Our society’s influence on the natural world’s resources, which has been spurred on by economic growth and increasing population, has never been more prominent or problematic than it is today.
To understand and address environmental challenges fully requires a combination of efforts: basic research in the natural and social sciences; the application of research to government, business, and law; and the education of future leaders and of society in general.
Harvard has long been a pioneer in environmental education and research. This tradition continues today with our faculty committed to teaching and actively engaged in research on engineered solutions to the problems in the atmospheric, terrestrial, and aquatic compartments of the earth's environment.
Major research activities cut across departments and schools, including:
- atmospheric sciences;
- microbiology;
- climate;
- oceanography;
- environmental chemistry;
- water policy; and
- international environmental policies.
Research in environmental science and engineering ranges from atmospheric sciences to microbiology, climate, oceanography, environmental chemistry, water management, and international environmental politics.