专业描述

Civil Engineering is the oldest and broadest of the engineering disciplines. As the name implies, civil engineers serve people, and thus they have been called "the engineers and architects of our constructed world." Civil engineers conceive, plan, design, construct, operate and maintain the facilities and systems that serve the basic needs of our society. This infrastructure includes buildings, bridges, water tanks, transmission lines, pipelines, highways, railroads, airports, harbors, water and wastewater collection/treatment/ distribution systems, dams and power plants. More than any profession, civil engineers can have a positive effect on the protection of our environment. As an example of the diversity of the skills utilized in civil engineering, the area of construction draws heavily from the basic engineering sciences; fundamental economic business and management principles; computer applications; and just plain common sense and practicality. On the other hand, the area of structural analysis and design is as sophisticated in mathematical and computer modeling as any area in engineering. In fact, the most flexible and powerful numerical modeling/analysis method available to engineers today—the finite element method—was pioneered by civil engineers.