Santa Clara University / School of Engineering

ENGR 1: Introduction to Engineering

Key Concepts for the Civil Engineering Session
The Civil Engineering Profession
1. Civil engineers plan, design, construct, and help operate systems that maintain the basic quality of
life for any society. The scale of civil engineered projects require that teams of engineers and other
professionals work together to produce finished products that are technically feasible,
environmentally sound, economically constructable, functionally safe, and socially just for the
community being served.
2. Civil engineers can be involved with the planning, design, construction, operation and/or regulation
of large-scale public infrastructure and private development projects.
There are sub-disciplines within civil engineering that focus on different elements of the
constructed environment. These include structural engineering, environmental engineering,
3.
geotechnical engineering, transportation engineering, water resources engineering and construction
engineering.
4.
Civil engineers work with professionals from other engineering disciplines to provide
comprehensive technical solutions to societal problems and needs; most projects are
interdisciplinary in nature.
Civil engineers are licensed to practice by relevant authorities on the basis of their knowledge and
5.
education. Civil engineers have primary responsibility to protecting public health and safety. Doing
so requires a commitment to continuing education (lifelong learning) to stay abreast of
developments in the field.
6. Future global population growth and more limited global resources will require that civil engineers
develop innovative strategies for housing, water delivery, transportation, and waste management
systems that are based on sustainable technologies. Many current projects are designed to be more
sustainable using a rating system administered by the United States Green Building Council
(USGBC).

Sustainable Civil Engineering

1. Civil engineering projects often require the use of large quantities of steel, concrete, timber, and/or
asphalt-based pavement materials to build and large quantities of energy to operate. The need for
such large amounts of material and energy creates many opportunities and potential benefits for
integrating sustainable design concepts into these projects.
2. Sustainable elements in civil engineered systems are designed to reduce the need for non-
renewable materials, minimize the use of potable water, maximize the use of recycled or otherwise
wasted materials, and lower energy requirements during the production of the construction
materials, during the actual construction phase, and during long-term system operation.
3. Sustainable civil engineered systems are designed to perform at least as well as more traditionally
designed and constructed facilities.
4. The initial cost of LEED-certified sustainable buildings and other public facilities is only slightly
more than traditional systems. The life cycle cost of LEED-certified buildings and public facilities
is significantly lower than traditionally designed and constructed systems.
5. The optional design and performance standards now used to certify sustainable buildings and
public facilities are increasingly becoming required standards in many areas around the world.
This will have a profound effect on the profession.