The Professional Environmental Resources Engineering- Science Masters Program (PERE-SMP) will award seven fellowships per year for the program’s first three years. The first group of students are set to begin in the fall and will work toward earning a Master’s degree in three semesters.
The NSF selected HSU’s PERE-SMP program in part based on its commitment to recruiting and retaining a more diverse group of students than have traditionally enrolled in Environmental Engineering graduate programs.
The program goals are to educate graduates who are qualified to enter professional environmental engineering practice in the green jobs sector. Program graduates will meet workforce demands for engineers with expertise in energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies, water and wastewater treatment systems, and water resources management. Students will learn how to design cost-effective technical solutions to resource problems that protect the environment, address climate change, and increase human health and welfare.
In addition to technical training in engineering, students will have training in economics, environmental policy analysis, and professional skills development, and will be prepared to work with community members and policymakers implementing solutions to environmental resource problems. The culminating experience will be a Master’s-level project based on an internship with a professional partner.
The HSU PERE-SMP grant was one of only 21 National Science Foundation awards given from a pool of 214 submitted proposals. The grant proposal was a joint effort of the faculty in the engineering department, including Eileen Cashman, Beth Eschenbach, Brad Finney, Arne Jacobson, and Margaret Lang. The award was funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.
The abstract and other information regarding this award is available via the National Science Foundation at http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=1011464.