Environmental Laboratory

This facility is maintained to meet the program’s needs in water and wastewater analysis, soil analysis, environmental engineering, hazardous waste analysis and treatment.  Professor Constantine Yapijakis is responsible for the development, direction and operation of this laboratory. This laboratory is used in CE 141, CE363, CE369  and by master’s students for their research.

The lab contains the following major items of equipment:

  • Instrumentation for the analysis of basic water parameters such as color, turbidity, dissolved oxygen  and chemical parameters
  • Instrumentation for the analysis of basic wastewater parameters such as BOD, COD, nitrates, phosphates, and organic nitrogen.
  • Bench scale unit operations such as: filtration, flocculation, activated carbon, activated sludge,  and enhanced solar photo-oxidation
  • HACH COD Reactors and HACH Manometric BOD apparatuses
  • HACH DO Meter with 50 ft. probe  and bottle probe
  • Azur Corp. dedicated spectrophotometer, single sample analysis for BOD, COD, solids, nitrates, sugars and surfactants
  • Two Investigator’s Aids (Model 850) for air pollution (hydrocarbon) analysis
  • Hand-held instruments for air pollution analysis (VOC, CO, CO2, NOx)
  • OHMNICRON Corp. immunoassay analyzer for pesticides, PCB, etc.
  • Soil analyzer for TPH
  • Two soil quality parameter analysis kits
  • One water quality analysis kit
  • Three dedicated ion analyzers for water samples
  • A Challenge Environmental respirometer for aerobic and anaerobic waste treatability studies
  • Programmable SIGMA sampler
  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.