CIVIL ENGINEERING ORIENTATION

ENGR. JANE CRISTEL B. DE LEON

1st Semester, S.Y. 2020-2021

Republic of the Philippines

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY
Echague, Isabela

1 | Civil Engineering Orientation

CIVIL ENGINEERING ORIENTATION
By: Engr. Jane Cristel B. De Leon

Course Description:

Introduction to various tracks and specialization of Civil Engineering, emphasis on

ethics, responsibility and professionalism

Course Objectives:

At the end of this course, the following will be attained:

1. Understand the History of Civil Engineering and the profession
2. Familiarize with the practices of Civil Engineers in relation to their interaction
with the society
3. Know the trend of Civil Engineering Development
4. Understand and Familiarize with the Current Fields/Careers of Civil Engineering
5. Understand the relationship of Civil Engineering to Environmental Science

Course Content
I. History of Civil Engineering
II. Civil Engineering and Society and other profession
III. Current Fields and Careers of Civil Engineering
IV. Civil Engineering Sustainability and the Future

Class Policies
1. Every Monday/Sunday evening is the uploading of modules in FB Messenger.
2. All activities, assignments and exercises shall be passed every Friday (5:00 PM).
Late papers/answers will be entertained but automatically be deducted with 10
points highest score be given to fate submission is 90%.
3. Question about the lessons shall be entertained during office hours only (8:00
4. Questions about the lessons shall be entertained during office hours only (8:00
AM to 5:00). Communicate in English.
5. Other policies shall be imposed if deemed necessary.

Grading System: Passing Mark: 60%

Prelim: 20
Midterm: 25%
Finals: 25%
Quizzes: 10%
Research Work: 10%
Activity: 10%

2 | Civil Engineering Orientation

Module 1
History of Civil Engineering

Introduction

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design,
construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including
public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewerage systems, pipelines,
structural components of buildings, and railways.
Civil engineering is traditionally broken into a number of sub-disciplines. It is
considered the second-oldest engineering discipline after military engineering, and it is
defined to distinguish non-military engineering from military engineering. Civil engineering
takes place in the public sector from municipal through to national governments, and in
the private sector from individual homeowners through to international companies.

Learning Outcome/Objective

At the end of this chapter, the students shall be able to:

1. Knowledge on the Ancient History of Civil Engineering

2. Recognize the work of Civil Engineering in Modern Times
3. Discuss and Understand the Educational and Institutional History of Civil
Engineering
4. Identify the Development and Origin of Civil Engineering and it Profession
in the Philippines.

Learning Content/Topic

A. Ancient History of Civil Engineering

It is difficult to determine the history of emergence and beginning of civil

engineering, however, that the history of civil engineering is a mirror of the history of
human beings on this earth. Man used the old shelter caves to protect themselves of
weather and harsh environment, and used a tree trunk to cross the river, which being
the demonstration of ancient age civil engineering.

Civil Engineering has been an

aspect of life since the beginnings of
human existence. The earliest practices
of Civil Engineering may have
commenced between 4000 and 2000 BC
in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
(Ancient Iraq) when humans started to
abandon a nomadic existence, thus
causing a need for the construction of
shelter. During this time, transportation
became increasingly important leading to the development of the wheel and sailing.

Until modern times there was no clear distinction between civil engineering and
architecture, and the term engineer and architect were mainly geographical variations
referring to the same person, often used interchangeably. The construction of
Pyramids in Egypt (circa 2700-2500 BC) might be considered the first instances of
large structure constructions.

3 | Civil Engineering Orientation

 Around 2550 BC, Imhotep, the first
documented engineer, built a famous stepped
pyramid for King Djoser located at Saqqara
Necropolis. With simple tools and mathematics
he created a monument that stands to this day.
His greatest contribution to engineering was his
discovery of the art of building with shaped
stones. Those who followed him carried
engineering to remarkable heights using skill and imagination.

Ancient historic civil engineering constructions include the Qanat water

management system (the oldest older than 3000 years and longer than 71 km,) the
Parthenon by Iktinos in Ancient Greece (447-438 BC), the Appian Way by Roman
engineers (c. 312 BC), the Great Wall of China by General Meng T’ien under orders
from Ch’in Emperor Shih Huang Ti (c. 220 BC) and the stupas constructed in ancient
Sri Lanka like the Jetavanaramaya and the extensive irrigation works in
Anuradhapura. The Romans developed civil structures throughout their empire,
including especially aqueducts, insulae, harbours, bridges, dams and roads.

Other remarkable historical structures are Sennacherib's Aqueduct at Jerwan

built in 691 BC; Li Ping's irrigation projects in China (around 220 BC); Julius Caesar's
Bridge over the Rhine River built in 55 BC, numerous bridges built by other Romans
in and around Rome(e.g. the pons Fabricius); Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct,
Nimes, France) built in 19 BC; the extensive system of highways the Romans built
to facilitate trading and (more importantly) fast manoeuvring of legions; extensive
irrigation system constructed by the Hohokam Indians, Salt River, AZ around 600
AD; first dykes defending against high water in Friesland, The Netherlands around
1000 AD; El Camino Real - The Royal Road, Eastern Branch, TX and Western
Branch, NM (1500s AD).
Machu Picchu, Peru, built at
around 1450, at the height of the Inca
Empire is considered an engineering
marvel. It was built in the Andes
Mountains assisted by some of history’s
most ingenious water resource
engineers. The people of Machu Picchu
built a mountain top city with running
water, drainage systems, food production
and stone structures so advanced that
they endured for over 500years.

A treatise on Architecture, Book called Vitruvius' De

Archiectura, was published at 1AD in Rome and survived to give
us a look at engineering education in ancient times. It was
probably written around 15 BC by the Roman architect Vitruvius
and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus, as
a guide for building projects.

Throughout ancient and medieval history most architectural design and

construction was carried out by artisans, such as stonemasons and carpenters,
rising to the role of master builder. Knowledge was retained in guilds and seldom
supplanted by advances. Structures, roads and infrastructure that existed were
repetitive, and increases in scale were incremental.
One of the earliest examples of a scientific approach to physical and
mathematical problems applicable to civil engineering is the work of Archimedes in

4 | Civil Engineering Orientation

 the 3rd century BC, including Archimedes Principle, which underpins our
understanding of buoyancy, and practical solutions such as Archimedes’ screw.
Brahmagupta, an Indian mathematician, used arithmetic in the 7th century AD,
based on Hindu-Arabic numerals, for excavation (volume) computations.

B. Civil Engineering in Modern Times

The beginnings of civil engineering as a separate discipline may be seen in
the foundation in France in 1716 of the Bridge and Highway Corps, out of which in
1747 grew the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (“National School of Bridges
and Highways”). Its teachers wrote books that became standard works on the
mechanics of materials, machines, and hydraulics, and leading British engineers
learned French to read them. As design and calculation replaced rule of thumb
and empirical formulas, and as expert knowledge was codified and formulated, the
nonmilitary engineer moved to the front of the stage. Talented, if often self-taught,
craftsmen, stonemasons, millwrights, toolmakers, and instrument makers became
civil engineers. In Britain, James Brindley began as a millwright and became the
foremost canal builder of the century; John Rennie was a millwright’s apprentice
who eventually built the new London Bridge; Thomas Telford, a stonemason,
became Britain’s leading road builder.

John Smeaton, the first man to call himself a civil engineer, began as an
instrument maker. His design of Eddystone Lighthouse (1756–59), with its
interlocking masonry, was based on a craftsman’s experience. Smeaton’s work was
backed by thorough research, and his services were much in demand. In 1771 he
founded the Society of Civil Engineers (now known as the Smeatonian Society). Its
object was to bring together experienced engineers, entrepreneurs, and lawyers to
promote the building of large public works, such as canals (and later railways), and
to secure the parliamentary powers necessary to execute their schemes. Their
meetings were held during parliamentary sessions; the society follows this custom
to this day.

The École Polytechnique was founded in Paris in 1794, and the Bauakademie
was started in Berlin in 1799, but no such schools existed in Great Britain for another
two decades. It was this lack of opportunity for scientific study and for the exchange
of experiences that led a group of young men in 1818 to found the Institution of Civil
Engineers. The founders were keen to learn from one another and from their elders,
and in 1820 they invited Thomas Telford, by then the dean of British civil engineers,
to be their first president. There were similar developments elsewhere. By the mid-
19th century there were civil engineering societies in many European countries and
the United States, and the following century produced similar institutions in almost
every country in the world.

Formal education in engineering science became widely available as other

countries followed the lead of France and Germany. In Great Britain the universities,
traditionally seats of classical learning, were reluctant to embrace the
new disciplines. University College, London, founded in 1826, provided a broad
range of academic studies and offered a course in mechanical philosophy. King’s
College, London, first taught civil engineering in 1838, and in 1840 Queen Victoria
founded the first chair of civil engineering and mechanics at the University of
Glasgow, Scot. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, offered the first
courses in civil engineering in the United States. The number of universities
throughout the world with engineering faculties, including civil engineering,
increased rapidly in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Civil engineering today is
taught in universities on every continent.

C. Educational and Institutional History of Civil Engineering

In the 18th century, the term civil engineering was coined to incorporate all
things civilian as opposed to military engineering. The first engineering school, The
National School of Bridges and Highways, France, was opened in 1747. The first

5 | Civil Engineering Orientation

 self-proclaimed civil engineer was John Smeaton who constructed the Eddystone
Lighthouse. In 1771, Smeaton and some of his colleagues formed the Smeatonian
Society of Civil Engineers, a group of leaders of the profession who met informally
over dinner. Though there was evidence of some technical meetings, it was little
more than a social society.
In 1818, world’s first engineering society, the
Institution of Civil Engineers was founded in
London, and in 1820 the eminent engineer Thomas
Telford became its first president. The institution
received a Royal Charter in 1828, formally
recognizing civil engineering as a profession. Its
charter defined civil engineering as: “Civil
engineering is the application of physical and
scientific principles, and its history is intricately
linked to advances in understanding of physics and
mathematics throughout history. Because civil
engineering is a wide ranging profession, including
several separate specialized sub-disciplines, its history is linked to knowledge of
structures, material science, geography, geology, soil, hydrology, environment,
mechanics and other fields.”
The first private college to teach Civil Engineering in the United States was
Norwich University founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge. The first degree in
Civil Engineering in the United States was awarded by Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute in 1835. The first such degree to be awarded to a woman was granted by
Cornell University to Nora Stanton Blatch in 1905.

6 | Civil Engineering Orientation