Introduction to Different Civil Engineering
Specialization
Structural Engineering
 focuses on the framework of structures, and on
designing those structures to withstand the
stresses and pressures of their environment and
remain safe, stable and secure throughout their
use.
 Structural engineers make sure that buildings
don't fall down and bridges don't collapse.
 Structural engineering is among the oldest
types of engineering, dating back to the first
instance of tree branches being lashed together
with vines to make a shelter.
HISTORY OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
 People have been designing and building
increasingly larger and more sophisticated
structures, from primitive huts to the
International Space Station.
 James Lucas (2014) expresses that the names of
the earliest practitioners of Structural
Engineering are lost to antiquity
 It is possible that no one will ever know who
designed the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the
Parthenon or the aqueducts of the Roman
Empire.
 Structural engineering has been in use since
ages, and one of the greatest ancient
structureswasthePyramidofGizathatwasconstru
ctedinthe26thcenturyBC.
 The major structures during the medieval
period were the pyramids since the shape of the
pyramids is basically stable
 Theoretical knowledge about the structures was
limited, and construction techniques were
based on experience only
 The real advancement in the structural
engineering was achieved in the 19th century
during the industrial revolution when significant
progress was achieved in the sciences of
structural analysis and materials science.
NATURE OF WORK OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
 Design and analysis of structures used to
support loads in the most economical manner,
with of safety.
 Make sure that loads applied could be of a
varied nature, including the load on bridges due
to traffic, effect of strong winds on high
buildings, load on structures because of
variation in temperatures caused due to
changes in weather, and load due to
earthquakes.
 Specialties of structural engineering are building
engineering, industrial structures, and pipeline
engineering.
 Significant influence on the life, healthiness, and
goods of people, due to which extra vigilance is
required during the construction and inspection
of the structures
 workalongsidecivilengineersandarchitectsaspart
ofaconstructionteam.
 "In a nutshell," according to the Institution of
Structural Engineers, "if a structure was a
human body, then the architect would be
concerned with the body shape and
appearance, and the structural engineer would
be concerned with the skeleton and sinews."
 Analyzing blueprints, maps, reports, and
topographical and geological data.
 Estimating the cost and quantities of materials,
equipment and labor
 Computing load and grade requirements, water
flow rates and material stress factors to
determine design specifications.
 Inspecting project sites to monitor progress and
ensure the project is being constructed
according to design specifications.
 Conductingstudiesoftrafficpatternsorenvironme
ntalconditionstoidentify potential problems and
assess how they will affect the project.
SKILLES NEEDED IN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
1. Critical Thinking Skill
2. Communication Skills
3. Managerial Skills
4. Leadership Skills
Earliest practitioners of structural engineering
designed the following:
 Hanging Gardens of Babylon
 Parthenon
 Aqueducts of Roman Empire
Latter-day practitioners of structural engineering:
 Gustave Eiffel > Eiffel Tower and Statue of
Liberty
 Eero Saarinen > Gateway Arch
 Large Hadron Collider James
Webb Space Telescope > Companies &
Government Organizations
Construction Engineering Management
 Application of technical and scientific
knowledge to infrastructure construction
projects
 Engineering focuses on design and construction
management is concerned with overseeing the
actual construction, CEM often represents a
blend of both disciplines, bridging design and
management or project execution.
 Construction engineering managers may have
an educational background at both
undergraduate and graduate levels as well as
experience in construction management
techniques.
HISTORY OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING MNGMT.
 The practice of Construction Engineering
started from the days the Egyptian pyramids
were built until the early eighteenth century
where in the Architect was the master – builder
Faced with simple technology, less variety of
construction materials, and owners’ lack of
sophistication in the delivery of projects, his
role expanded to include the management of
the construction process.
 As clients progressively demanded more
different and complex buildings and facilities,
the need for new construction methods and
management techniques, coupled with
advancement in technology, fostered the
development of the general contractor.
 The design and construction function was
subdivided into many engineering specialties
and trade activities respectively.
 Managing the multitude of parties and workers
involved in modern projects together with the
adversary relationships among the Architect,
Engineer, General Contractor and owner, is not
an easy task.
 This paved the way to the emergence of
construction engineering and management as a
discipline, which is a set of professional
management activities that must be carried out
to minimize the risks of the uncertainties of
time and cost, thereby enhancing the
probability of the successful completion of a
project.
CONSTRUCTION SITE ENGINEER’S SPECIFIC
RESPOSIBILITIES
1. Construction Site
2. Travelling
3. Technical Activities
4. Quality Assurance
5. Site Engineer for Health & Safety
6. Preparation of Reports and Schedule
7. Communication & Leadership
SKILLS NEEDED IN C.E.M
1. Communication skills
2. Strong critical thinking skills
Geotechnical Engineering
 Related to the performance of soil mechanics,
subsurface conditions physical, mechanical, and
chemical properties the assessment of the risks
that may be created by conditions of the site
 Data gathered by geotechnical engineers are
utilized in the design of earth works and
foundation
 Also related to coastal engineering, which is
involved with the design and creation of
harbors, quay sand marinas.
 Ocean engineering is also concerned with
geotechnical engineering, and it
dealswithanchorsystemsforoilplatformsandothe
roffshorestructures.
 Geotechnicalengineeringhasevolvedandgeosynt
heticshashelpedtosolve many conventional
 problems that are encountered by the
engineers in the field.
 Geosynthetic products have a wide range of
applications and are currently used in many civil
and geotechnical engineering applications
including roads, embankments, retaining
structures, canals, landfills, bank protection,
and coastal engineering.
HISTORY OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
 Our ancestors in the olden days used soil for an
extensive variety of activities from building and
creation of construction materials to irrigation
and flood control.
 The earliest applications were simply related to
flood control as well as irrigation as exhibited by
traces of dykes, dams, and canals that have
been discovered in some parts of ancient Egypt,
Greece and other parts of the world dating back
to not less than 2000BCE.
 As these areas developed, construction of
structures which were supported by formalized
foundations begun. For instance, the people of
Greece notably built pad footings as well as
strip and-raft foundations during this time.
However, the science of soil design was still a
non-existing phenomenon.
 By the 18th century, numerous engineering
problems related to building foundations began
to emerge. The Leaning Tower of Pisa which is a
tourist attraction today for example presented a
unique challenge at that time.
 What happened is that the tower had been
constructed on soft ground composed mostly of
clay, fine sand, and shells without using enough
stones to make a strong foundation. Due to the
heavy weight without enough base support, the
structure had no option but to sink a little bit
into the earth. One side happened to go further
deeper into the ground than the other causing
the tower to lean to one side. The Leaning
Tower of Pisa makes an important part of the
history of geotechnical engineering.
 The Leaning Tower experience is what
prompted engineers to start taking a more
scientific approach to setting up foundations of
buildings with respect to soil design and
structure. Significant soil theories guiding the
construction of building foundations began to
emerge.
 A French engineer by the name Henri Gautier
recognized “natural slope” of different soils an
idea which later developed into something
known as soil’s angle of repose. And then more
principles of soil mechanics came in to
existence.
NATURE OF WORK OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
 Focus on the topography of the land and the
attributes of rocks and soils in the building
process
 Study water tables and floodplains to come up
with the best approach to developments
 Study how a building or development might
sustain itself against the natural order of the
land scape where it will be built.
 Work on embankments and around waterworks
such as relief tunnels and floodplains
 Monitor drilling
 Geotechnical engineer’s Roles and
Responsibilities:
 Plan and design structures for buildings, roads,
embankments and canals
 Beyond their construction role, the geotechnical
engineer will also deal with geological hazards
like landslides, soil erosion, & earthquakes.
TASK OF GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERS:
1. Subsurface Investigation
2. Computer Analysis
3. Field test
4. Client Meetings
SKILLS NEEDED FOR GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
1. A Civil Engineering degree from accredited civil
engineering institution with geotechnical
engineering as main subject in the bachelors or
master's degree.
2. Good Analytical skill and ability to work as a
team with other members of the project.
3. Excellent knowledge in computer software
pertaining to geotechnical designing.
4. Excellent written and verbal communication.
Water Resource Engineering
 Concerned with the structures and processes
related to water supplies for human
 consumption and the removal of water for NATURE OF WORK OF WATER RESOURCE ENGINEER:
safety.
 Designing sewer improvement plans or flood
 Deals with the provision of water for human
defense programs, and associated structures,
use, and the development of techniques for the
such as pumping stations, pipework and
prevention of destruction from floods.
earthworks (the scale may range from an initial
 Planning and management of facilities such as
outline to a full, detailed design)
canals for irrigation and sewers for drainage and
 Keeping up to date with environmental matters;
to avoid waterlogging, and all other issues
being aware of policy and developments
related with the usage and control of water.
 Presenting technical data or project results;
 Ensures that water requirements of society and
both technical and non-technical
environment are met.
 Keeping track of the progress of projects from
HISTORY OF WATER RESOURCE ENGINEERING beginning to end - from feasibility, to design
through to construction and handover (or
 Water – resources development has had a long
handling just one section of a large project
history, basically beginning when humans
 RESPONSIBILITIES
changed from being hunters and food gatherers
OFAWATERRESOURCEENGINEER:
to developing of agriculture and settlements.
 Supervisingtheoperationandmaintenanceofwat
This change resulted in humans harnessing
erandsewageinfrastructure
water for irrigation. As humans developed, they
 Using computer simulations to analyze, for
began to invent and develop technologies, and
example, potential dam failure
to transport and manage water for irrigation.
 Devising flood defense strategies
 The first successful efforts to control the flow of
 Monitoring flood levels at times of high risk
water were in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Since
that time humans have continuously built on SKILLS NEEDED FOR WATER RESOURCE ENGINEERING
the knowledge of water resources engineering.
1. Excellent Analytical Skills
MAJOR FUNCTIONS OF W.R.E. 2. Team-working Skills
3. People-management Skills
 Deals with the provision of water for human
4. Information Technology skills
use, and the development of techniques for the
5. Problem-solving Skills
prevention of destruction from floods.
6. Time-management Skills
 Includes the planning and management of
7. Project-management skills
facilities that are constructed for these tasks
8. Communication Skills
like making canals for irrigation and sewers for
drainage and to avoid waterlogging, and all Transportation Engineering
other issues related with the usage and control
of water  Planning, design, operation, and maintenance
of safe and efficient transportation systems
 Deals with sewer systems for storms and
such as roadways, railways, waterways, and
wastewater, irrigation network, river
inter modal operations
engineering, including ice covered rivers,
hydraulic structures, including dams, spillways,  The demand is the amount of traffic (people,
floodways and reservoirs, seepage control, cars, railcars, barges) that is expected to use a
hydrology, floods, flow of mud and debris, wave particular transportation facility, while the
analysis supply is the quantity and type of infrastructure
components (roadways, bridges, pavements,
 Development of new equipment and systems
etc.)
for water resource management facilities and
supervision for the construction and HISTORY OF TRASPORTATION ENGINEERING
maintenance of the systems are still scopes of a
water resource engineer.  Overland and river routes served the trade of
Mesopotamia five millennia ago.
  Roads in Rome were constructed in a large scale
and it radiated in many directions helping them
in military operations. Hence, they are
considered to be pioneers in road construction.
 Thorough going changes in transportation
accompanied the evolution of the modern
world. A wave of these were seen in Europe in
the centuries just before 1300, when a network
of trade centers emerged to replace feudal
economies.
 By the eleventh century, road transport had
adopted existing technologies including iron
shoes and harnesses for draft animals, swiveling
front axles for wagons, and bridge building
techniques. But because road transport costs
were high, coastal and river transport served
most movements.
 Beginning about 1900, developments building
on those modes began serving the modern
world with other varieties of air, marine, and
land transportation.
NATURE OF WORK OF TRANSPORTATION
ENGINEERING
Transportation Engineers focus on planning new and
different transportation means and ways that include
roads, airports, trains, bridges, etc. To do these, they
analyze data, identify various problems, and solving
them through innovative answers.
In order to solve these difficulties, Transportation
Engineers typically need collection and validation of
systems, traffic flow, accidents, price, and any other
means of statistics.
Transportation Engineers may also be involved in
government departments or other utility company
parties to cooperate for certain projects.
Transportation engineers draw up plans for new
multilane highways to be built in places where only local
road sexist.
Other duties of Transportation Engineers include
analysis of schematics and engineering data, posing
recommendations for traffic and driving policies,
designing transit means and analyzing the effects of
transition urban areas.
Transportation engineers may administer plans with
contractors and determine the overall costs for a
project.
Also, Transportation Engineers review development
plans to determine potential traffic impact.
Transportation Engineers also prepare administrative,
technical, or statistical reports on traffic-operation
matters, such as accidents, safety measures, or
pedestrian volume or practices.
Moreover, on a weekly to monthly basis, they prepare
project budgets, schedules, or specifications for labor or
materials and plan alteration or modification of existing
transportation structures to improve safety or function.
Furthermore, they model transportation scenarios to
evaluate the impacts of activities such as new
development or to identify possible solutions to
transportation problems.
SKILLS NEEDED OF TRASPORTATION ENGINEERING
1. Time Management
2. Identifying complex problems
3. Writing to communicate effectively
4. Management of Financial Resources
5. Quality Control Analysis
6. Social Perceptiveness
7. Make mathematical computations and design
projects
8. Read and interpret plans and technical reports
Environmental Engineering
 Concerned with protecting people from the
effects of adverse environmental effects, such
as pollution, as well as improving environmental
quality. Environmental engineers work to
improve recycling, waste disposal, public health,
and water and air pollution control.
HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
 Branch of civil engineering that is concerned
with protecting people from adverse
environmental effects such as pollution, as well
as improving environmental quality
 Application of science and engineering
principles to improve the environment (air,
water, and/or land resources), to provide
healthful water, air, and land for human
 habitation and for other organisms, and to
remediate polluted sites.
 Involves sustainable design for the control and
protection of the environment and its
resources.
 The practice of environmental engineering
dates back to the dawn of civilization. Ever since
groups of people began living in semi-
permanent settlements, they have had to deal
withthechallengesofprovidingcleanwateranddis
posingofsolidwasteandsewage.
 With the growth of cities and the advent of
large-scale farming and manufacturing, people
have also had to worry about air quality and soil
contamination.
 Environmental engineering was traditionally a
specialized field within civil engineering
andwascalledsanitaryengineeringuntilthemid-
1960s.
 5
 Joseph Bazalgette, considered as first
environmental engineer, oversaw the
construction ofthefirstlarge-
scalemunicipalsanitarysewersysteminLondonint
hemid-19th century. This was prompted by a
series of cholera epidemics, as well as persistent
unbearable stench, that were attributed to the
discharge of raw sewage into the Thames River,
which was also the main source of drinking
water for the city.
SKILLS NEEDED IN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER
 This “great stink”, which was so noxious that it
caused Parliament to evacuate Westminster,
gave then-prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli
grounds to ask for 3.5 million pounds to
improve the city’s sewage disposal system.
 6
 Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards- a pioneer
19th century industrial and environmental
chemist. She was the first woman admitted to
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT)and later, an instructor in sanitary
chemistry there. She worked with many local
and national groups dealing with water supplies
and public health problems.
 G.D.Agwaral a respected environmental
engineer in India. He has worked to clean up the
Ganges River and fasted to protest the
damming of the Bhagirathi River
 7
 Marc Edwards- a professor of civil and
environmental engineering at Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is
pioneer in detecting and reducing lead in
drinking water.
 JosephLstiburek-
aleadingauthorityonbuildingscienceandindoorai
rquality.
 George F. Pinder- a professor of civil and
environmental engineering, mathematics, and
statistics at the University of Vermont. He is
known for his expert testimony in the legal
cases regarding environmental contamination
at Love Canal, New York, and Woburn,
Massachusetts.
NATURE OF WORK OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER
 Environmental Engineers use the principles
of engineering, soil science, biology and
chemistry to develop solutions to
environmental problems.
 Environmental engineering functions
include applied research and teaching;
project planning and management; the
design, construction, and operation of
facilities; sale and marketing of
environmental-control equipment; and the
enforcement of environmental standards
and regulations.
1. Imagination - able to foresee how proposed
designs will interact with the other components
of larger system
2. Interpersonal Skills - able to work with others
toward a common goal
3. Problem Solving Skills - able to identify and
anticipate problems in order to prevent losses
for their employers, safeguard workers’ health
and mitigate environmental damage
4. Reading Skills – able to read and understand
documents with topics outside their scope of
training
5. Writing Skills – able to write clearly so that
others without their specific training can
understand their plans, proposals,
specifications, and findings