Besides high quality teaching at both UG and PG levels, the Department is actively involved in basic and applied research and consultancy. The Department has a number of ongoing research projects and sponsored research schemes from public and private sector organizations.

Major Research Areas
• Environmental Engineering
• Earthquake Engineering
• Geotechnical Engineering
• Hydraulics Engineering
• Structural Engineering
• Transportation Engineering

Ongoing research projects
1. Project title: Temporal and spatial variability of dissolved trace metals and organic carbon in the river Nethravati, Southwest coast of India; Funding agency: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India; Project duration: 2008-2012: Total project cost: Rs25,00,000
2. Project title: Spatial and Temporal Variability Of The Water Chemistry and Microflora of Swarna River And Its estuary; Funding agency: European Commission, funded through Manipal Centre for European Studies; Project duration: 2010-2012: Total project cost: Rs 9,50,000
3. Project title: Assessment of water and carbon cycles, rock weathering and river water pollution using stable isotopes: Nethravati and Swarna river catchment as a case study, southwest coast of India; Funding agency: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris, France under the PICS (Projet International de Coopération Scientifique) programme; Project duration: 2011-2014: Total project cost: Rs9,30,000
4. Project title: Characterization of air pollution and its causative health effects in Mangalore region; Funding agency: International Training and Research in Environmental and Occupational Health (ITREOH), University of Alabama, USA; Project duration: 2011-12; Total project cost: Rs3,60,000
5. Project title: Environmental geochemistry of two tropical rivers along the southwest coast of India; Funding agency: Manipal University; Project duration: 2011-2013; Total project cost: Rs2,00,000