What is Civil Engineering?
Civil engineers plan, design, build, and manage the facilities that are essential to our civilization – bridges, dams, highways, transit systems, airports, tunnels, irrigation systems, water distribution and wastewater treatment facilities, and industrial and commercial buildings. Civil engineers are problem solvers meeting the challenges of the deteriorating infrastructure, traffic congestion, energy needs, floods, earthquakes, urban redevelopment, sustainability, pollution control, and community planning. They manage and guide technological advances necessary for human health and well-being and the protection of earth’s ecocsystems. The planning, design and construction of large, one-of-a-kind systems and structures is a hallmark of civil engineering. As a civil engineer you could be involved in planning, design, or managing of a variety of projects. Your assignments might place you at a computer work station, in front of a public hearing, or on a project work site. You will be at th
In the exciting field of civil engineering, you not only create and maintain the infrastructure of modern industrialized society but you conceive, design, and construct magnificent structures, such as bridges, stadiums, treatment plants, highways, airports, and many more! Civil engineers are employed in technical and managerial positions in environmental, geotechnical, structural, and transportation engineering by consulting firms, government agencies, and manufacturing companies. As a civil engineer, it is important to obtain your professional engineer (PE) license. For structural engineers it is also important to obtain your structural engineer (SE) license. To help you along the road to your PE and SE, the Department maintains its accreditation by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore MD 21202-4012, (410) 347-7700).
You probably don’t realize this, but many things we use in our daily lives were designed and built by civil engineers. The roads we drive on, the bridges we drive across, and the tunnels we drive through are all products of civil engineers. They also help create the airports we fly to and from, the sports stadiums we watch our favorite teams play in, and the power plants that provide the electricity that allow you to use this computer. Civil engineers, however, don’t just help design and construct buildings and other structures, they are also concerned with creating a healthier environment for all of us. Reducing pollution, preventing erosion, disposing of hazardous waste, and creating ways to harness renewable energy sources like solar power are some of the ways civil engineers help the environment. For more information visit the College of Engineering’s Civil Engineering Department.
The work of civil engineers is all around us – from the roads and highways we travel daily, to the treatment plants that supply us with safe water. Our work doesn’t end there. We also create solutions for urban issues that impact the quality of life in the 21st Century. For instance, we work hard to preserve our environment by developing new and innovative methods of reducing existing and future pollution. Think of civil engineers as the primary health providers of society! The urban environment is the infrastructure that makes civilization possible, including: buildings and bridges, underground spaces, water supply and treatment systems, airports, highways, rail transportation systems, power generation (including hydro, fossil, nuclear) and alternative energy sources (such as wind, solar and tidal). Advances in biotechnology, materials, communications and information technology impact civil engineering in a big way.
Civil engineering is one of the oldest engineering disciplines, since civil engineers of one form or another have been around ever since humans started building major public works such as roads, bridges, tunnels, and large public buildings. It is also an incredibly broad discipline, spanning treatment of environmental issues, transportation, power generation, and major structures. To become a civil engineer, someone must typically study engineering at a university and then participate in field work for practical training. Many nations also require that students of civil engineering pass a competency exam to ensure that they will be able to design and build safe, stable structures. There are numerous branches to civil engineering, and a wide range of specialties. Some civil engineers focus on conception and initial design of a project, analyzing the site, the needs, and the resources to come up with a workable project plan. Others specialize in contracting, physically building the struc
