What is Civil Engineering? Presentation by: Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE Younger Member Group High School Outreach Program

Engineering involves

What’s unique to Civil Engineering? Designing structures that help people, such as –Roads –Buildings –Bridges –Tunnels –Water Treatment Plants –Dams

Do all Civil Engineers do the same thing? No, there are many different branches of Civil Engineering, which include: –Structural Engineering –Geotechnical Engineering –Transportation Engineering –Environmental Engineering –Water Resources Engineering

Structural Engineering

Structural Engineers Design Bridges Skyscrapers Towers Stadiums

Walls Museums Churches Structural Engineers Also Design Libraries Photo courtesy of EarthTech

The great feeling when a design comes to life...

When you’re just walking or driving around, you can look at things and say to yourself “I worked on that.”

Keeping society flowing seamlessly...

Sometimes, the most successful projects are the ones that nobody notices.

Geotechnical Engineers

Geotechnical Engineers Design Foundations Landfills Photo courtesy of Black & Veatch Tunnels Photo courtesy of Black & Veatch Photo courtesy of MWRA

Transportation Engineers

Transportation Engineers Design Highways Runways Traffic Signals and Signs Train and Subway Lines

Environmental Engineers Photo courtesy of Black & Veatch

Environmental Engineers Design Water Treatment Plant Processes Underground Storage Tank Excavations Photo courtesy of Black & Veatch

Environmental Engineers Also Design Hazardous Waste Remediation Wastewater Treatment Plant Processes Pipelines Photo courtesy of Black & Veatch

Water Resources Engineers Photo courtesy of Black & Veatch

Water Resources Engineers Design Reservoirs Dams Photo courtesy of Black & Veatch

How do Civil Engineers design these structures?

First they have an idea...

Then they use computer programs to illustrate their idea...

And finally the idea turns into a reality!

A Computer Design of a Wastewater Treatment Plant Courtesy of Black & Veatch

An Actual Wastewater Treatment Plant Photo courtesy of Black & Veatch

What kind of education do I need to become a Civil Engineer? Degree from a 4-year accredited university Typical Civil Engineering classes –Calculus –Physics –Chemistry –English/Communications –Electives (i.e. History, French, Theatre, fun classes!) Start taking classes in high school if possible

What kind of people can become Civil Engineers? All kinds! Civil Engineering is a fun and rewarding career. You too can become a Civil Engineer!

For information online, check out the following Web sites! Discover Engineering Online: For Students: The Engineering Center’s Scholarship Clearinghouse: About National Engineers Week:

Acknowledgements Thanks to DMJM+HARRIS, Black & Veatch, Earth Tech, and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) for their contributions to this presentation. Presentation created by Joye Thaller, modified by Reed Brockman.

For more information, contact Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE (BSCES) The Engineering Center One Walnut Street Boston, MA Tel: (617) Fax: (617) Web: This presentation is the property of Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE. It shall be used for educational outreach only. It must be used only in its entirety, giving full credit to the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE and to the firms that contributed to the presentation. If you have any questions about the use of this material, please contact BSCES at the address above. Copyright BSCES 2001.