CE103 – CIVIL ENGINEERING

ORIENTATION
Engr. Larriz Samudio
What is Civil Engineering?
• It is a broad field of engineering that deals
with the planning, construction, and
maintenance of fixed structures, or public
works, as they are related to earth, water, or
civilization and their processes.
Importance of Civil Engineering
• Civil engineering may be regarded as the
profession that makes the world a more
agreeable place in which to live.
• Most civil engineering today deals with,
bridges, roads, railways, structures, water
supply, irrigation, environmental, sewer,
flood control, transportation, and traffic.
Importance of Civil Engineering
• A civil engineer is concerned with
determining the right design for these
structures and looking after the construction
process so that the longevity of these
structures is guaranteed after completion.
• Civil engineers served, serving and will serve
as adept builders, environmental stewards,
innovators, managers of uncertainty and
risk, and leaders in shaping public policy.
Important Qualities of Civil Engineers
• Technical Skills
• Leadership Skills
• Organizational Skills
• Critical Thinking Skills
• Communication Skills
History of Civil Engineering
• Civil engineering is one of the oldest of the
engineering professions.
• The “first engineers” solve problem of
community with relation to:
– Safety
– Water
– Food
History of Civil Engineering
• 3300 B.C. - Egyptians develop dikes and
canals.
• Archeological records show the builders
used primitive surveying instruments to lay
out the canals.
History of Civil Engineering
• 2700 B.C. – Imhotep builds first pyramid at
Saqqara called the Step Pyramid of Djoser.
History of Civil Engineering
• 2500 B.C. – Great Pyramids built at Giza.
History of Civil Engineering
• 2000 B.C. - Sumerian builders develop
canals, temples, city walls
History of Civil Engineering
• 1800 B.C. - Hammarubi develops first
building code in Babylonia
History of Civil Engineering
• 1800 B.C. - Hammarubi develops first
building code in Babylonia
History of Civil Engineering
• 700 B.C. - Assyrians develop the first public
water supply - 30 miles of canals to feed
Nineveh. (First use of concrete!)
History of Civil Engineering
• 312 B.C. - Romans build Appian Way
History of Civil Engineering
• 200 B.C. - Water supply to Pergamum
includes an elevated reservoir, line pressure
over 300 psi.
History of Civil Engineering
• 220 B.C. – Chinese built the Great Wall of
China
History of Civil Engineering
• 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”
 History of Civil Engineering
• 17th Century - John Smeaton laid the foundations
for the profession of civil engineering, as well as
establishing consulting engineering and defining
the role of resident engineer.
• He is often regarded as the “father of Civil
Engineering”.
 History of Civil Engineering

• Eddystone Lighthouse
- most famous work of
John Smeaton and an
extraordinary achievement
for 1759. Its design
influenced successive
lighthouses for the
following 150 years.
 History of Civil Engineering

• 18th Century - the Institution of Civil Engineers

was founded in London and received a Royal
Charter in 1828, formally recognizing civil
engineering as a profession.
• The first degrees in Civil Engineering in the
United States was awarded to William
Clement, Jacob Eddy, Edward Suffern and
Amos Westcott by Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute in 1835.
• The first such degree to be awarded to a
woman was granted by Cornell University to
Nora Stanton Blatch in 1905.
 Why Study History?
• Keeps our perspective on the “impossible”.
• Avoid repeating mistakes.
• Helps us see how historical cultural
differences may impact modern solutions.