The new environmental and civil engineering programs at SMU are offering students new methods for learning, new career opportunities and financial assistance opportunities for their education.
One of the ways that the environmental engineering department is coping with the depleted economy is by offering distance learning to its master’s degree program. Students attend one or more classes a semester while working. If the student is unable to attend the lecture, videotapes of the lectures are available as well as conference time with the instructor.
“It’s one of the ways that we have for reaching out to the community, and it seems to be working quite well,” Al Armendariz, assistant professor of the environmental and civil engineering department said. “SMU is unique in this respect. A few colleges offer a environmental engineering program, three or four maybe, but SMU is the only one to offer its courses through distance learning.”
The first students of the environmental engineering program graduated about two years ago. The program is approximately five years old, but many parts of it are still new. A civil engineering program will be offered sometime this year for the first time in 20 years.
The civil engineering program is capable of working hand-in-hand with the environmental engineering program.
“These two sciences are interdependent in a way and both are essential to our environment and future,” Armendariz said.
Environmental engineering has two main focuses. The first is to try to prevent contamination of the environment.
The second focus is the fact that as long as people exist, we will continue to contribute to the contamination of the environment. Therefore, it is therefore necessary to learn how to minimize our impact on nature.
The department is starting to expand its research and development aspects. This paves the way for more jobs and financial assistance for students.
One professor recently won a $200,000 research grant from the EPA to design a filtration system that increases water quality in ground water. Another professor won a grant for approximately $125,000 to study endocrine disrupters, man-made chemical contaminates in the atmosphere that causes health problems.
“Many students attend state schools because they feel that they cannot afford to attend our school,” Armendariz said.
“They feel that since we are a private school that the cost of an education is out of their reach. They could not be more wrong. There is funding available through the department and financial aid. Since most engineering students have high SAT scores, they tend to qualify for more academic scholarship money than the average student.”
Also, there are many job opportunities available upon graduation, Armendariz said.
“Regardless of how depleted the economy is, there will always be a need for people to regulate and inspect atmospheric waste, water treatment facilities, city health inspectors, food production company quality control experts and so forth,” he said.
“The government can be relied upon as a stable source for jobs in this area because we all want a cleaner environment. No one wants their child to have asthma or to drink water that may not be safe.”
Armendariz feels that the most important elements of a good education are good teaching and good research. As long as you have good teaching, the students will share that with other students. As long as you do good research, the parents and companies will seek you out.
The professor’s current research project is a filtration system that would reduce pollutants emitted into the air by diesel 18-wheelers. He said that there were two main goals that he has for the future of the program.
“First, I want to see the diesel exhaust filtration system that I am working on succeed,” he said. “Secondly, I would like to expand the profile and visibility of the environmental engineering program. I want to steal away all the bright students who currently attend state schools because they mistakenly believe that they cannot afford to go here. When a high school student or college transfer student thinks of environmental programs, I want us to be the school that they think of.”
Armendariz reflected on his own recent school experiences and said that one of the most satisfying moments in his life was when he had turned in his last paper of his last class during his senior year.
“I remember walking away, then about three minutes later it just hit me,” Armendariz said.
“I was through. No more papers, homework or exams. There was such a sense of completion and successes, of real self-worth. I would advise anyone who is feeling down to just stay with it and rough it out. It is one of the most satisfying experiences to finish a degree in any field.”
Armendariz is a Texas native who recently completed his studies at Chapel Hill, N.C. He said that this job is exactly what a researcher needs to get his career off of the ground in a promising way and it has the double advantage of being close to home.
“I came from a traditional middle-class American family,” Armendariz said. “There is nothing wrong with that. I believe our president [of the United States] would tell you that. If you study and work hard you could be president of the United States or a professor at SMU. It’s whatever you want to be and that’s the great thing about our country.”
