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Environmental Science at AU

Students and professor, wearing gloves and holding a bucket, work outside in a lake

Our Masters and undergrad BA and BS programs train students to become effective advocates for the environment. The curriculum consists of rigorous science- and policy-based courses and experiential learning that prepare our students for exciting careers in the environmental field. The Department of Environmental Science recommits itself to advancing informed, knowledge-based approaches to confronting local and global environmental concerns.

All humans depend on the Earth for survival, creating a universal interest in understanding and protecting it. Solving complex environmental problems requires diverse perspectives and ways of knowing. Yet, most of the history of environmental science and allied fields has excluded and marginalized people based on their race, socioeconomic status, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and other characteristics. Moreover, environmental science has also caused harm through extractive research practices and research that has promoted harmful, and wrong, ideas towards marginalized people.

In the AU Environmental Science Department, we recognize that environmental scientists, scholars and activists must be representative and inclusive of humanity in all its diversity. We also strive to confront the harmful history of our discipline, put science in the appropriate context, and avoid making the same mistakes again.

People are drawn to our field of study for myriad reasons: love of the outdoors, passion for environmental justice, and an interest in solving complicated, interdisciplinary problems, to name a few. All these motivations are valid. Whatever has brought you here, it is our goal to create a welcoming space for you in our department, where you can flourish academically and personally.

Here is an overview of what our department is doing to promote diversity and inclusion:

ENVS Courses

Additionally, many of our classes cover environmental justice topics. These include:

AU Core Classes

  • ENVS 150: The Nature of Earth
  • Complex Problems classes: Pollution Solutions, Facing Climate Change, Maxing Out Planet Earth

Majors’ and Graduate Classes

  • ENVS 160: Biodiversity and Ecosystems
  • ENVS 220: Energy and Resources
  • ENVS 260: Energy and Pollution
  • ENVS 324: Environmental Health
  • ENVS 470/670: Water Resources

Bulletins

Washington Post featured research of Barbara BalestraStephen MacAvoy, and ENVS students on the Anacostia and Potomac River microplastics.

Graduate student Jonathan Craig was profiled by The Eagle about their research on microplastics in the Anacostia River.

AU Prof Mike Alonzo, postdoc Thu Ya Kyaw, Glory Iorliam, and other collaborators, conducting tree measurements.

Prof Mike Alonzo, postdoc Thu Ya Kyaw, graduate student Glory Iorliam, and other collaborators conducting tree measurements at UMBC.

Karen L. Knee spoke with Wired about the dangers of the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus — which is prevalent in hot coastal waters.

 

Stephen MacAvoy spoke with National Geographic about how to make sense of extreme weather events. 

Prof Valentina Aquila details the wildfire and air quality hazard.

Ashley Hocking was awarded a Udall Scholarship, which she will use to fulfill her dream of studying abroad in Ecuador.

Student Hannah VanWagner pursues sustainability with AU's RECIPES project.

Madeleine Danzberger's team project Biome Builder won the first annual Sustainability Invent-a-thon.

Congratulations to ENVS students Maddie Young, Ashley Hocking, and Kat Raiano. All three have been selected for the American University 2023 Academic Achievement Award for Outstanding Achievement in Environmental Activism.

AU's Mike Alonzo led an NSF-funded project about "how trees respond to heat stress."

ENVS faculty with 2022 CAS Dean's Awards.CAS Dean’s Awards: Jesse Meiller (left) and Sauleh Siddiqui (right) for Exceptional Impact and Karen Knee (middle) for Outstanding Contributions to an Inclusive Community. Kiho Kim received the Outstanding Service to the University Community Award.

Stephanie Braddock completed her MS in Environmental Science and joined the PhD program in Atmospheric Physics at Rutgers. 

Kruttika Gopal (BA Environmental Studies, 2023) was awarded the 2021 Udall scholarship.

Elisa Davey (MS 2022) recently started a full-time position with the EPA, working on biosolids. 

Emily Nguyen (MS 2022) was just hired as a Program Coordinator at Conservation International.

Sauleh Siddiqui (Environmental Science) spoke on CNN about why we need to adjust our approach to infrastructure to protect the most vulnerable from climate change.

Sergio Morales (Environmental Science) and Jennah McDonald (Biology), were part of the SEA Semester voyage that discovered good news regarding coral health in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA). Their discovery was featured in the New York Times. Accompanied by 21 other undergraduates, SEA Semester faculty, and researchers from the New England Aquarium and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Sergio and Jennah gathered data on the health of the islands' coral reef ecosystem in order to recommend policy implementations to the PIPA management office in Kiribati—all while sailing as active crewmembers aboard a tall ship research vessel.

Tim Doud with his Art at Amtrak mural “A Great Public Work”

Research ·

College Faculty Receive 80 Awards Totaling Over $11 Million in 2023

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Jonathan Craig

Research ·

Student Research on Impacts of Pollution and Climate Change

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To the Point: Anacostia River

Environment ·

Is DC’s Anacostia River on the Rebound and Safe for Swimming?

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Student Spotlights

Hana Bahlawan

Hana Bahlawan BS Environmental Science '22

Hana Bahlawan is a senior majoring in Environmental Science. She is also a member of the US Air Force ROTC (Lt. Col. AFROTC)! Hana is examining the concentration and distribution of a novel PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) called Bibenzyl which is used in flame retardants, electronics, and textile production. She is looking at both suburban and urban steam sediments that may receive different degrees of sewage input and will test for differences.

Faith Lewis

Faith Lewis BA Environmental Studies and Economics ‘20

As a Student Sustainability Educator, I like finding out what people are interested in, and then catering to those interests. The environment affects everybody, and it's really our job to show people the way in which it affects them. It helps that people are very receptive at AU, so I don't have a hard time engaging with people.

I hope people see the merit of what we’re doing & are inspired to join the fight

Find out how you can get involved with Sustainability at AU.