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DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL S C I E N C E & T E C H N O L O G Y College of Agriculture & Natural Resources

The Place for Ecological Discovery and Natural Solutionsw w w . e n s t . u m d . e d u

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Welcome to ENST!The Place for Ecological Discovery and Natural Solutions

An increasing human population, a robust and progressive agriculture, and the health of the Chesapeake Bay are a few of the characteristics that make Maryland the perfect place to study environmental science. In a world of competing priorities, it is increasingly important for our citizenry, policy makers, and our students, in particular, to understand how the environ-ment provides a strong and secure basis for our lives and how

humans can impact and protect it. Sound science and sustainable technologies are important require-ments that will allow society to make the best decisions about managing the environment.

MissionOur primary mission is to educate students on environmental science, while instilling a deep fascination and intellectual capacity to work in

their chosen area of specialization, whether it is Natural Resources Management, Ecological Tech-nology Design, Soil and Watershed Science, or Environmental Health. Our graduates have the skills necessary for manag-ing natural, agricultural and urban ecosystems and assessing the interactions among air, water, soil, living organisms, and people.

Faculty ENST faculty with expertise in ecology, soil science, and ecologi-cal engineering set the stage for unique, relevant, and attractive courses and an academic program that not only trains students to understand environmental systems and issues, but also gives them multidisciplinary quantitative design and analytical tools to address complex environmental problems. Learn more about our faculty at www.ens t . umd .edu

Dr. Frank Coale, Department Chair

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Ecosystems and human societies are linked in com-plex cycles and relationships between vegetation, wildlife, forests, cities, conservation, and develop-ment. By learning to participate effectively within these cycles, we will help sustain a harmonious relationship between the environment and human activities. The Natural Resources Management Program is designed to teach students concepts of the environmentally sound use and management of natural resources.

NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT(undergraduate program)

Awarded for Excellence & Innovation in Undergraduate Teaching by the CTE-Lilly Teaching Fellows, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

Students in the wetland ecology course are learning how the water quality of nearby rivers and rising sea-level affects the soil and plants in a wetland.

The specialization in Ecological Technology Design prepares students to integrate natural systems with the built environment to solve environmental prob-lems while achieving economic, ecological, and social sustainability. The science and application of using natural systems, processes and organisms to address environmental issues has evolved during the last few decades to a mature level whereby there are strong employment opportunities for graduates that are educated jointly in ecology and technology.

ECOLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY DESIGN(undergraduate and graduate programs)

ENST ecological engineering graduate student David Blersch is designing a new computer-based system that will treat wastewa-ter using an algal turf scrubber system. The first system to operate autonomously without human interference, the algal turf scrubber, promises to cut operational expenses of water treatment - and strip pollutants and harmful nutrients from water, which will help protect valuable resources like the Chesapeake Bay.


Soils are the most complex and ecologically signifi-cant biogeochemical systems on Earth. Soil processes and the soil resource are critical to all terrestrial ecosystems from prairies to the Alaskan tundra, to wetlands, to our cities, to forests, to biofuel farms. The concentration in Soil and Watershed Science provides students with one of the top soil science programs in the nation. The concentration enables students to understand the complex ways in which aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are influenced by soil properties and processes and land management decisions.

SOIL AND WATERSHED SCIENCES(undergraduate and graduate programs)

ENST soil science graduate student Michelle Hetu and ENST professor Dr. Martin Rabenhorst are seeking to better understand how a variety of soil and environmental characteristics contribute to the onset of electrochemically reducing conditions in wetland soils. Chemical reduction is requisite for wetland functions in hydric soils that help remediate nutrients and other pollutants moving through wetlands in route to major waterways.


In addition to the more obvious recreational and aes-thetic contributions of wetlands, they provide fish and wildlife habitat, protect and enhance water quality through chemical, biological, and physical processes, increase flood protection through flood water storage mechanisms, and afford protection against shoreline erosion. The specialization in Wetland Science ad-dresses the keen awareness among the environmen-tal community that wetlands represent a critical and understudied component of many larger ecosystems. Hydrophytic vegetation, wetland soils, and wetland hydrology all contribute to make wetlands the signifi-cant and highly complex ecosystems that they are.

WETLAND SCIENCE(graduate program)

Wetland science graduate student Jennifer Brundage examines the effectiveness of grazing by goats to control common reed, an invasive wetland grass known as Phragmites australis, which is found in wetlands throughout temperate regions of the world.

Environmental health is a broad and increasingly im-portant field with wide ranging applications in the en-vironmental science and public health fields. The field encompasses environmental factors and ecosystem functions that affect human health and the effects of human activities on the ecosystem products and ser-vices on which we depend. Example topics within the field include ecological risk analysis, environmental toxicology, environmental impact assessment, chemi-cal fate and transport, human health risk assessment, industrial hygiene, air quality, environmental micro-biology, food safety and security, biodiversity and human health, and environmental health.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH(graduate program)

ENST environmental health students Cassandra Smith and Sarah Sandoval-Mohapatra sample a wetland for larval mos-quitoes. Combined with lab experiments, this field work will test whether wetland plants affect the species and number of mosquitoes. This type of knowleadge can then be used to predict how often humans may be exposed to mosquitoes that can carry disease.

HOW TO APPLY- UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS To apply to the Department of Environmental Science and Technology, please visit the University of Maryland admis-sions website at http://www.uga.umd.edu/admissions/apply. Once there, please find the applicable applicant category (fresh-man, transfer, international) and follow the instructions. For more information contact Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Kimberly Monahan, at [email protected].

UNDERGRADUATE ADVISINGThe ENST Department has mandatory advising for each of its concentrations. Students are required to meet with their advisor at least twice a year.

HOW TO APPLY- GRADUATE STUDENTS General information regarding the application process can be found on the Graduate School admissions page at www.gradschool.umd.edu/admissions. The University of Maryland Graduate School accepts applications online. Applicants are required to submit: transcripts, GRE scores, a personal statement of research interests, contact information for three references.

Prospective students are encouraged to contact graduate faculty within their area of interest. Faculty information can be found at www. enst.umd.edu/People. For more information contact the Director of Graduate Program, Dr. Martin Rabenhorst, at [email protected].

ENST students enjoying Maryland Day, which offers families the op-portunity to speak with faculty, meet current students, take tours of campus, and learn more about the University of Maryland’s academic programs and student services.

1109 H.J. Patterson HallCollege Park, MD 20742

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL S C I E N C E & T E C H N O L O G Y College of Agriculture & Natural Resourceswww.enst.umd.edu

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The Department of Environmental Science and Technology is committed to creating a sustainable future through recy-cling, conservation, and environmental advocacy. This brochure is printed on 100% post-consumer paper with recycled fi ber. Photos for this brochure were taken by: Dr. Andrew Baldwin, Kintija Eigmina, and Edwin Remsberg.

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Documents

soil science

environmental science

soil fertility

water management

environmental health

soil physics

soil chemistry

wildlife science