In 2004 the Society of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (SEES) was founded by Lafayette College students in order to facilitate sustainable environmental engineering education and research. Through participation in the WERC Environmental Design Contest, this multidisciplinary group of students extended their activities to incorporate chemical engineering design principles in order to develop a reliable and economical arsenic treatment system for small communities utilizing a sorptive media developed at Lafayette College consisting of activated alumina enhanced with ferric iron. These task specific activities involved cooperation between SEES and the departments of Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Chemistry. SEES provides a unique experience for motivated students to utilize and enhance their classroom-based knowledge to develop solutions for real-world environmental problems in a multidisciplinary team environment. The goal of this presentation is to discuss the framework for SEES as well as the strategies used in its successful implementation at Lafayette College. The authors hope that this presentation will assist other institutions in establishing similar organizations to facilitate environmental research and education.

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