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CUE 2006

Jeremy Kolenbrander, at far right, shows environmental engineering students the technique for measuring water level in a groundwater well on the university’s East Campus.

Environmental Engineering: Students Learn Sampling, Analysis Techniques from CU Alumnus

On a cold, windy afternoon in October, a group of students and their instructor gather around a hollow-stem auger drill rig and watch cuttings emerge from the soil of the University's East Research Campus. 

"What is it . . . sand, silt, or clay?" the instructor asks as he encourages students to pick up some of the soil cuttings and rub them between their fingers.

This is EVEN 4830, Environmental Sampling and Analysis, a course offered to juniors, seniors, and graduate students in environmental engineering, civil engineering, and other programs. The focus of the course is to prepare students for a career dealing with environmental problems covered by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act or "Superfund."

The teacher is adjunct instructor Jeremy Kolenbrander, a 1992 chemical engineering graduate with a master's degree in environmental engineering from Stanford. Kolenbrander started his own consulting firm, Drill-Pro Services, which specializes in environmental soil investigations, and also worked with some colleagues to design, build, and sell their own drill rigs.

Although he has since changed fields to work for a medical technology company, Kolenbrander continues to teach the environmental sampling and analysis course in alternating years. He draws on former colleagues for a drill rig and other equipment, which provide students first-hand exposure to field techniques. 

He also brings in guest lecturers ranging from environmental managers to lawyers, including an instructor who provides students with certification in the Occupational Safety and Health Agency's Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard, a 40-hour course compressed into two weeks of class meetings. Many students report that this certification alone, not to mention the field experience, has provided the inside track to their first jobs.