Institute of Environmental Technology, Houston, Texas (Version 1)

The Institute of Environmental Technology (IET), a virtual organization without profit motive, was formed in 1992 to offer introductory and advanced environmental training. The IET provides a forum for continuing dialogue, technical support, and invited funding for research on environmental methods and techniques, field conditions in and around Houston, Texas, and on technology in use today and in the foreseeable future. The Institute provides environmental training for individuals with a strong desire to learn and to succeed in industries and consulting companies involved in environmental issues. Earth

The popular environmental cross-training course: Introduction to Environmental Technology was first presented in the Fall of 1992 at one of the local community colleges in the north Houston area, later at the Houston Engineering & Scientific Society in the central Houston area, and more recently, at the Institute of Environmental Technology, located in west-central Houston. Almost 400 students have graduated from the course to date, most of whom have found meaningful employment or improved their position in the environmental field or associated industries.

The student body consists of "refugees" from the oil and gas, aerospace, and other industries which have experienced downsizing or reorganization to meet anticipated economic conditions of the future. Students also come from the environmental field who wish to broaden their breadth of knowledge and experience in the multidisciplinary subjects encountered in the environmental industry. The program is continually updated each semester to inform students of the changes occurring in the environmental field. The IET also provides continuing technical support for each IET graduate, as well as for the large faculty and the many friends of IET in the Houston area and elsewhere, by making available a comprehensive source of information via the Internet (see IET's Internet Resources / Newsgroups page) as well as via the new IET Bookstore (see IET's Publications, Reviews, and Bookstore page).

Most students of the course have one to three college degrees in science or engineering, but others also attend the course who wish to prepare themselves for employment as environmental technicians. Graduates come from a range in backgrounds: geologists, chemists, biologists, engineers (of various sub-fields), and industrial technicians. Since 1992, the number of geologists graduating from the IET program has decreased while the number of engineers has increased ( see: Class Make-up/Disciplines).

Students of the course receive approximately 180 hours of instruction including hands-on demonstrations involving field techniques and equipment use, and field trip(s) to Houston-area Superfund remediation sites. HAZWOPER (40-Hr OSHA) certification, including updates, is integrated within the course over its four-month duration.

The faculty is drawn from industry and applied academic sources, and consists of more than 25 seasoned professionals from prominent environmental consulting companies, regulatory agencies, and Rice University. Most of the faculty have worked together in various functions and for various environmental consulting companies in the Houston area. Environmental Litigation Associates sponsors, in part, the activities of the Institute to foster and promote the use of good science and engineering in the environmental industry. ELA consists of the core IET faculty assembled as a group of senior scientists and engineers providing litigation support and expert witness testimony to plaintiffs as well as defendant causes. They have been contributing to the IET training program since its inception in 1992. The selection of Guest Lecturers shifts with time to reflect changes in the needs of the environmental industry.

The course covers a range of technical subjects including: federal and state regulations, legal and litigation issues, health and safety requirements, property transfer assessments, environmental chemistry and associated geologic and hydrogeologic sampling and laboratory analyses of soil, air, and ground water, wetland surveys, geophysical methods of subsurface detection and identification of hazardous materials, remediation engineering including design, cost-benefit analysis, construction, operation and maintenance, project management, and developing technologies.

The course was designed to be flexible and to accommodate the needs of individuals from a broad range of experience and academic training. The program consists of a combination of lectures and field demonstrations of equipment and technical methods. The primary objective of the program is to prepare the individual for employment in the environmental field, or to improve the individual's existing skills for advancement in the industry and for avoiding unnecessary litigation through continuing professional education.

The interest in this type of environmental training increased over the years: 1990 to 1995 because:

Although the registration in the introductory course has declined over the past few years, this is apparently the result of increased activity and number of jobs and improvements in the domestic oil & gas and aerospace industries in the Houston, Texas area. As the most recent data show (see figure below), the oil & gas industry is doing well, and that means oil & gas geologists (& geophysicists), engineers, chemists, etc. associated professionals within that industry should also be doing well.

World Conditions:
Click on figure above to view full-size.
From: Houston Chronicle: January 11, 2004

The oil & gas industry remains in an up cycle. To re-enforce your position in the future, a solid base of knowledge in the environmental aspects of the oil & gas industry would protect you from the next down-sizing the oil & gas industry. Upon completion of IET training, you will have the competitive advantage of having industrial environmental training, which almost all prospective employers would welcome.

The environmental field continues to consolidate causing an over-abundance of senior-level professional, but creating a strong need for entry-level geologists (& geophysicists), environmental & geotechnical engineers, as well as chemists, biologists, and related professionals. The need should continue for the foreseeable future, depending on how the political environment responds after the national elections.

Because interest has increased over the last few years in the advanced courses, IET is now also focusing on new programs. The announcements on the new programs will be made in the near future in this website. Educational seminars on drinking water supplies are also offered to municipal utility district personnel, consultants, and contractors by IET, sponsored by ELA. In addition, new research programs and affiliations are under consideration that may soon add new dimensions to IET activities. Stay tuned for further announcements.

For additional details concerning the IET and associated training programs, see the following sections: