University of Fada N'Gourma
Ecole Supérieure d'Ingénierie de Fada N'Gourma
(ESI)
Scientific and Technical English/Civil
Engineering
KANSOLE M. M. R., PhD
Environmental Engineering
reginakansole@[Link]
UFDG_2023-2024
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Civil Engineering
A People Serving Profession
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INTRODUCTION
If you enjoy mathematical challenges and like to build things, a Civil Engineering
Technology degree might be just the program for you.
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Civil engineering focuses on the infrastructure of the world:
Water works, Sewers, Dams, Power Plants, Transmission Towers/Lines,
Railroads, Highways, Bridges, Tunnels, Irrigation Canals, River
Navigation, Shipping Canals, Traffic Control, Mass Transit, Airport
Runways, Terminals, Industrial Plant Buildings, Skyscrapers, etc.
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• In the beginning, Civil Engineering included all engineers that did not
practice military engineering; said to have begun in 18th century in
France
• First “Civil Engineer” was an Englishman, John Smeaton in 1761
• Civil engineers have saved more lives than all the doctors in history ---
development of clean water and sanitation systems
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Civil Engineering
• Henry H. White, first KY Civil Engineering Graduate from Bacon
(Georgetown) College in 1840
• Fall of 1886, “State College” (UK) established civil engineering
degree
• John Wesley Gunn of Lexington received first Civil Engineering
degree from A & M College (UK) in 1890
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CE Student Organizations
• Chi Epsilon – Civil Engineering honorary
• ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers)
• AGC (Association of General Contractors)
• ARTPA (American Road and Transportation Builders Association)
• ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers)
• KSPE (Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers – section of the National Society of Professional
Engineers (NSPE))
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Civil Engineering Process
• Planning …
• Design …
• Construction …
• Operation/Maintenance …
• Rehabilitation …
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Planning
• Find problem areas that need improvement
and set the criteria for the design. Gather
input from the public.
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Design
• Draw plans to show how the problem is
going to be fixed.
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Construction
• Follow the plans from design to build the
solution to the problem.
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Operation/Maintenance
• Fix small problems before they become
big ones
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Rehabilitation
• To fix something back to original
condition.
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Civil Engineering Specialties
• Construction • Structural
• Environmental/ • Surveying
Water Quality • Transportation
• Geotechnical • Water
• Hydraulics Resources
• Materials
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Construction Engineers
• Design formwork, scaffolding,
lifting apparatus, etc.
• Management of construction
resources: labor, materials,
equipment, money and time.
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Environmental
Engineers
• Apply fluid mechanics, biology
and chemistry to the design and
operation of environmental
control systems, e.g., municipal
and industrial wastewater
systems.
• Model and monitor the
movement and behavior of
water pollutants in natural
waters.
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Geotechnical Engineers
• Analyze soil and rock that affect the behavior of structures, pavements,
underground facilities, and containment structures for solid and liquid wastes.
• Design foundations, retaining walls, roadway cuts, etc.
• Field and laboratory work along with design.
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Hydraulic Engineers
• Analyze and design systems to transport liquids.
• Small and large systems of pipes as well as engineered and natural channels.
• Hydraulic machinery such as pumps and turbines, hydraulic controls such as
valves and weirs, and hydraulic structures such as dams and spillways.
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Materials Engineers
Design, analyze, and construct matverials such as:
• Steel
• Concrete
• Masonry
• Asphalt
• Composites
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Structural Engineers
• Design and analyze all man-made objects whose primary function is load
resistance: buildings, bridges, aircraft, transmission towers, radar domes and
antennas, drilling platforms, etc.
• Must also consider the economics, esthetics and social implications of their
creations.
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Surveyors
• Precisely locate and layout engineering projects.
• GIS (Geographic Information Systems), GPS (Global Positioning Systems), and
lasers distance measurement devices.
• Maps and aerial photos.
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Transportation Engineers
• Analyze movement of persons and goods.
• Plan, design, construct, maintain and operate various transportation modes
(e.g., highway, railway, air, water, etc.).
• Design traffic management systems.
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Water Resources Engineers
• Develop, use and manage world’s water resources.
• Design water distribution systems, wells, reservoirs, canals, locks and dams, port
facilities and flood control systems.
• Analyze the impact of other engineering projects on the natural hydrologic system.
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Civil engineering affects many of our daily activities: the buildings we live in
and work in, the transportation facilities we use, the water we drink, and the
drainage and sewage systems that are necessary to our health and well
being. Civil engineers:
• Measure and map the earth’s surface.
• Design and supervise the construction of bridges, tunnels, large buildings,
dams, and coastal structures.
• Plan, layout, construct, and maintain railroads, highways, and airports.
• Devise systems for the control and efficient flow of traffic.
• Plan and build river navigation and flood control projects. 34
• Provide plants and systems for water supply and sewage and refuse
disposal.
To build may be a primal urge. Our constructions, while they may be simply for
shelter or transportation, often include aesthetic touches that are there to
make us feel good about what we have built.
Thus, bridges have geometrical designs intended to support weight, but they
also have an artistic detailing and a “look” that defines the era in which they
were built.
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In constructing buildings, highways, and bridges, civil engineers work with
architects to develop the appearance of the structure.
Ugly buildings represent a failed communication between the two
professionals; a building that falls down, or cannot be maintained, also
represents a failure, but one that the civil engineer could possibly have
prevented.
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Civil engineering is much more than erecting skyscrapers or bridges. Civil
engineers are trained in the interactions among structures, the earth, and
water, with applications ranging from highways to dams and water
reservoirs.
Deeply involved with specifying appropriate construction materials, many
civil engineers and others are also employed by the manufacturers of those
materials.
Since constructing a large building or public-works project can involve
elaborate planning, civil engineers can be outstanding project managers.
They sometimes oversee thousands of workers and develop advanced
computerization and planning policies.
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Most significantly, many civil engineers are involved with preserving,
protecting, or restoring the environment.
Most water treatment and water purification projects are designed and
constructed by civil engineers (in these two areas, many of them are known
as environmental engineers).
A growing number of civil engineers are involved in billion-dollar projects to
clean up toxic industrial or municipal wastes at abandoned dump sites. Civil
engineers engage in such diverse projects as preserving wetlands or beaches,
maintaining national forest parks, and restoring the land around mines, oil
wells, or factories.
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HISTORY
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Construction is one of humanity’s earliest organized activities.
Therefore, it is no accident that civil engineering was one of the very first to
be formally organized (in the early 1700s in France).
In the United States, the American Society of Civil Engineers was organized in
1852 - the first national engineering society in the country.
In the mid-1800s, and through to this day, one of the central tasks of civil
engineers was the design of roads and bridges.
In this century, new forms of concrete and steel-reinforced concrete are the
most common bridge-building material.
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The key theme in the civil engineering Canon of Ethics is the “protection of
the welfare and safety of the public”.
Indeed, the “civil” in civil engineering refers to the discipline’s involvement
in public works, including government buildings, military bases, water
treatment works, mass transit systems, airports, shipping ports, and parks.
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Because of this involvement, many civil engineers find themselves
employees of, or suppliers for, local government. This relationship,
combined with the requirements for public safety, translates into a high
degree of professionalism.
Civil engineers with professional engineer (P.E.) licenses are fairly
common, and if a civil engineer expects to perform work on public
facilities, getting the P.E. license should be a priority.
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THE CURRENT SCENE
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Construction is a key part of the overall Nation economy.
Data show that billions are spent each year on new constructions, on
repair and maintenance of existing structures.
To this should be added the construction materials.
Many civil engineers specialize in the development and production of
new construction materials.
Infrastructure demands will be a big element of civil engineering for the
next several years.
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JOB TITLES
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Over the past couple of decades, the broad field of civil engineering
has been specialized in a number of areas.
Civil engineers with one type of experience are able to shift to another
area, but the real career growth occurs as one becomes an expert in
one of these specialties:
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1) Structural engineer:
This is the classic civil engineer, concerned with designing walls,
towers, bridge spans, dams, or foundations.
A knowledge of construction materials and methods is combined with
analytical techniques that determine how much weight or mass a
structure is carrying, what forces it must withstand (such as wind or water)
and, in cases where an architect is involved, how best to accomplish the
architect’s vision.
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2) Construction engineer:
This engineer works at the construction site. Besides understanding the
principles by which a structure was designed, the construction engineer must
manage the actual work.
This can involve elaborate scheduling and planning so that materials and
workers are brought to the site to complete their purpose in the proper
order.
Time pressures and an awareness of the financial elements of a project are
constant objectives. Because the work is done outdoors, sometimes in very
remote areas, one must be prepared for a life-style of “camping out”.
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3) Surveying and mapping engineer:
Even before a design is completed, and as construction progresses, teams of
surveying and mapping engineers are at work. They use electronic
instruments and even satellites (which provide detailed overhead views) to
measure the dimensions of the project.
Some construction projects can cover dozens of square miles of territory.
Elevations must be determined, calculations made regarding how much
earth needs to be moved, and the exact location of structure(s) must be
determined.
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4) Transportation engineer:
Do you prefer to travel by plane, train, auto, or bus?
Transportation engineering has provided the wealth of traveling options we enjoy today.
Highway design is constantly being improved by making roads safer, and, in urban areas,
making plans for handling increased traffic.
Transportation engineers also oversee the design and construction of mass transit systems,
such as subways, which require tunneling, railway construction, and research on commuting
plans.
A subspecialty within transportation engineering is the pipeline engineer, who determines
the movement of water, oil, or gas through pipelines. In certain aspects, this field is
comparable to highway design, with the distinction that a liquid is being conveyed, rather
than vehicles.
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5) Environmental (sanitary) engineer:
These engineers specialize in water and wastewater projects, land
remediation, aqueducts, and solid waste disposal.
This field is currently one of the fastest growing of all engineering
specialties. Billions of dollars are being allocated for water and
wastewater treatment, for methods of processing solid wastes, and for
cleaning up hazardous waste dumping sites.
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6) Hydraulic and irrigation engineer:
Utility companies, factories, farms, and river barges depend on a steady source
of water.
These engineers perform the planning, design, construction, and maintenance
to keep supplies available.
Dam design and construction, flood control, and the design and construction of
reservoirs, wells, and aqueducts are all common projects.
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7) Geotechnical engineer:
Along with geological engineers, these engineers help determine the
underlying rock strata and soil conditions that affect roadways, water
reservoirs, bridges, and other large structures.
Earthquake planning and preparation also fall into this category.
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CAREER OPTIONS
Civil Engineers have a wide range of career options from which to choose.
Civil engineers work with construction companies, manufacturing companies,
power companies, and with consulting engineering firms.
Many opportunities for civil engineering employment exist in city, county,
state, and government agencies.
SALARIES AND THE INTANGIBLE REWARDS
Here’s the good news initially, engineering graduates earn the highest pay of
any college graduates.
An attractive aspect of a career in civil engineering is that employment can be
found in any setting, whether “at a desk”, “in the field”, or any combination of
the two. 54
