American Academy of Environmental Engineers
Certification is the primary purpose of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. They certify the competence of environmental engineers in their chosen specialty, such as Air Pollution Control, General Environmental Engineering, Hazardous Waste Management, Industrial Hygiene, Radiation Protection, Solid Waste Management, or Water Supply/Wastewater Engineering. This is the next step beyond holding a Professional Engineering license. Their continuing education requirements and member auditing help assure that certificate holders maintain their competency.
They have an annual project competition, call the Excellence in Environmental Engineering Competition, centered on the development and implementation of environmental management projects and programs: research, planning, design, and operations and management, and small projects. Each year, the entrants to the competition display a wide range of projects from innovative designs in waste treatment plants to new water treatment technologies to a one-of-a-kind Superfund site cleanup. Firms from all over the US submit their flagship projects, and are judged by a panel of Academy members. The winners are honored at our annual banquet in Washington, DC and the category winners go on to an international competition with the International Water Association.
The Academy also searches every year for individuals who have contributed substantially to the status of the engineering profession, provided superb management of public or private environmental protection enterprises, and have provided extraordinary and outstanding service contributing to public awareness of the environment. These three individuals are then honored with the Gordon Maskew Fair Award, the Edward J. Cleary Award, and the Stanley E. Kappe Award, respectively.
The Academy annually publishes the Who’s Who in Environmental Engineering and Environmental Engineering Selection Guide. These two publications provide the engineering and legal communities with a handy cross-referenced index of certified environmental engineers, making it easier to find these highly qualified individuals and use them in engineering engagements.
The American Academy of Environmental Engineers is the lead society for environmental engineering education program accreditation. It is a full partner in the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), which accredits all engineering curricula. Setting and enforcing program guidelines ensures that persons attending accredited programs receive an education consistent with the needs of the profession. Academy members regularly visit and evaluate university programs as part of the accreditation process.
The Academy publishes its own quarterly magazine to members and friends of the Academy. Articles in the magazine which deal with environmental practices, particularly hands-on practical case studies, are peer reviewed prior to publication. The magazine also does profiles of leading environmental engineers, documentation of the profession’s heritage, in-depth articles on environmental policy, and updates on legal developments that affect the environmental engineering profession.
Every year, the Academy selects one of its members to perform the Kappe lecture series. The lecture is given at half a dozen different universities and is used to impart practical information on an environmental engineering topic from the standpoint of a long time practitioner.
The Academy facilitates the formation of Environmental Engineering honor societies (Tau Chi Alpha) and provides support to affiliated student societies throughout the US. This is done through the volunteer efforts of Academy members.
The Environmental Engineering Foundation provides scholarship money for graduate students, and monetary awards to outstanding graduate student projects.
NCEES produces the exams that are used for licensing virtually all engineers in the United States. Since NCEES is a sponsoring organization of the Academy, they work with them to review and evaluate the environmental engineering exam and help with revision when necessary.
The Academy will also run 2 or 3 technical sessions each year at national conferences run by their sponsoring organizations.
