3 credits | Listen to an interview with Shane Rogers, Ph.D.
The year 2012 will mark the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. This regulation has resulted in considerable advances abating and controlling water pollution, primarily through the permitting and control of “point sources” of pollution such as discharges through the pipes of sewage treatment plants and industrial facilities.
Pollution problems facing major rivers such as the Hudson River today are quite different than those of years past. When it rains or when snow melts, natural pollutants and those resulting from human activities are picked up from the ground and carried into nearby water bodies. These “non-point sources” of pollution are not subject to federal permitting requirements of the Clean Water Act, but can have significant impacts on riverine ecosystems. Students will describe how historical uses of the Hudson River have shaped current water quality and ecosystem challenges; assess how current land uses affect river ecosystems; and describe and design engineered landscape modifications and green infrastructure for stormwater management that may be used to reduce the problems of non-point source pollution in both urban and agricultural landscapes.
Shane Rogers, Ph.D. joined Clarkson University’s civil and environmental engineering department as an assistant professor in 2007, following post-doctoral work as a research environmental engineer at the National Risk Management Laboratory of the EPA, where he continues to serve as a special government employee. Dr. Rogers has managed more than $4 million in research funding regarding biotechnologies for soils and water treatment, including genome-enabled molecular technologies for monitoring soils, air and water quality. His recent research investigates the fate and transport of pathogens and chemical stressors in agroecosystems (air, water, soils and wildlife vectoring).
Dr. Rogers advises the Clarkson chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA. In cooperation with Potters for Peace, Potters Without Borders, Rotary International and Hogar de Christo (a non-profit humanitarian organization in Guayaquil, Ecuador), they are implementing a ceramic water filter manufacturing facility that will benefit thousands of people in the coastal plains region of Ecuador.
Dr. Rogers, who earned his Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Iowa State University, is the recipient of awards from such organizations as the American Society for Engineering Education and the Water Environment Federation.
