courses of instruction - Lafayette College

CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
ENGINEERING
Professor McGhee, Head; Professor Viscomi;
Associate Professors Roth, Ruggles, and
Veshosky; Assistant Professors Boile, Ereger,
Driver, and Saliklis
Civil engineers, like all engineers, are
problem-solvers. They find the best ways
to construct bridges, buildings, dams, and
highways. They design water plants and
waste treatment systems, and look for
ways to manage hazardous materials.
The curriculum prepares students for a
variety of situations by emphasizing fun
damental principles of engineering, an ap
preciation of the effect of human factors
on technology, logical thinking, resource
fulness, and ethical considerations in ap
plying science to human problems. In ad
dition to a thorough grounding in science
and technology, students select more than
one-fifth of their courses in the liberal arts
and humanities.
Majors may choose to focus on environ
mental or structural engineering or other
areas of interest. Laboratories include ma
terials testing, fluid mechanics, geotechni-
cal engineering, environmental engineer
ing, and advanced microcomputers.
Requirements for the major: Majors are
required to take Mathematics 161,162,
263, and 264; Physics 131; Chemistry 121;
Engineering Science 101,225,226, and 230;
either Chemistry 122 or Engineering Sci
ence 231; Civil and Environmental Engi
neering 221,251,271, 301, 311, 331, 341,
361, 372, 473 and four departmental elec-
tives; eight courses chosen from an
approved list of humanities and social sci
ences including a First-Year Seminar and
English 110; a science or mathematics elec
tive; two technical electives (upper-level
mathematics, science, or engineering
courses, usually requiring one or more
prerequisites); and two free electives.
REQUIRED COURSES
221. Environmental Engineering. The
application of engineering principles to a
variety of environmental problems. Topics
ENGINEERING/CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
to be considered include population and
energy growth, water supply and pollu
tion control, air and noise pollution, solid
and hazardous wastes, and environmental
management. Laboratories consist of
computer modeling of environmental
problems, sample collection, and chemical
analysis methods. Students complete a
term paper on an environmental issue
of their choosing. Lecture/laboratory.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 162; Chemis
try 122 or ES 231, or permission of instruc
tor. Offered in fall semester. Staff
251. Fluid Mechanics. Basic principles of
fluid mechanics. Fluid properties; hydro
statics; fluid flow concepts including con
tinuity, energy, and momentum; and di
mensional analysis are covered. Applica
tions include open channel flow, pipe sys
tems, hydraulic models, hydraulic
machinery, and fluid flow measurement.
Lecture /laboratory. Prerequisite: ES 210.
Offered in spring semester. Staff
271. Design I. An introductory course in
engineering design and measurement.
Topics include fundamentals of surveying,
statistical analysis, project management,
and technical writing all of which are ap
plied throughout the course in a series of
design projects. Laboratory work includes
surveying field work, CAD, project man
agement, and CAD-based civil engineer
ing applications. Lecture/laboratory.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 161,162;
and ES 101. Offered in fall semester. S taff
301. Risk Assessment. A quantitative ap
proach for analyzing and managing risk in
engineering problems and design. Pro
vides a foundation in probability and sta
tistics related to civil engineering and ex
tends this to analysis of data, identifica
tion and analysis of risk in engineering de
sign, and determination of acceptable risk
and methods for risk management. Topics
and applications include reliability engi
neering, safety engineering, environmen
tal risk management, and exposure to the
surrounding economic, regulatory, and
ethical issues. Staff
91