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Navajo Technical University
Lowerpoint Road, State Hwy 371
Crownpoint NM 87313

Phone: 505.387.7401
Fax: 505.786.5644

 

Chinle Instructional Site
PO Box 849, Chinle AZ, 86503
Phone: 928.674.5764
Fax: 928.674.5700

 

Teec Nos Pos Instructional Site
PO Box 1203, Teec Nos Pos, AZ 86514
Phone: 928.656.3600
Fax: 928.656.3596

 

Kirtland Instructional Site
40 Road 6580, Kirtland, NM 87417
Phone: 505.609.5020/5017

 

Zuni Instructional Site
67 301 North, Zuni, NM 87327
Phone: 505.782.6010

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Crownpoint, NM – Navajo Technical University was awarded $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support STEM instruction and research capacities. The grant will help expand NTU’s engineering department by introducing a baccalaureate degree program in Environmental Engineering within the coming years. The grant was awarded under the NSF’s Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) that promotes STEM instruction and research. NTU will focus on uranium mine remediation and mitigation with the new program.

Harry S. Whiting II, PE, Industrial Engineering Professor at NTU, is the principle investigator and aims to partner with outside organizations to assist in researching environmental issues on the Navajo Nation. Partners include higher education institutions, such as the University of Idaho and the University of Arizona, and private industry, such as Tetratach, an environmental service company based out of California.

“It’s a daunting task,” said Whiting, noting the amount of data collection and analysis that needs to take place. “Our first priority is to update the maps we are currently using to locate problematic areas.”

The Navajo Nation has numerous uranium mines that have yet to be remediated, most notably the Church Rock uranium mill spill in 1979. The university and its partners will begin locating and mapping locations across the Navajo Nation prior to initiating the remediation process. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there are over 500 abandoned uranium mines on the Navajo Nation.

The grant would help support the Environmental Engineering program over the course of five years as curriculum to aligned with research goals involving the remediation of mines. The program must undergo approval processes through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) as well as the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). Courses for the Environmental Engineering program are projected to begin in the fall of 2020 at NTU’s main campus in Crownpoint, NM.

“I think it’s a great opportunity. It’s a great opportunity for the students of the Navajo Nation and Navajo Technical University,” said Whiting in discussing the prospect for developing a new Environmental Engineering program at NTU. “We are building a great Engineering school here. We are small but we have great professors, and I’m really proud of what we have done here.”

Currently, the university offers an Associate of Applied Science Degree and a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Science and Natural Resources. NTU also offers engineering focused programs in Pre-Engineering, Engineering Technology, and Chemical Engineering Technology. The university’s Industrial Engineering and Electrical Engineering programs are ABET accredited. To learn more about the NSF grant, contact Harry S. Whiting II, PE, at hwhiting@navajotech.edu.

Contact NTU

Navajo Technical University
Lowerpoint Road, State Hwy 371
Crownpoint, NM 87313

Phone: 505.387.7401
Fax: 505.786.5644


Chinle Instructional Site
PO Box 849, Chinle, AZ 86503

Phone: 928.674.5764
Fax: 928.674.5700


Teec Nos Pos Instructional Site
PO Box 848, Teec Nos Pos, AZ 86514

Phone: 928.656.3600
Fax: 928.656.3596


Kirtland Instructional Site
40 Road 6580
Kirtland, NM 87417
(505) 609-5020/5017
(Located off of Highway 64 next to Judy Nelson Elementary School in Kirtland, NM)


Zuni Instructional Site
67 301 North, Zuni, NM 87327

Phone: 505.782.6010

 

 

 

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