The Environmental Research Group (ERG), one of UNH’s organized research centers, has been situated within the Civil Engineering Department since its creation in May 1987. Graduate and undergraduate education are both strong components of its mission with graduate students obtaining M.S. or Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Engineering through the Civil Engineering Department. Undergraduates receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering.

ERG specializes in eight areas which are represented by centers or programs:

• Bioremediation
• Coastal Response
• Contaminant Fate, Transport, and Remediation
• Drinking Water Treatment Technologies
• Electrotechnologies Research
• Recycled Materials and Waste Utilization
• Stormwater and Wastewater Treatment
• Stream and Wetland Restoration

ERG has entered into more than 160 grants and contracts since its inception, totaling more than $24 million in extramural support. ERG is located on UNH’s West Campus in the environmental technology building, Gregg Hall.

Mission and Focus

ERG’s mission is to strive to improve human and environmental health, mitigate human impact on the environment, train qualified engineering professionals for the workforce and serve society locally and internationally. ERG performs high-impact applied and fundamental research related to critical environmental science; engineering; and regulatory and policy issues. ERG fosters the intellectual growth of graduate and undergraduate students in environmental and water resource engineering through innovative, multidisciplinary research, and contributes significantly to the academic mission of College of Engineering and Physical Science and the broader University.

Facilities

ERG research is conducted in approximately 4,000 sq. ft. of laboratory space in Kingsbury, Parsons and Morse Halls, as well as 10,000 sq. ft. of space in Gregg Hall. This multi-disciplinary science and engineering research building houses custom designed laboratories, instrumentation rooms, constant temperature rooms, high bay areas, offices, classrooms, meeting rooms, and a "superteach" room with video, communication and computer technology.

Standard research equipment includes:

• hoods at every station,
• research grade pH meters,
• specific ion and auto-titration analyzers,
• centrifuges,
• drying ovens,
• analytical balances,
• research-grade water systems,
• bench-scale water treatment facilities.

ERG has advanced bench-scale facilities and constant temperature rooms for conducting basic research, treatability and pilot studies and is well equipped to conduct large field-scale pilot studies.