Principal Investigator Sarah Smith
Project Website http://cee.mit.edu/meng
MEng students specializing in environmental engineering undertake a year-long team design project. Recently these have featured international water and sanitation work in countries such as Nepal, Haiti, Honduras, Brazil, Cyprus, Kuwait, Kenya and Ghana, which students visit to conduct field work during the Independent Activities Period (IAP) in January.
In addition to a host of technical subjects in each specialization, the program offers:
(*) A choice of group design projects, each leading to an individual practice-oriented thesis. Much of the month of January is devoted to project site visits and students have recently traveled to such places as Ghana, Honduras and the UK. (*) Program-wide subjects such as Design for Sustainability, which teaches life cycle assessment, the LEED rating system, and other quantitative assessment measures applicable to the built environment; and Concepts of Engineering Practice, which treats topics such as project evaluation and management, negotiation, ethics, written and oral communications, and job placement skills. (*) A supportive environment which motivates collaboration and friendships among students, beginning with our Labor Day weekend retreat and continuing with our active alumni network. (*) Exposure to the widening partnership with industry and government, which encourages participation of practitioners in our educational activities and provides students with a wide range of contacts for future job placement.