Departmental Unit № 1
Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering (CAEE)
PhD in Environmental Engineering
100% Full Funding Guaranteed (Teaching/Research Assistantships)
Funding Package: Full tuition scholarship + 12-month living stipend (~$32,000–$36,000/yr) + university health insurance covered through Dean's Fellowships and faculty grants.
Fall Priority Deadline: January 15 (Fall Priority)
GRE Policy: Not required / Optional
English Minimums: TOEFL iBT 90 or IELTS 6.5
MS in Environmental Engineering (Thesis Option)
Research Assistantship Eligible with Funded Faculty
Funding Reality: Thesis MS students can secure RA appointments if their background matches funded laboratory needs.
Application Deadline: February 1
Admissions Advisory: If full funding is required and MS is self-funded, students are strongly advised to apply directly to the PhD track.
Vetted Matched Scholars (1 Profiles)
Prof. Christopher M. Sales
Associate Professor of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
In Plain Terms · What This Scholar Does:
He blasts polluted water with electric cold plasma lightning to break apart super-tough PFAS molecules, then uses specialized bacteria to eat up the chemical leftovers.
Core Research Topics: Environmental biotechnology, biodegradation of emerging contaminants, PFAS microbial degradation, non-thermal plasma water treatment, metagenomics.
Recent 2024–2026 Works & Grants: Combining non-thermal gliding arc plasma reactors with specialized microbial consortia to cleave persistent carbon-fluorine bonds in PFAS compounds in contaminated groundwater and municipal sludge (EPA / DoD SERDP 2024–2026).
Laboratory Instruments & Methods: Non-thermal plasma reactors, high-throughput DNA sequencing (Illumina/Nanopore), LC-MS/MS, bioreactor chemostats, qPCR.
Recruiting Context: Leader in combining physical plasma technology with microbial biotechnology for stubborn contaminant breakdown.
Candidate Match:
Environmental PollutionWater QualityWet Lab Environmental TestingEnvironmental Remediation
Tailored Cold-Email Opening Hook:
"Discussing your interest in PFAS defluorination, plasma-assisted water remediation, and environmental microbiology in the Sales Lab."