UA Engineering Students Form New Environmental Student Chapter Association

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Environmental engineering students at The University of Alabama have joined with the Alabama Water Environment Association’s Students and Young Professional Committee to establish the first Water Environment Federation Student Chapter in the state of Alabama. UA’s new student chapter is named the Black Warrior Environmental Association.

The new Black Warrior Environmental Association will form synergistic relationships with students, faculty, practitioners, manufactures, representatives and regulators as part of the international water quality authority, the Water Environment Federation.

The chapter’s mission is to promote student interest in the environment and to provide an avenue for the exchange of information and ideas between students and members of the Alabama Water Environment Association and the Water Environment Federation.

The group will increase awareness of the environmental issues facing the state of Alabama and the United States. Environmental issues will be discussed in seminars and meetings on campus, facility site visits, and participation in local and national conferences.

The new student chapter is governed by a group of enthusiastic and innovative students in environmental and water resources in the department of civil, construction and environmental engineering.

Dr. Robert Pitt, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of environmental engineering programs, will serve as the faculty adviser for the Black Warrior Environmental Association. Pitt is a nationally-recognized expert in storm water management. Laith Al-Faqih, a doctoral candidate in environmental engineering, will serve as the chapter’s president.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering has about 1,800 students and more than 95 faculty. It has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.