Creating Sustainable and Equitable Solutions

Education, research and external engagement toward a resilient, flourishing, carbon-neutral world.

Design Climate

Design Climate empowers interdisciplinary student teams to create impactful solutions toward a more sustainable future. Through hands-on projects with real-world stakeholders, students create products and business models that address urgent environmental challenges while driving change at the community level.

Engineering A Greener World

Discover how Duke takes a holistic, community-building approach through a deep bench of incredible faculty to tackle global challenges in environmental engineering, sustainability and climate innovation.

Industrial cement plant silhouette during sunset

Engineering the Acceptance of Climate Change Solutions

No matter how clean our technologies become, people must be persuaded to use them to make a difference.

Jeseth Delgado Vela, Liang Feng, Leanne Gilbertson, Judy Ledlee, Sara Oliver

Meet Duke’s New Climate Faculty

Throughout the disciplines and across its schools and programs, Duke is employing and empowering climate-fluent leaders to educate a new generation of students.

A woman prepares a sailboat for a voyage.

Collaborative Diamonds Form Under Pressure of Climate Change

A closer look at the unexpected collaborations with nurses, finance and divinity that are a hallmark of the Duke Climate Commitment.

Explore our Programs

A Duke Engineering education leads to lives of purpose and integrity that are as rewarding as they are impactful. Explore our supportive and inclusive community that defines excellence in engineering.

Undergraduate

Solve hard problems. Have fun doing it.

Master’s

Master tomorrow’s challenges.

PhD

Prepare for a high-impact career.

Industry-Approved Curriculums

We’ve curated career-ready disciplines to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving industries.

Aerial view of green forest in summer at dawn with glowing technological communication lin
Aerial view of green forest in summer at dawn with glowing technological communication lines, created with Generative AI.

Resilient Systems & the Environment

From earthquakes to financial crashes to the impacts of climate change and manmade materials, the world is full of uncertainties. Duke Engineering researchers are finding new ways to assess risk, inform decision-making and engineer safer, more resilient systems to create a more secure, sustainable future.

Making an Impact

Leanne Gilbertson

Leanne Gilbertson

Gilbertson designs innovative materials for sustainable solutions in drinking water, food production, and antimicrobial resistance, bridging environmental and public health for a better future.

Feng, Liang

Liang Feng

Imagine a material so intricately structured that unfolding just one gram would cover Wallace Wade Stadium. Feng is pioneering this approach to tackle climate change by capturing and storing gas molecules efficiently.

Jeseth Delgado Vela

Jeseth Delgado Vela

Delgado Vela uses environmental biotechnology to enhance urban water systems, applying molecular tools and modeling to understand microbial interactions in water treatment.

Time 100 Climate Innovators

Alumna Megan O’Connor, Ph.D., founded Nth Cycle in 2017 to tackle electronic waste and boost the domestic supply of critical minerals for the energy transition. Learn why she was named one of Time 100’s Climate Innovators. (Photo credit: Time Magazine)

Megan O'Connor
#2

Biomedical Engineering

Graduate Program in the Nation
USNWR 2025

#9

Environmental Engineering

Undergraduate Program in the Nation
USNWR 2025

two phd students take water samples in a river

Our Priority: Student Success

Getting hands-on experience inside and outside of the classroom is essential to student success. And at Duke Engineering, collaboration isn’t just a concept – it’s our way of life. See this central tenet on full display with CEE PhD student Shannon Plunkett for her work on mercury toxicity caused by artisanal gold mining.

News from Duke Engineering

Dive into the latest from Duke Engineering: where ambitious discovery fuels societal impact, and our students, faculty and staff continually push the boundaries of what’s possible in the world through insightful engineering.

Upcoming Events

Join us for a dynamic lineup of upcoming events, where we delve into groundbreaking research, foster collaboration, and celebrate the spirit of innovation. Don’t miss out on these opportunities to connect and be inspired.

  • Dec 10

    PhD & Post Doc Writing Retreat, December 2024

    In-person, on-campus writing workshop with dedicated writing time and optional mini-workshops. Lunch, Snacks & Coffee/Tea Provided. PI’s permission required to attend. Dates are 12/10 & 12/11, 9:30am-4:30pm and 12/12, 9am-12pm.

    Wilkinson Building, room 126

  • Dec 10

    Pratt Reading Week Petting Zoo

    Come take a well-deserved reading week study break to pet and feed local farm animals from Barefoot Creek Farm, including a llama! Tuesday, December 10th from 3-5 pm in Harrington […]

    3:00 pm

Explore More

Connect with Duke Engineering to become a part of our ongoing journey of innovation and discovery.