Spurred by China’s strategic needs for better environmental protection, Southern University of Science and Technology established the School of Environmental Science and Engineering (“School of Environment”) in May 2015. Professor Chunmiao Zheng, an internationally renowned expert in the field of groundwater research,  is the founding Dean of the School. The School’s faculty conduct cutting-edge research on water resources and water quality, soil science and remediation, air pollution control, industrial ecology, global environmental change and related areas. The School also aims to develop advanced technologies to meet urgent societal needs, such as novel wastewater treatment and desalination technologies, energy-saving and emission reduction technologies, and environmental remote sensing technologies.
I. Development Objectives
A leading school for training and cultivating future talents and the next generation of leaders in the field of environmental science and engineering;
A world-class environmental research center of excellence;
A national platform for development and industrialization of advanced environmental technologies.
II. Faculty
    The School is recruiting an outstanding faculty globally. Currently, the School has 26 full-time faculty members and six visiting faculty members. Among the full-time faculty members, 10 are professors, 6 associate professors, and 9 assistant professors. The faculty have received numerous honors and distinctions. Among them, one is fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK), two recipients of the Outstanding Young Investigator Award from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), one recipient of the State Council Special Allowance, one recipient of the National High-level Personnel of Special Support Program, two recipients of the Outstanding Young Investigator (junior level) Award from NSFC. All faculty members have prior experiences studying and/or working abroad.
III. Education
Educational Goals: To cultivate environmental research and management talents with innovative spirit, global perspective and multidisciplinary academic training.
Undergraduate Programs: The School has two undergraduate degree programs officially approved by the Ministry of Education: Environmental Science and Engineering (ESE) and Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering (HWR). The undergraduate education at the School is characterized by its emphasis on solid academic preparation and innovation of engineering and science. The two degree programs have their unique features as well. ESE emphasizes the nexus of resources, environment and socio-economic development, as well as the development of new environmental industries, products and services. HWR emphasizes integrated surface water-groundwater research and management, as well as water science from molecular to global scales. The first class of about 40 students have joined the ESE program since September 2016. About 60 students are expected to join the two degree programs in September 2017.
IV. Research
The School’s research priorities include hydrology and water resources, environmental biogeochemistry, water pollution and treatment, soil and groundwater remediation, solid waste disposal and utilization, atmospheric chemistry and pollution control, ecological system assessment, environmental remote sensing, and global environmental change. We welcome talented faculty and students in these fields from all over the world to join the School, work with us to build a world-class multi-disciplinary environmental research center of excellence, and contribute to the solution of global environmental problems.
Engineering Technology Innovation Center (Beijing)
With its reliance on Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering of SUSTech and close studies of the current conditions of China’s environmental protection and the industry’s features, SUSTech Engineering Technology Innovation Center (Beijing) is dedicated to bridging the gap between scientific results and their industrial applications and to benefiting social development, creating work opportunities both for teachers and students as well as generating profits for enterprises. By bringing the scientific results into social, industrial and open applications effectively through working jointly with the academic circle and the industrial circle, we will make the innovation center an international innovative platform for environment protection. 
The work scope of the center: to develop key environment protection technologies and promote their engineering development and systematic integration as well as their demonstrative application and industrialization; to participate in the formulation of environment protection policies, standards and technological guidelines in China and provide technical support and services for national environment management, supervision and decision making; to offer professional training for students, professionals and key technicians of companies and to build a platform for international cooperation in environment protection-related researches, study and applications.