New technologies and research offer hope in solving some of the most vexing environmental problems of our time, including global warming, urban transportation congestion, tainted drinking water and the use of landfills for waste disposal. Leading researchers will present findings that demonstrate new techniques and efficiencies for dealing with these problems at the Conference on Engineering for Humanity and the Environment at Davis Auditorium of the Schapiro Center for Engineering and Physical Science Research, Columbia University from 2 to 6 P.M., Thurs., May 31. For a complete schedule of the conference click here.

The conference is hosted by Columbia's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science and organized by the National Academy of Engineering for the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania region. About 100 members of the NAE and their guests are expected.

Van C. Mow, chairman of the Biomedical Engineering Department at Columbia and professor of orthopedic surgery and biomedical engineering, is chairman of the planning committee for this NAE regional meeting conference.

"In the 20th century, engineers made possible unprecedented advances in economic development, raising our standard of living to new levels," said Dr. Mow. "In this new century, engineering will play a key role in designing processes, products and systems to meet the needs of society and protect the global, regional and local environments."

The conference will present findings from research underway on transportation congestion in New York City and arsenic contamination in Bangladesh, as well as discuss promising new techniques for addressing the greenhouse effect and solid waste disposal nationwide.

Dr. Mow, William A. Wulf, president of the National Academy of Engineering, and Zvi Galil, dean of the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, will make brief welcoming remarks beginning at 2 P.M.

Four 30-minute presentations, followed by 15-minute question and answer periods, will begin at 2:30 P.M. as researchers describe the findings of new research and advances in technology to address environmental problems.

Researchers and the topics they will discuss include:

• Stephen Schneider of Stanford University will discuss recent advances in earth systems engineering that attempts to remove pollutants from earth's exhaust stream before they get into the atmosphere and to inject them deep into the Earth, thus circumventing their buildup in the atmosphere and reducing the risk of climate change.
• Nickolas Themelis of Columbia's engineering school will review recent advances in the incineration of solid waste that results in much less emissions in the atmosphere. In 100 of these waste-to-energy plants now operating in the United States, solid waste is converted into a fuel. Studies at Columbia show that these plants reduce significantly the amount of land devoted annually to landfilling.
• The application of computer and information technology to transportation systems – roads themselves as well as cars , trucks and trains – can potentially reduce urban transportation congestion dramatically, according to Robert E. Paaswell of the City College of New York, who will discuss "Intelligence Transportation Systems," which range from message signs on highways that disclose traffic jams ahead to global positioning systems that help drivers navigate to radar systems that actually automatically brake cars when they get too close to the car ahead to EZPass and metrocard.
• Joseph Graziano of Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health will discuss preliminary results of a multi-disciplinary research project in Bangladesh which has yielded new information on the health effects of arsenic exposure in drinking water and a deeper understanding of how to protect the water supply from arsenic.