Environmental Science degree? does anyone

RacinReaver
Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:05:55 +0000

This is an interesting thread. S is interested in the renewable energy aspect of environmental science. Any thoughts and suggestions?



“Renewable energy” is a very broad field, so it matters a lot what type of renewable energy they’re interested in. Materials Science is getting a huge push from the public interest in solar cells, and ChemE and MSE are both getting big boosts from fuel cells.

If you’re interested in more general environmentally friendly industrial practices, there are green chemistry programs which focus on eliminating waste and creating chemicals/stuff using less harmful ingredients and methods of production.

Mechanical engineering is also an option if you’re interested in heat flow and increasing the efficiency of engines and the like (which can be expanded to wind turbines, the turbines run by the steam produced by nuclear generators, turbines at hydroelectric plants, and all of those things).

As more and more companies realize that “going green” is not just a good PR move, but a good economical one I’m sure you’ll see more traditional engineering/science fields offering specialties in environmental applications.