Two yellow flowering Poinciana trees, donated by Fairchild Tropical Gardens, were planted on the Engineering Center grounds during a Ceremony to commemorate the first graduating class of the Bachelorate Degree in Environmental Engineering at FIU which began in Fall 2006. The first students graduating are Guerda Montinard and Ewans Dossous.

The Tree planting ceremony took place at 4:00 pm on December 3rd at the Engineering Center, located on the corner of West Flagler Street and 107th Avenue. The Mayor of Sweetwater Mr. Manuel L. Marono, Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Rosa Jones, and Interim Dean at the College of Engineering and Computing, Dr. Amir Mirmiran, joined the ceremony for the installation of the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Discovery on the Engineering Center grounds.

Environmental engineering faculty members at the College of Engineering and Computing at FIU, made the decision to commemorate the first graduating class, as everyone had worked so hard to make this essential program a reality. Dr. Berrin Tansel, Associate Professor of environmental engineering at the college, has been the driving force behind this ceremony. She was also one of the key players in arranging to have Environmental Engineering Day proclaimed in Miami-Dade County by Mayor Carlos Alvarez on February 21, 2007.

Florida International University’s service area includes a vast sprawling urban area that significantly impacts a unique natural ecosystem which includes the Everglades and the Biscayne Bay National Parks. The unique link between environmental quality and economic vitality in South Florida has created a major market for qualified environmental professionals. Keeping up with the needs of the community and land development activities require an educated work force, which must include well-trained environmental engineers. The program is designed to produce graduates who are ready to serve the local, state, national, and international community that will respond to the needs for present and future environmental engineering professionals.