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

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

Inter- and Multi- disciplinary Been there all along… and still doing that.

Future trends: More involvement with the social sciences, including urban planning, sociology, resource economics, information management and decision sciences

Technology developer

Future trends: e.g., membrane and separation technology nano-science and technology cyberinfrastructure modifier and applier

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

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

CLEANER: The “grand idea” Brief history Steps to implemention

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.

2. Distinguishing Characteristics of CLEANER among Proposed Environmental Observing Systems ● Focus on environments heavily impacted by humans, including agricultural and urban areas–the “built environment” ● Rely on multi-scale modeling and coupling of intensive measurements from the observation network with modeling and experimentation ● D evelop the knowledge base to solve large-scale, multi-faceted environmental problems, including those involving chemical and microbial contaminants in aquatic systems As an engineering-oriented initiative, CLEANER will:

3. Brief History of CLEANER 1.Six workshops (Stanford, Minnesota, Duke (2), Iowa, RPI) and a symposium (FAME; Minnesota) since 2001 have defined concepts and a framework (see 2. On NSF’s planning horizon for MREFC funding in FY 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

Early schematic of a possible CLEANER network with hypothetical examples of field sites based on issues raised in CLEANER workshops

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

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

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

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 predict—and control—outcomes of potential mitigation strategies? ● Can research about human and social behavior lead to effective engineering approaches to managing these dynamic systems? Science Plan Elements, cont. 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