Student Guidebook 2012 (PDF) - College of Engineering - The ...

Career InformationWhat can I do with this engineering major?Civil and EnvironmentalEngineeringhttp://www.engr.utk.edu/civil/What is Civil andEnvironmental Engineering?Civil engineering is about the basic infrastructure of societyplanning, design, construction, and operation of facilitiesessential to modern life and economic vitality.An established department at the University of Tennessee,Knoxville, Civil and Environmental Engineering dates backto the mid-1800s, making it one of the oldest programs inthe Southeast.The Civil and Environmental Engineering Department (CEE)offers proficiency in environmental and water resourcesengineering, geotechnical and structural engineering,construction, and transportation engineering leading to aBachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. In addition, theCollege of Engineering offers an undergraduate minor inenvironmental engineering.Academic units and areas of research include thefollowing: transportation systems planning and design;transportation safety; traffic operations; transportation airquality; investment and financial analysis; bridge testingand evaluation; testing of masonry in-fills; lateral loadtest of driven piles; testing, behavior and modeling ofhighway materials; stability of slopes, embankments andtunnels; non-destructive evaluation of pavement systems;railroad engineering; risk assessment; automated highwaysystems; intelligent vehicle systems; GPS/GIS applications;air pollution control technologies; air pollution dispersionmodeling; climate change and environment and associatedimpact on infrastructure; water and waste water treatment;hazardous waste management; environmental restoration;mixed and radioactive waste management; bioremediation;aquatic chemistry; fate and transport of contaminants;surface and ground water hydrology; erosion and sedimenttransport; soil and geosynthetic hydraulic barriers;remediation of mines and characteristic of fractures in soiland rock.Consistent with the mission of the Department of Civil andEnvironmental Engineering at The University of Tennessee,graduates of the program will have:1. Technical competency to conduct engineering projectsand to advance with increasing responsibility.2. Professional competency to continually increaseengineering proficiency, proceed on a track to attainprofessional licensure, and contribute to the professionand community.The university’s engineering programs are fully accreditedby the ABET Engineering Accreditation Program.Career Opportunities in Civil and EnvironmentalEngineeringCivil engineers are found throughout the workplace ina variety of functions. Aside from private engineeringfirms that are responsible for contracted projects fromstart to finish, civil engineers work for utility companies,telecommunications businesses, consulting firms and eventoy and athletic equipment manufacturers. There are alarge number of civil engineers who work in federal, stateand local governments, working each day to serve thepublic in thousands of projects nationwide. Civil engineersalso work in academic fields through teaching, research,evaluation and publishing, generating much of the currentinformation available today.In their first job, most civil engineers are teamed witha senior engineer. They are guided through a variety ofassignments, depending on the civil engineering specialtyarea. Later, job responsibility increases with continuingeducation and experience. During this process manyengineers seek professional licensure that requires a depthof knowledge and skills essential to success in the field.Civil engineers usually work for one of the followingemployer types (in approximate order of employedengineers): government (every city, county, state andfederal operation); consulting firms (all sizes); constructioncompanies; industry (e.g., petroleum, utilities, aircraft,chemical, paper, shipbuilding); international firms (mayinvolve the categories above).“There can be little doubt that in many ways the storyof bridge building is the story of civilization. By it wecan readily measure an important part of a people’sprogress.”–Franklin D. Roosevelt21