Fate & Effects of Pollutants Option Description (M.S. or Ph.D.)

The focus of this option is to seek new understandings of the movement and transformations of contaminants in aquatic, atmospheric, and terrestrial environments. Such understandings are gained through the examination of the physical structures and biogeochemical processes upon which ecosystem and human health depend and their interactions with substances mobilized by human activities. Students in this option learn how to apply the tools of field and laboratory experimentation as well as predictive modeling to problems of environmental contamination and are exposed to the legal, policy, and management issues associated with such problems. The development and execution of an original research project is encouraged and required for the M.S. with thesis and Ph.D. degrees.