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If you are interested in using biology, environmental science, and engineering tools to address some of the world’s most pressing issues around water, agriculture, energy, and human health, perhaps you should consider majoring in biological or environmental engineering here at Cornell! The biological and environmental engineering majors are housed in a common department often referred to as BEE. When deciding what field to pursue, it is essential to understand the differences and similarities between these disciplines.

What is the BEE department?

The BEE department encompasses Cornell’s biological and environmental engineering programs. It is housed in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), although both majors are joint programs between CALS and the College of Engineering. This joint program pathway is a source of confusion for many undergraduates and prospective students, so let us clarify it a bit.

Students wishing to major in biological or environmental engineering can enroll through either CALS or the College of Engineering. The choice of college does not affect the coursework, major requirements, or graduation outcomes–all biological and environmental engineering students will follow the course requirements and obtain a joint degree from CALS and the College of Engineering regardless of their initial enrollment. That being said, there are a few minor differences between which college you apply to. 

Firstly, enrolling through CALS allows you to affiliate with the major in freshman year, whereas students in the College of Engineering must wait until sophomore year to officially affiliate with the major. The practical implications of this difference are few, as students will take the same classes in freshman year regardless of which college they are in. One potential implication is that freshmen studying BEE in CALS have access to support services from both colleges from the start of their time at Cornell because they are already affiliated with the major. Students in the College of Engineering will be able to access services from CALS if they choose to affiliate with the BEE department in sophomore year or later. Secondly, CALS is a public land grant college within Cornell so New York residents intending to major in BE or EnvE get a discount on tuition. The College of Engineering is a private college within Cornell and thus has a flat tuition for all students. Lastly, if you are an environmental engineering major in particular, the EnvE major is housed in different departments based on which college you are in. If you enroll through CALS, you will primarily be in the BEE department, which has a more biological and ecological focus. If you enroll through the College of Engineering, you can choose to affiliate in either the BEE or the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) department, which has a stronger focus on sustainable construction and renewable energy. However, this has no impact on the coursework and EnvE students from either college can and will take classes in both departments.

What is Biological Engineering?

Biological engineering (or bioengineering) is the use of engineering principles to study or manipulate biological processes or systems. A presentation by Assistant Professor Chris Roh promoted the idea that bioengineering was the process of solving engineering problems with biological solutions using physics. The major can be further broken down to concentrations like bioprocessing, biotechnology, biomedicine, genetics, and environment. Projects in the field focus on predicting, modeling, and/or optimizing complex biological systems. In Cornell’s BEE department, Professor John March works on manipulating bacterial signal transduction in order to increase responsiveness to their surrounding environment.

What is Environmental Engineering?

Environmental engineering applies a wider suite of engineering principles to larger systems with a focus on preventing, mitigating, and restoring environmental damage. Some examples of environmental engineering topics are hydrology, water/wastewater treatment, energy, soil, and atmospheric systems. Some environmental topics and projects overlap with civil engineering–environmental engineering is also shared with the civil and environmental engineering (CEE) department in the College of Engineering–such as working on waste treatment facilities or sustainability applications in human-built spaces. While bioengineering focuses heavily on developing tools in biology and biochemistry, environmental engineering utilizes a broader set of tools in biology, chemistry, and physics to impact large-scale natural and anthropogenic systems. For example, Professor Peter Hess in the BEE department studies and teaches atmospheric chemistry while Professor Jillian Goldfarb’s research focuses on the use of biomass for fertilizer, fuel, and thus energy.

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