Unique Learning Opportunities: (labs, exercises, partnerships, internships)

Students in environmental science have a variety of learning opportunities including lectures in small classroom settings, hands-on labs, and field trips. The School of Science and Computer Engineering has excellent computing resources and maintains comprehensive and state-of-the-art laboratories for environmental biology, environmental toxicology, aquatic science, environmental chemistry, analytical instrumentations, environmental geology, and industrial hygiene. Our chemical analysis instrumentations include inductively coupled plasma, gas chromatography with electron capture detector, gas chromatography with flame ionization detector, high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector and UV detector, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, ion chromatography, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, high speed ultra centrifuge, Fourier Transformed Infrared spectrometer, UV-VIS spectrometer, and total organic carbon analyzer. Field equipment used for research includes chemical, biological and hydrological monitoring equipment and GPS instrumentation.

Students in environmental science can also participate in a variety of projects, including independent studies, internship, and co-ops under the supervision of faculty advisors and/or our partnership in the local area. We have strong ties with local and regional environmental agencies, organizations and industries including NASA, NOAA, EPA, TCEQ, TPWD, GLO, Galveston Bay Estuary Program, USCOE, and the USFWS. Many faculty serve on agency science advisory boards, and many agency scientists from these organizations have served as adjunct faculty and guest speakers. Strong collaborations exist between our researchers and scientists within these organizations.

Since our campus is located adjacent to Galveston Bay and the northern Gulf of Mexico, our faculty can participate and conduct important research in these locales. Galveston Bay is considered a national estuary and consequently targeted federal funds are provided to TCEQ to fund research in Galveston Bay. Similar programs exist in other federal agencies. Due to the ozone non-attainment status in Harris and Galveston Counties, federal and state funds are often provided to conduct research pertaining to these topic areas.