Sharon Just, P.E., F.ASCE, is an environmental engineer/entrepreneur with over 30 years of broad consulting experience who joined the faculty at Georgia Tech in December 2022. She received her undergraduate Civil Engineering degree from Georgia Tech (with highest honor) in 1989, and received her graduate M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering and Science from Stanford University (with distinction) via a GRA with Dr. Perry McCarty in 1990. She completed a senate intern program for Senator Sam Nunn in Washington D.C., and then returned to Atlanta where she joined Engineering-Science (the Parsons Corporation) and became a registered engineer.
During 11 years at Parsons, she held various roles of increasing responsibility, including treatability lab coordinator, industrial waste process deputy manager, client service manager for a Fortune 100 top 10 client, and wastewater and air process group manager, culminating in being appointed a Parsons Associate. In 2001, she founded Just Engineering & Associates, Inc. and spent an additional 21+ years consulting on industrial wastewater treatment and compliance issues in multiple states, with services ranging from treatability testing through process engineering, detailed design, construction management, start-up, and operator training. She is passionate regarding access for the disabled within their communities, with personal experience having raised three children including a special needs son.
Since joining Georgia Tech, Just has started a Treatability Lab, with particular focus on phys/chem treatment of waters and wastewaters, along with capabilities to extend to biological treatment, to address real-world samples from external sponsors. She has led undergraduate and graduate students in conducting hands-on treatment testing for purposes such as: optimizing removal of taste and odor compounds from a Chattahoochee drinking water supply using PAC/GAC, removing high levels of phosphate/fluoride in a MS Superfund leachate via single and two-stage precipitation, conducting air stripping for nitrogen removal to evaluate design parameters for a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and similar challenges.
| M.S. Environmental Engineering and Science (with Distinction) | Stanford University | 1990 |
| Graduate work in Technology and Science Policy | Georgia Institute of Technology | 1990 |
| B.S. Civil Engineering (with Highest Honor) | Georgia Institute of Technology | 1989 |
| Minor certificate in German | Georgia Institute of Technology | 1989 |
Just teaches the Environmental Engineering section of the senior capstone design course, which involves recruiting real-world projects from client sponsors each semester and mentoring teams of students to complete the projects, in roles similar to that of a consulting firm. In addition, she teaches several other 4000-level courses, including: Industrial Wastewater Process Engineering & Design; Hazardous Substance Remediation; Hands-On Treatability and Design; and Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Management. These courses are available to senior level undergraduate students as well as students pursuing MS/PhDs with interest in the topics.
Two student teams from CEE will represent Georgia in an international competition after taking top billing at the annual Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) Student Design Competition.
The Blue Whale Solutions team took home the prize for the best civil and environmental engineering project at the Spring 2025 Capstone Design Expo.
The CEE students won $1,000 for their project, soil vapor extraction for the Velsicol Chemical Corp. (Hardeman County) Superfund Site.
CEE students were recognized for their work by industry professionals, again winning first, second, and third place in a regional competition for the second consecutive year.
