Overview
Environmental science and engineering is a comprehensive and novel interdiscipline which is based on natural science, engineering science and social science. It is the discipline studies the interaction of between human and environment and the mutual adjust and control, mainly focusing on the development rules of human-environment system, the control of material, energy and information exchange processes between human and environment, and the way to resolve environmental problems, in order to realize the coordinated and sustainable development of human-environment system. There are two researching directions, namely environmental science and environmental engineering. Specifically, environmental science concerns the fields of environmental natural science, technical science and social science, which focuses on evolution laws of environment, reveals the interaction between human’s activities and eco-system, and explores ways and methods of harmonious coexistence with the environment. Environmental engineering mainly concerns engineering and technical problems in environmental fields, such as atmospheric pollution control engineering, water pollution control engineering, solid waste disposal and recycling, noise control as well as light, heat, radiation contaminations control and electromagnetic radiation contamination control.
Nowadays, the human society is confronted with the complicated contradiction of development and environment. With great environment pressure as a result of sustained and rapid development of economy, the demand of resolving environmental problems and a large number of professionals has become the motivation resource of developing environmental science and engineering. The 21st century is to be the booming epoch of the subject—environmental science and engineering. The content of the subjects will be increasingly abundant and complete with the deeper research on environment and innovation of discipline methodology, while the researching field will be widened and deepened. At present, some frontier fields joins the research category of environmental science and engineering, including the mechanism of action of multi-factors complicated environmental problems, environment and health effect, development and application of new technology and material of environmental protection, system control of industrial pollution, methodology of analyzing complicated systems, integrated pollution control technique systems, etc.
Directions
There are two researching directions under environmental science and engineering, namely environmental science and environmental engineering.
(1) Based on traditional natural and technical science and social science, environmental science is a new branch of science which studies the interaction between humanhuman and environment and the mutual adjust and control. It is characterized as problem-oriented, comprehensive and integrated, social applied. Its main task is to research on the evolution rules of environment, reveal the interaction between human’s activities and eco-system, and explore ways and methods of harmonious coexistence with the environment. It uses principles and methods of natural science, technical science and social science for reference, forms theories and methodology during processes of resolving environmental problems, provides support for the relation between economic society and environment. The main research field is scientific, technical and managing problems in environmental field, including environmental natural science, environmental technical science and environmental social science.
(2) Environmental engineering mainly concerns the engineering problems in environmental fields. Based on the principles and methods of traditional subjects including chemistry, physics, biology, and geoscience, which protects and rationally utilizes natural resources, and prevents environment pollution, the aim is to improve environmental quality and realize the sustainable development. The research content contains atmospheric pollution control engineering, water pollution control engineering, solid waste disposal and recycling, noise control, prevention and control of light, heat, radiation contamination, electromagnetic radiation contamination, as well as the environmental systems engineering.
