History of Engineering

What is Engineering?
Engineers use their knowledge of
math and natural sciences to create,
using the materials
and forces of nature,
solutions to problems
that affect mankind
What problems did the
first “engineers” solve?
◼ Safety
◼ Fortifications
◼ Walls
◼ Water
◼ Wells
◼ Canals
◼ Food
◼ Canals
◼ Irrigation
Earliest Engineers?

3300 b.c. - Egyptians develop

dikes and canals.
Archeological records show the
builders used primitive surveying
instruments to lay out the canals.
Next, the King’s Monuments!
◼ 2700 b.c. - Imhotep
builds first pyramid at
Sakkara
◼ 2500 b.c. - Great
Pyramids built at Giza
◼ Depends heavily on
labor - time is not a
concern
The People’s Comfort
◼ 2000 b.c. - Sumerian builders develop
canals, temples, city walls
◼ 1800 b.c. - Hammurabi develops first
building code in Babylonia
◼ 700 b.c. - Assyrians develop the first public
water supply - 30 miles of canals to feed
Ninevah. (First use of concrete!)
◼ 200 b.c. - Water supply to Pergamum
includes an elevated reservoir, line pressure
over 300 psi.
Trade!
◼ 450 b.c. - Greek
architectons build
harbor at Samos
◼ 200 b.c. - 3300 foot
long tunnel through
solid limestone at
Samos
◼ Ship building, light
houses, etc.
Conquest!
◼ 312 b.c. - Romans build
Appian Way
◼ 214 b.c. Chinese build 1700
mile long wall
◼ Conquest of other lands
leads to sharing of
knowledge
◼ Moors in Spain
◼ Roman influence throughout
the west
Roman Creations
◼ 312 b.c. - Appian Way, Aqua Appius
◼ 17 b.c. - Aggripa builds Pantheon
◼ 98 a.d. - Alcantara bridge in Spain
◼ 175 feet high, 600 feet long
◼ dry masonry construction
◼ 122 a.d. - Hadrian’s Wall
◼ Roman cities were planned, developed
to fit the surrounding environment
Other Cultures
◼ Mayan: 12,000 B.C. to 1600 AD
◼ Teotihuacan in central Mexico had a
population of 200,000 in 350 AD.
◼ Calendars, roads, temples, chariots
◼ Chinese: 21,000 B.C. to present
◼ Shang Dynasty: 1700 BC – writing
◼ Han Dynasty: 200 BC – universities
◼ Silk, paper, gunpowder, printing
Western Development
◼ 500 - 1300 a.d. - Middle Ages
◼ Little development
◼ Castles, windmills, ship building
◼ Cathedrals
◼ 1100 - 1200 a.d. - Term engineer arises
◼ Based on “in generare” - to create
◼ Often built “engines of war”
Western Development
◼ 1300 - 1750 a.d. - Great scientific advances
◼ Previous - trial & error
◼ Sometimes ran afoul of the church
◼ 1747 - French build first Engineering school
◼ 1771 - the term “Civil Engineering” is used
◼ 1780 - James Watt builds practical steam
engine - Mechanical Engineering
Western Development
◼ 1800 (?) - Eli Whitney introduces mass
production in factories - beginnings of
Industrial Engineering
◼ 1844 - Samuel Morse invents the
telegraph - Electrical Engineering
◼ 1885 - Karl Benz begins production of
gasoline driven automobiles.
The Pace Increases
◼ 1903 - Wright Brother fly at Kitty Hawk
◼ 1917 - Commercial air-mail service
◼ 1930 – 43 Airlines in the US
◼ 1957 – Sputnik
◼ 1961 – Manned space flight
◼ 1969 – Moon landing!
Why Study History?
◼ Keeps our perspective on
the “impossible”.
◼ Avoid repeating mistakes.
◼ Shows us the importance of
“mundane” developments.
◼ Helps us see how historical
cultural differences may
impact modern solutions.
“Its all been done”
In the late 1800’s, the head of the U.S. Patent
Office appealed to Congress to close his
office, saying “Everything that can ever be
invented, has been.”
Lesson from the Past
◼ Ankor Wat built by
Suryavarman II
(1113-c. 1150)
◼ Most visible remnant
of a highly productive
society
◼ May have been wiped
out by Malaria
Who stopped “the Plague”
City life in England in 1842
◼ Shift from agricultural to industrial production
◼ Overcrowding rampant
◼ Child laborers
◼ Average age of death
◼ Gentry - 43
◼ Tradesman - 30
◼ Laborers 22
◼ For every death by old age or violence,
8 died from disease
Sanitary Conditions
◼ People living in basements, streets.
◼ Water from public wells
or pumped from river
to shared standpipes.
◼ Sewage, trash thrown
into gutters.
◼ In London the Thames
began to stink.
A New Plague Arrives
◼ Cholera arrives from India.
◼ In Paris, 7000 die in 18 days.
◼ Britain's industrialized
cities lose 22,000.
◼ Doctors disagree on treatment.
◼ Under medical care,
25%-59% of patients died.
The Plague Ends
◼ Insurance Actuaries determine that
the closer you live to the Thames,
the higher your risk of dying.
◼ Laws forbid pumping
drinking water
from the Thames.
◼ New sewers.
◼ The plague ends!
Civil Engineering
A People Serving
Profession
Civil Engineering
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.
 Civil Engineering
◼ In the beginning, Civil Engineering
included all engineers that did not
practice military engineering; said to
have begun in 18th century 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
Civil Engineering Process
◼ Planning …
◼ Design …
◼ Construction …
◼ Operation/Maintenance …
◼ Rehabilitation …
Civil Engineering Specialties
◼ Construction ◼ Structural
◼ Environmental ◼ Surveying
/ Water ◼ Transportatio
Quality n
◼ Geotechnical ◼ Water
◼ Hydraulics Resources
◼ Materials
Construction Engineers
◼ Design formwork, scaffolding, lifting apparatus,
etc.

◼ Management of construction resources: labor,

materials, equipment, money and time.
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.
 Geotechnical
Engineers
◼ Analyze soil and rock that
affect the behavior of struc-
tures, 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.
 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.
 Materials
Engineers
Design, analyze, and construct
materials such as:
◼ Steel

◼ Concrete

◼ Masonry

◼ Asphalt

◼ Composites
 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.
 Surveyors
◼ Precisely locate and layout
engineering projects.

◼ GIS (Geographic Information

Systems), GPS (Global
Positioning Systems), and
lasers distance measurement
devices.
◼ Maps and aerial photos.
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.
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.