Overview
Geoengineering is the study, design, and use of natural geomaterials (soils, rocks), geosynthetic materials, and other types of man-made materials.
Numerous subdisciplines of engineering are encompassed in Geoengineering, and include Geotechnical Engineering, Geoenvironmental Engineering, Geological Engineering, and Geophysical Engineering. The Geoengineering Program at Colorado State University predominantly is focused on education and research in the areas of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering.
Geoenvironmental Engineering
Geoenvironmental Engineering is the engineering of geologic (earthen) and geosynthetic (polymer) materials to protect human health and the environment. The primary problems addressed by Geoenvironmental Engineers pertain to the protection of uncontaminated regions of the subsurface as well as the remediation cleanup of contaminated subsurface regions, such as industrial chemical spills, leaking waste containment facilities, leaking above-ground and underground storage tanks, infiltration of pesticides, etc..
Geotechnical Engineering
Geotechnical Engineering employs concepts of soil and rock mechanics to the analysis and design of geotechnical structures such as shallow and deep foundations, retaining walls and structures, excavations and excavated slopes, earth dams and embankments, and liners and covers for waste containment facilities (e.g., landfills). Since an advanced degree normally is required for engineers working in this field, the program prepares students to solve complex geotechnical problems based on a fundamental understanding of geomaterial behavior and use of modern tools for geotechnical design and analysis. State-of-the-art computing and experimental facilities are used extensively in the teaching and research conducted by faculty and students.
Faculty
Courses
The graduate program in Geoengineering at CSU integrates three primary areas within the department: Geotechnical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Groundwater Engineering.
The curriculum for the Geoengineering graduate program is flexible to allow students a wide range of course options in the three primary areas, as well as a number of additional courses offered in supporting areas, such as the geological sciences, soil science, chemistry, biology, chemical engineering, mathematics, statistics, and structural mechanics.
The program is tailored to the student’s desires and needs based on their thesis or dissertation research. This flexibility in curriculum makes the Geoengineering Program particularly attractive for graduate students who either are unsure about focusing on a more traditional area of study or desire a more broad-based background to support their career objectives.
Recommended Courses: Geoenvironmental Engineering Focus
- CIVE 458 Environmental Geotechnics
- CIVE 558 Containment Systems for Waste Disposal
- CIVE 658 Remediation Systems for Subsurface Contamination
Recommended Courses: Geotechnical Engineering Focus
- CIVE 455 Applications in Geotechnical Engineering
- CIVE 550 Foundation and Retaining Wall Engineering
- CIVE 555 Mining Geotechnics
- CIVE 556 Slope Stability, Seepage, and Earth Dams
- CIVE 655 Advanced Soil Mechanics
- CIVE 751 Soil Dynamics
Geoengineering Elective Courses
- CIVE 423 Groundwater Engineering
- CIVE 440 Nonpoint Source Pollution
- CIVE 531 Groundwater Hydrology
- CIVE 537 Residuals Management
- CIVE 538 Aqueous Chemistry
- CIVE 539 Water & Wastewater Analysis
- CIVE 540 Advanced Biological Wastewater Processing
- CIVE 541 Physical Chemical Water Treatment Processes
- CIVE 542 Water Quality Modeling
- CIVE 559 Special Topics in Geoengineering (e.g., Waste Behavior and Mechanics, Expansive Soils, Unsaturated Soil Mechanics, Soil-Structure Interaction, Mining Geotechnics, etc.)
- CIVE 560 Advanced Mechanics of Materials
- CIVE 565 Finite Element Method
- CIVE 631 Computational Methods in Subsurface Systems
- CIVE 638 Groundwater Quality and Contaminant Transport
- CIVE 657 Oral Communication in Geoengineering
- CIVE 659 Advanced Topics in Geoengineering
- CIVE 716 Erosion and Sedimentation
Other Common Courses
- CBE 524 Bioremediation
- GEOL 551 Groundwater Modeling
- GEOL 424 Moden Gas and Oil
- GEOL 442 Applied Geophysics
- GEOL 446 Environmental Geology
- GEOL 447 Mineral Deposits
- GEOL 452 Hydrogeology
- GEOL 454 Geomorphology
- GEOL 547 Ore Deposit Geochemistry
- GEOL 552 Advanced Topics in Hydrogeology
- GEOL 560 Clay Mineralogy
- SOCR 455 Soil Microbiology
- SOCR 467 Soil & Environmental Chemistry
- SOCR 470 Soil Physics
- SOCR 478 Environmental Soil Sciences
- SOCR 560 Chemical Equilibria in Soil
- SOCR 564 Soil Chemical Analysis
Graduate Admission and Program Details
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