Civil engineering

Civil engineering is a professional engineering
discipline that deals with the design,
construction, and maintenance of the physical
and naturally built environment, including works
like roads , bridges, canals , dams, and buildings.
[1][2][3] Civil engineering is the oldest
engineering discipline after military engineering ,
[4] and it was defined to distinguish non-
military engineering from military engineering.
[5] It is traditionally broken into several sub-
disciplines including environmental engineering ,
geotechnical engineering , structural
engineering , transportation engineering ,
municipal or urban engineering , water resources
engineering , materials engineering , coastal
engineering , [4] surveying , and construction
engineering . [6] Civil engineering takes place on
all levels: in the public sector from municipal
through to national governments, and in the
private sector from individual homeowners
through to international companies.
History of the civil engineering
profession
See also: History of structural engineering
Engineering has been an aspect of life since the
beginnings of human existence. The earliest
practice of civil engineering may have
commenced between 4000 and 2000 BC in
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (Ancient Iraq)
when humans started to abandon a nomadic
existence, creating a need for the construction
of shelter. During this time, transportation
became increasingly important leading to the
development of the wheel and sailing .
Until modern times there was no clear
distinction between civil engineering and
architecture, and the term engineer and
architect were mainly geographical variations
referring to the same person, often used
interchangeably. [7] The construction of
Pyramids in Egypt (circa 2700–2500 BC) might
be considered the first instances of large
structure constructions. Other ancient historic
civil engineering constructions include the Qanat
water management system (the oldest older
than 3000 years and longer than 71 km, [8] ) the
Parthenon by Iktinos in Ancient Greece (447–
438 BC), the Appian Way by Roman engineers
(c. 312 BC), the Great Wall of China by General
Meng T'ien under orders from Ch'in Emperor
Shih Huang Ti (c. 220 BC) [6] and the stupas
constructed in ancient Sri Lanka like the
Jetavanaramaya and the extensive irrigation
works in Anuradhapura . The Romans developed
civil structures throughout their empire,
including especially aqueducts , insulae , harbors ,
bridges, dams and roads.
The Archimedes screw was
operated by hand and could
raise water efficiently.
In the 18th century, the term civil engineering
was coined to incorporate all things civilian as
opposed to military engineering. [5] The first
self-proclaimed civil engineer was John Smeaton
who constructed the Eddystone Lighthouse . [4]
[6] In 1771 Smeaton and some of his colleagues
formed the Smeatonian Society of Civil
Engineers, a group of leaders of the profession
who met informally over dinner. Though there
was evidence of some technical meetings, it was
little more than a social society.
In 1818 the Institution of Civil Engineers was
founded in London , and in 1820 the eminent
engineer Thomas Telford became its first
president. The institution received a Royal
Charter in 1828, formally recognising civil
engineering as a profession. Its charter defined
civil engineering as:
the art of directing the great sources of
power in nature for the use and convenience
of man, as the means of production and of
traffic in states, both for external and
internal trade, as applied in the construction
of roads, bridges, aqueducts, canals, river
navigation and docks for internal intercourse
and exchange, and in the construction of
ports, harbours, moles, breakwaters and
lighthouses, and in the art of navigation by
artificial power for the purposes of
commerce, and in the construction and
application of machinery, and in the
drainage of cities and towns. [9]
The first private college to teach Civil
Engineering in the United States was Norwich
University founded in 1819 by Captain Alden
Partridge. [10] The first degree in Civil
Engineering in the United States was awarded by
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1835. [11]
The first such degree to be awarded to a woman
was granted by Cornell University to Nora
Stanton Blatch in 1905.