Environmental Microbiology
MIT OpenCourseWare's Environmental Microbiology surveys the roles microorganisms play in natural and engineered systems. Lecture materials cover cellular architecture, energetics, and growth, along with evolution and gene flow at the population and community level. The course moves into applied territory with water and soil microbiology, biogeochemical cycling, and the mechanisms behind biodeterioration and bioremediation, connecting microbial processes to civil and environmental engineering problems like wastewater treatment and contaminated site cleanup. Offered through MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the course provides lecture notes and readings for self-paced study. There is no instructor interaction or graded certificate, since OCW publishes course materials rather than running a live class, but the full syllabus and content are free to access and download under MIT's open license.