A few summers back I got a job working at a watershed district doing little odds and ends in the office and out in the field. My job required me to communicate with volunteers who assisted in lake sampling, perform stream samples from drainage ditches and the river, and input data on the computer. After a while I began to ask myself what exactly happens to all the data that I was collecting, who really looked at it and what did the numbers actually say. Through a little looking around and some quick random research I found the answer to the question. Civil Engineers.

Civil Engineers, they apply their knowledge in math, physics, and science to solve problems in areas like transportation, structures/buildings, environment, and water resources. Each of these disciplines is uniquely important to society, but before I go into their importance I feel a quick background is in important. Civil Engineers have long been designing and improving infrastructure across the world for a long time. A lot of interesting history regarding Civil Engineering can be found at http://whatiscivilengineering.csce.ca/. They seek to design safe and effective structures/projects that address concerns over durability, longevity, sustainability, aesthetics, and at a cost that is economical. Safety is the most important consideration to a Civil Engineering while designing a project.



Interstate Highway


Transportation Engineering, a discipline in the field of Civil Engineering that designs safe and efficient roadways, railways, and airfields. Every curve and hill is designed to allow for a safe field of vision and speeds. The soils and pavements used are designed to handle the weight and volumes of traffic along with the weather conditions that affect the area.  



Petronas Towers
Malaysia





Structural Engineers plan structures that consider things such as aerodynamics, earthquake regulations, and seasonal soil changes. Structures designed by Civil Engineers can be found everywhere in our daily lives. Buildings, tunnels, dams, and bridges are all projects designed by engineers. Structural Engineers carefully plan the materials (wood, steel, concrete, etc.) to be used and how to join those materials together to build a safe and visually pleasing structure.



Dam in China

Environmental Engineers work to solve issues in areas that involve the pollution of air, water, or soil. They design and construct hazardous waste management facilities, hazardous waste cleanups, and landfills, along with waste water control and water quality projects. As society has grown, the Environmental Engineering field has too. With every increase in population our impact can be seen in the world we live in. Environmental Engineers look at ways to minimize our impact on the world we live in.



Stream bank erosion


Much like Environmental Engineers work to protect natural resources; Water Resource Engineering works to protect the specific resource of water. They design treatment facilities for drinking water, irrigation systems that water crops, work on reservoirs and dams, analyze water qualities in rivers and lakes, and perform flood control.

Civil Engineers apply their knowledge of soils, waters, materials, and structures to design and build so many things that society uses every day. Civil Engineers interpret the data to design projects that protect both people and the environment. They value safety above all else. Civil Engineering is a field with growing opportunities. It is always seeking to improve upon itself to build safer, more effective, cost efficient structures that will serve society for many years to come.