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Environmental Biotechnology Course Abstract Environmental biotechnology, the application of living organisms to environmental problems, is an increasingly important topic. One notable example is bioremediation, i.e., the use of microorganisms to clean up contaminated environments, including contaminated soils and sediments. Environmental biotechnology is at the interface of biology and engineering, which presents both significant opportunities and limitations. Effective application of environmental biotechnology requires professionals who have a background in both areas. The undergraduate engineering curriculum has traditionally not emphasized training in biological sciences, although many environmental engineering curricula have incorporated some engineering microbiology in concert with, or as a prerequisite for, wastewater treatment courses. In general, however, whereas environmental engineers have considerable engineering skills required for the design of processes per se, have only a rudimentary knowledge of general biology and microbiology in particular. Growth in biology-related courses in the engineering curriculum is becoming more widespread, as chemical engineering departments begin to emphasize life science related research, and as biomedical engineering departments grow and diversify. Thus, the development of an Environmental Biotechnology course satisfies an urgent need in terms of professional preparation, and is timely as biology becomes more integrated into the engineering curriculum. The proposed environmental biotechnology course will develop in environmental engineers an awareness of the most relevant, often diverse, aspects of the subject. The course will begin with general microbiology including structure, metabolism, growth kinetics, genetics, ecology, and diversity of microorganisms. This will prepare students for more in-depth treatment of such topics in other courses, and for important and emerging engineering applications of environmental biotechnology dicussed in the second half of the proposed course. These include state-of-the-art advances in wastewater treatment (including removal of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus; transformation of anthropogenic chemicals; and water re-use); bioremediation, including bioaugmentation and natural attenuation; production and mechanism of biofertilizers and biopesticides; fundamental and practical aspects of biosensor mechanism, design and implementation; development of microbial fuel cells; generation of valuable products from wastes; applications and ecology of biolfilms; quorum sensing (microbial cell-cell communication), and environmental genomic

I. Introduction A senior-level undergraduate course, entitled “Environmental Biotechnology,” has been developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The developed course is available as a technical elective. Environmental biotechnology, the application of living organisms to environmental problems, is an increasingly important topic. One notable example is bioremediation, i.e., the use of microorganisms to clean up the contaminated environments, including contaminate soils and sediments. Environmental biotechnology is at the interface of biology and engineering, which presents both significant opportunities and limitations. Effective application of environmental biotechnology requires professionals who have a background in both areas. The undergraduate

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Kilduff, J. E., & Han, J. (2006, June), Environmental Biotechnology Course Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--911