What is an Engineer?

CIVIL ENGINEERING is the oldest branch of engineering. The most diverse of the engineering fields, civil engineering encompasses transportation, water, wastewater, structural, foundations, environmental, and surveying. Civil engineers work with the general public to a much greater degree than any other type of engineer—and affect our daily lives in almost everything they do.

They design and build infrastructure, roads, bridges, locks & dams, airports, harbors, buildings, floodwalls, retaining walls, wetlands, bicycle paths and more… your imagination is the limit!

To read more about civil engineering, visit the American Society of Civil Engineers at http://www.asce.org/ or the Civil Engineering Research Foundation at http://www.cerf.org/indexjs.htm. Also, check out the Civil Engineering Virtual Library at http://www.ce.gatech.edu/WWW-CE/.

WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERS design works to control the flow of water, such as canals, dams, levees, and diversions. They work on multipurpose projects that provide benefits, such as flood control, hydroelectric power, recreation, irrigation, water supply, and enhancing the environment. Areas of water resources engineering include:

• reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation to supplement existing water supplies
• rebuilding a natural river which had been channeled and straightened
• improving operation of existing dams and reservoirs to improve performance
• improving flood and drought forecasts through computer models

To learn more about water resources engineering, visit the American Water Resources Association at http://www.awra.org/.

TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERS are involved with planning, designing, construction, operation, and maintenance of the transportation infrastructure, including streets, highways, railroads, airports, waterways, ports, and mass transit. They’re constantly challenged to improve current transportation facilities—and to meet increasing demand.

To learn more about transportation engineering, try http://www.icivilengineer.com/Transportation_Engineering/.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS work to protect human health and safety and protect the natural environment from pollution. They treat drinking water, remove pollutants from water and air, dispose of solid and hazardous wastes, and are involved in enforcement.

Environmental engineering areas include:

• improving methods of determining the extent of contamination at polluted site
• improving treatment methods for cleaning up polluted sites
• developing uses for recycled materials
• reducing the volumes of solid and hazardous waste through conservation and reuse
• developing improved for treating water, wastewater, and polluted air

To learn more about environmental engineering, visit the National Association of Environmental Professionals at http://www.naep.org/, or look through ASCE’s Journal of Environmental Engineering at http://www.pubs.asce.org/journals/ee.html.