Roles of Civil Engineering Faculty

Roësset, José M.; Yao, James T. P.

doi:10.1061/(asce)1052-3928(2000)126:1(8)

Cited by 16 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Grigg (1996) has discussed at several different places the "fragmentation" of our proud profession. We had also observed this phenomenon (e.g., Roesset & Yao, 2000) and attributed it in part to the current faculty hiring and reward system. New faculty today must attract research…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Suggested Topics for a Civil Engineering Curriculum in Infrastructure Management

Yao¹,

Roësset

2001

Public Works Management & Policy

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Public works and infrastructure management have always been the primary domain of civil engineers. In recent decades, however, the role of the civil engineer in this field seems to have been decreasing in importance, with increasing emphasis being placed on administrative skills, management experience, and political savvy over technical expertise. If civil engineers want to regain a prominent position in the planning and management of public works, a new curriculum must be developed and implemented. This curriculum should provide students with a basic knowledge and understanding of (a) mathematics and basic science; (b) engineering science; (c) technical aspects of infrastructure systems; (d) decision analysis in the face of uncertainty; (e) management and business principles; (f) societal needs, ethics, public policy, and political science; and (g) communication skills. Furthermore, faculty members need to be exposed to practical problems so that they can bring back that experience into the classroom. A broad-based undergraduate degree should be followed with a more specialized master’s-level degree for civil engineering practice at a professional level.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

A Project-Based Introductory Geotechnical Laboratory Course

Kitch

Coduto

2010

GeoFlorida 2010

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Nearly all undergraduate civil engineering curricula include a geotechnical laboratory course. The traditional format consists of conducting individual isolated laboratory tests, often on manufactured samples, with separate weekly reporting for each test. Although this format provides hands-on experience with standard test methods, it does not teach how these tests are integrated into the design process. More importantly, it does not provide the student with any experience in the broader challenge of characterizing a real site, and thus presents an overly sanitized picture of the site characterization process. In order to address these pedagogical shortcomings, the authors and their colleagues have developed an alternative format which consists of a project-based laboratory course that is taught after completion of the associated lecture course. This paper presents the rationale for the course design, describes the course organization and content, and provides a qualitative assessment through authors' experiences in teaching undergraduates using this approach.

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“…To successfully introduce a new curriculum, it is necessary to change current faculty reward systems. Roësset and Yao (2000) would like to measure the quality (in lieu of quantity) of faculty work and reward the faculty accordingly. Recently, Sarin (2000) discussed the ABET EC-2000 criteria in terms of quality assurance.…”

Section: Proceedings Of the 2001 American Society For Engineering Edumentioning

confidence: 99%

Suggested Topics For A Curriculum In Civil Engineering

Roësset¹,

Yao²

2001 Annual Conference Proceedings

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As continued developments in computer hardware and software provide us with more efficient means to carry out cumbersome computations and with enhanced means of communication and information transfer, the role of civil engineers must change. The current civil engineering curricula at most universities are no longer appropriate to produce leaders of our society in the 21 st century. If engineers want to maintain a prominent position in society a new curriculum that properly balances mathematics, natural sciences and engineering with humanities and social and political sciences must be developed and implemented. This new undergraduate curriculum should provide students with a basic knowledge of the following topics: (1) Mathematics, basic and engineering sciences; (2) Broad-based technical aspects of civil engineering; (3) Principles of uncertainty and risk analysis; (4) Decision analysis and business principles; (4) Management principles; (5) Societal needs, ethics, public policy, and political science; and (6) Communication and leadership skills. These topics should be taught in an integrated manner, and reinforced throughout the curriculum repeating their applications in various classes. In addition, the students should be exposed to (1) engineering practice through a variety of means including summer internships, cooperative programs, and interactions with practicing professional engineers; and (2) different cultures and international projects. Faculty members need also to be continuously exposed to practical problems in order to bring back that experience into the classroom. New faculty members should have practical experience or be provided with means to acquire it. To do so, it is necessary to change the faculty reward system by emphasizing the quality instead of the quantity of faculty work. In this paper, we discuss these various aspects in some detail.

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Roles of Civil Engineering Faculty

Cited by 16 publications

References 12 publications

Suggested Topics for a Civil Engineering Curriculum in Infrastructure Management

Suggested Topics for a Civil Engineering Curriculum in Infrastructure Management

A Project-Based Introductory Geotechnical Laboratory Course

Suggested Topics For A Curriculum In Civil Engineering

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