The Environmental Institute

The Environmental Institute at the University of Alabama is operated under the direction and guidance of the Office of Dr. Robert Pitt and Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering. The focus of the Institute is to provide general assistance related to environmental issues and to support scientific research. The Institute currently shares its office with several science and engineering research programs (please see EI home page).

Major Environmental Focus Areas

Urban Water Resources
Storm water Management
Water Reuse and Recycling
Wetland Treatment Systems
Hydrologic and Frequency Modeling
Rainfall Estimation Modeling
Flood Frequency Analysis
Atmospheric/Surface Interface Fate and Transport of Pollutants
Landfill Gas Movement
Waste Reduction & Recycling Techniques
Environmentally Safe Management of Wastes
Alternative Treatment & Disposal Techniques
Ground & Surface Water Contamination Mechanisms and Pollutant Transport Modeling
Soil Attenuation: Toxicity Impact of Contaminate Migration
Environmental Remediation Action Techniques
Gas Collection & Utilization from Waste Treatment Systems

Developing Environmental Studies

The EI is expanding our coordination and cooperation with UAB and UAH environmental faculty, along with other universities in the region. Expanding areas of interest on campus where the Environmental Institute can provide technical expertise include:

Automotive Industry Recycling
Construction Management and Sustainable Design
Rural Water Resources
Optimization of Wetland Treatment Systems for Pollutants of Concern
RADAR for Drought Study
Bio-complexity and River Characterization
Emerging Pollutants of Concern

Additional Non-Research Focus Areas

Service Learning
Introduction of Environmental Issues into the Classroom; Water and Air Quality.
K-12 Environmental Outreach
Ozone and Particulate Community Program
Conferences and Symposiums
EI Newsletters

The University of Alabama's Environmental Institute was created around and formerly housed the Waste Management Studies Division. New efforts related to research in the areas of land, water, and air have refocused the EI toward environmental sustainability issues. The EI is composed of research and service elements whose purpose is to foster study of the basic concepts, methods, and practices involving environmental sustainability and to serve public interest by accurately and completely conveying information to the public and decision makers in an objective and unbiased manner. The Director of the Environmental Institute and staff have a wide range of information in the area available to researchers and the general public.