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Department of Environment and Resources

Capacities: Environment & Resources DTU (E&R) is a department at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) aiming at developing technical and sustainable solutions to minimize the impact of society on the environment through research and teaching in Water supply, waste water, solid waste, hydrology, geology, ecotoxicology, environmental chemistry, and microbiology at an international level. The total annual turnover for E&R is 8 million Euros with 40% from external funding. At E&R the diverse mixture of academics from different disciplines reflects the demand for an interdisciplinary approach to survey and solve complicated environmental problems. The department has state-of-the-art chemical and biological laboratories and operates a number of research field sites. Advanced modelling is carried out on up-to-date computer facilities. Approximately 130 people are currently employed at E&R, including about 30 PhD students. The E&R is strong on a broad range of topics, ranging from groundwater contamination, risk assessment and remediation to water resources and drinking water treatment. The approaches combine both laboratory and field scale experiments and modelling. Techniques comprise evaluating transport, sorption, microbial degradation, and biogeochemical processes of diffuse and point-source contaminations in aquifers, including e.g. low concentration contaminants such as pesticides. Risk assessment tools have been developed as well as participation in pilot scale experiments in order to develop in situ remediation technologies for chlorinated solvents. Water quality at catchment scale is linked to surface water bodies and drinking water quality. The latter involves research on microbial processes in drinking water treatment in general, and in water works and distribution systems. E&R, DTU is partner in the AquaTerra project, an integrated EU project in FP6.

Scientific staff at DTU involved in training
Hans-Jørgen Albrechtsen is associate professor in environmental microbiology. His interests are methods for quantification of bacteria and investigations of microbial processes under different redox-conditions, especially iron reduction, and microbiology in groundwater systems: ecological and eco-physiological aspects, effects of pollutions from landfills, and degradation of pesticides. He has had responsibilities in leading major research programmes, nationally as well as EU funded. Poul L. Bjerg is professor in environmental geochemistry and is an expert in risk assessment and remediation technologies. He is editor of Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, has more than 50 ISI publications and a high citation index (H-index: 18). He has headed several research programmes and collaboration projects and has extensive experience in supervising PhD and master students. His outstanding national network includes consultants, regulators (Regions) and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The foreseen extent of involvement in percent of the full time employment of the DTU researchers is 10% each.