A Proposal for an Undergraduate Program in
Ecological Engineering
Bioengineering Department (others?)
February, 2003
Ecological engineering defined
Ecological Engineering is the design of sustainable systems in concert and consistent with
ecological principles that integrate human activities with the natural environment to the benefit of
both. Ecological Engineering applies quantitative solutions to the design of ecological problems,
and involves working within an ecosystem, modifying it to accomplish a given objective while at
the same time strengthening it and making it more sustainable. In contrast to other engineering
disciplines, Ecological Engineering demands a broad understanding of ecosystem dynamics and
processes while remaining grounded in fundamentals of physical processes, quantitative analysis,
and design.
Active areas of interest in Ecological Engineering include:

Ecosystem restoration and habitat design at multiple scales

Watershed management and enhancement

Integrated waste treatment systems and beneficial use of waste products

Phytoremediation and bioremediation

Industrial ecology

Constructed wetland and tidal marshlands

Mitigation of non-point source contamination

Design of biosensors and sensor systems for environmental monitoring
Ecological Engineering is focused on incorporating ecological principles into the design of both
natural and human-dominated systems. It uses ecology as its fundamental design paradigm,
emphasizing resiliency, adaptation, and systems approaches to develop engineered solutions that
are sustainable, intrinsically incorporate a broad range of biological systems as components, and
emphasize mutual improvement of both human and natural environments. This focus on
incorporation of ecological principles in engineering design to promote development of robust,
sustainable systems sets it apart from other engineering disciplines.
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Ecological Engineering involves a broader mix of disciplines than other branches of
engineering. In addition to traditional engineering training in mathematics, physics, chemistry,
biochemistry and engineering analysis and design, students in this program will need training in
biology, ecology, geosciences, hydrology and systems analysis. This field of engineering is also
strongly linked to geosciences, hydrology and water quality (topic areas in which the OSU
Bioengineering Department has particular strength). Additionally, they will need a general
understanding of legal, political, economic and sociological disciplines.
A few examples will illustrate the approaches that define Ecological Engineering:

Watershed Restoration: there is broad societal interest in developing and deploying
technologies that promote watershed health and mitigate adverse effects of human uses in
a landscape. However, restoration activities frequently require the design of appropriate
engineered structures that consider bank and floodplain dynamics, hydrology, and soil
stresses. Ecological engineers would have the necessary engineering design background,
coupled with an understanding of the ecological effects of these designs, to successfully
address the need for reliable, successful restoration projects.

Bioproduct Recovery and Phytoremediation of Landfills: standard practice for landfill
mitigation has been to cover landfills with a plastic cover to prevent leaching of toxic
materials from the accumulated wastes. The Ecological Engineering approach is to cover
the landfill with an engineered soil that (i) restricts downward movement of water and (ii)
supports a vegetative cover. The vegetative cover is designed to intercept leachate. Both
approaches are acceptable initially, but with increasing root development and related
biological activity in the soil the vegetative cover may become more effective than the
plastic cover, while also enhancing the ecosphere

Land use impacts on regional water quality: Field and watershed scale processes related
to land use and management can significantly impact water quality and related factors.
New, biologically-based capture and treatment systems are becoming available; for
example, engineered riparian systems can reduce sediment and nutrient transport to
streams. However, design of these systems requires a quantitative understanding of
soil/water/plant interactions, erosion and hydrology processes, and other factors.
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Ecological engineers would have the necessary quantitative analysis and design skills to
create these systems

Engineered Wetland Systems: Wetlands systems are being designed to simultaneously
provide critical habitat, wastewater treatment and ground water recharge. Successful
design of these systems requires a quantitative analysis of loading rates, nutrient cycling
processes and dynamics, and understanding of associated biological and ecological
processes and functions.

Understanding and mitigating climate change: Impacts of the coupling of soil and
vegetation surface characteristics to the atmospheric boundary layer play an important
role in weather and climate change. Furthering understanding of these complex
interactions requires detailed understanding of physical, biological and ecological
processes, and an ability to characterize these processes using quantitative approaches.

Industrial Ecology: Many industrial processes can benefit from the incorporation of
biological components to enhance effectiveness and take advantage of the robustness and
resilience often manifested by these systems.
Ecological Engineering Program Objectives
The overall objective of the program is to provide an ABET-accredited curriculum in Ecological
Engineering that address state, regional and national needs for engineers trained to solve complex
problems associated with ecological, agricultural and natural resource systems management.
Students will receive training in engineering fundamentals as well the physical, chemical, and
ecological sciences. Graduates from this program will be uniquely qualified to apply engineering
design and analysis techniques to address a wide range of ecological, agricultural and natural
resources issues.
Specific objectives of this program include:
Objective 1: To provide an accredited Ecological Engineering baccalaureate degree program as
granted by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
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Objective 2: To provide students with a strong background in both fundamental engineering skills
and the physical, chemical and ecological sciences, creating unique capabilities for addressing
pressing societal needs.
Objective 3: To provide the agricultural and natural resource industries, as well as ecological
engineering consulting firms and government agencies, with highly skilled professionals uniquely
capable of bringing ecological principles to bear on engineering tasks required by these clients.
Objective 4: To prepare students for graduate studies in agricultural, biological, ecological
environmental, or related programs.
Objective 5: To prepare students for registration and licensure as professional ecological
engineers
Objective 6: To take advantage of OSU’s strengths in both engineering and ecosystems sciences
to produce uniquely-trained individuals well positioned to succeed in multidisciplinary, teamoriented environments.
Education for an Ecological Engineering degree
Ecological Engineering will necessarily depend on a broader mix of disciplines than other
branches of engineering. In addition to the traditional engineering training in mathematics,
physics, chemistry, biochemistry and engineering analysis and design, students in this program
will need more training in biology, ecology, geosciences and hydrology. It will also be important
that they be especially well grounded in systems analysis. Another important distinction between
Ecological Engineering and other engineering disciplines is its strong links to geosciences,
hydrology and water quality (topic areas in which the Bioengineering Department has particular
strength). Additionally, they will need a general understanding of legal, political, economic and
sociological disciplines.
The goal of the proposed undergraduate program cannot be to fully master all these disciplines,
but to be firmly grounded in the hard sciences and systems analysis and sufficiently aware of, and
sensitive to the other disciplines to work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team
Proposed coursework
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The following outline presents a general perspective on the types of courses and course contents
that will support this program. Required fundamental engineering courses (Statics, dynamics,
electrical engineering fundamentals, etc.) are not listed. A number of other possible supporting
courses, not listed below would be provided by other programs. Examples include advanced
courses in biology and ecology, physical hydrology, instrumentation, courses relating to
environmental law, economics, and transport/fate of organic chemicals. The courses listed here
are those that would be taught by this department.

Ecological Engineering Fundamentals: Basic principles of ecological design; resiliency,
adaptation, sustainability; design and analysis of natural and human-impacted systems.

Water Resource Systems Analysis: Analysis; planning multi-purpose and multi-objective
systems, decision models for deterministic and probabilistic systems, optimization.

Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment and Control: Sources of nutrients, toxins,
temperature, sediment; transport and sequestration of pollutants; the impacts of these
factors and control of these factors at the source

Riparian and Wetlands Enginnering: Design and analysis of riparian and wetlands;
treatment and habitat functions.

Ecosystems analysis: The characterization, analysis, modeling and visualization of
ecosystems; bio-mimicry in wetlands, lagoons, phytocaps and soils

Biological Treatment Systems: Phytoremediation, bioremediation, design, management
and monitoring of constructed wetlands, lagoons, phytocaps and riparian buffers.

Industrial Ecology: Design of biological systems supporting industrial applications.

Ecological Engineering Design: A capstone design course dealing with management and
monitoring of abatement, and remediation systems.
Specific courses are listed in the proposed course requirements given below.
Constituency
A first step in defining this program is to identify its constituency and incorporate their input into
the program design - the social, political, economic and other interests that this program will
serve. The natural and historical constituency of this group can be determined from established
research, extension and advisory relationships, the interests of our students, patterns of graduate
hiring and the areas of technical need in society. We have had substantial interest and support for
our program from the following interests:
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Private sector: Engineering, economic, and environmental consultants and natural resource
planners; construction firms, environmental control equipment manufacturers and others involved
in development and utilization of natural resources; irrigated agriculture, industrial organizations,
dairies and other organizations involved in and responsible for mitigation of water contamination.
Public sector: Local, state, tribal and federal agencies responsible for the promotion, design and
evaluation of watershed management plans, TMDL planning and other natural resource
protection and utilization efforts; non-governmental environmental and natural resource interest
groups with similar commitments. These groups range from local watershed councils to national
interest groups. Their interests may range from bioremediation and water conservation to
endangered species protection.
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