by
humans, including agricultural and urban
areasthe built environment ? Rely on
multi-scale modeling and coupling of intensive
measurements from the observation network with
modeling and experimentation ? Develop the
knowledge base to solve large-scale,
multi-faceted environmental problems,
including those involving chemical and
microbial contaminants in aquatic systems
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3. Brief History of CLEANER

• Six workshops (Stanford, Minnesota, Duke (2),
  Iowa, RPI) and a
• symposium (FAME Minnesota) since 2001 have
  defined concepts
• and a framework (see http//cleaner.nacse.org).
• 2. On NSFs planning horizon for MREFC funding in
  FY 2011.
• MREFC Major Research Equipment and
  Facilities Construction (account)
• 3. 1M in planning grants awarded in 2004 to 12
  projects involving 21
• institutions to plan cyberinfrastructure and the
  nature of field facilities
• that will form the observation network.
• 4. Solicitation underway for a project office to
  be funded at 1M per year
• for two years.
• 5. NRC will provide advice on CLEANER science
  plan beginning in 2005

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Early schematic of a possible CLEANER network
with hypothetical examples of field sites based
on issues raised in CLEANER workshops
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4. Challenges on the Road to
CLEANER Implementation ? Demonstrate national
need ? Develop compelling science plan ? Gain
full support of environmental academic
community and relevant federal agencies and
foundations ? Maximize coordination/cooperation
with other NSF EOs ? Develop enabling
technologies, especially regarding sensors
and sensor networks and critical
cyberinfrastructure
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5. Near-term Planning Project
Office responsibilities 1. Define a compelling
science plan for CLEANER 2. Community consensus
building (a) Identify and engage environmental
engineering/science research/
education communities in consensus-building
activities, including including
development of the science plan (b) Develop
strategy to incorporate socio-economic
considerations and researchers from that
community into CLEANER (c) Organize community
consortium (d) Work with NSF staff to involve
other relevant government agencies and
private sector organizations as CLEANER
partners 3. Develop consensus CLEANER conceptual
design, including strategies for
cyberinfrastructure and sensor networks 4.
Develop preliminary program plan, including
organizational structure, governance, and
operating plans
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6. Science Plan (current elements)
Broad Goal Develop engineering and policy
options to prevent and mitigate impacts of
human activity on our critical land and water
resources and better manage these systems.
Science objectives ? Identify how complex,
anthropogenically-stressed environmental systems
can be better understood through integrated
assessment models ? Through advances in sensing
devices and information management, improve
understanding of how large, stressed
environmental systems function by elucidating
interactions between stressors and system
components ? Devise indicators of vital signs
for system condition based on functional
understanding and use them to develop engineering
and policy options to prevent/mitigate adverse
impacts and manage them adaptively
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Science Plan Elements, cont.
Examples of Grand Challenge Questions ? How
do we model the cumulative impacts (in space and
time) of individual decisions and episodic
events on environmental quality? ? How do
population trends, land-use, industrial and urban
processes affect water quality in rivers,
lakes and estuaries? ? How do we accurately
predictand controloutcomes of potential
mitigation strategies? ? Can research about
human and social behavior lead to effective
engineering approaches to managing these dynamic
systems?
National needs that the questions address ?
Environmental impacts on public health ?
Achieving a balance of both environmental and
economic sustainability ? Reversing
environmental degradation ? Protecting against
biological and chemical threats