Civil Engineering

Behind construction of anything under the sun, there is brain of Civil Engineer.

A civil engineer is expected to design, supervise and built the roads, massive buildings, dams and water reservoirs, bridges, drainage systems, water supply, tunnels, airports, railway stations, etc. Civil and Environmental Engineers are almost close in the profession.  The reason is that while constructing anything in this planet, one has to think about the effect of environment as well effect on environment.  One has to ensure that the environment is not badly affected because of the construction and at the same time, ensure that the natural calamity will not damage the construction. Especially while constructing dams, bridges and roads etc. in hilly areas, this is important. Civil engineers are also responsible for analyzing the cost as well as the construction to deliver the best in minimum time.

Being the oldest disciplines in engineering, civil engineers play a critical role in city planning - like building of flyovers for smooth traffic, drainage systems for the cities, construction of roads to be built with a vision for next few years, etc.  We can see that in recent times, Indian road have become over crowded and there enough space in roads in most of the cities for the smooth travel and parking of vehicles. Though it may not be a direct involvement in construction, in administering the city also, civil engineers have a major role to play. As the population move from the urban areas to the rural areas the city limits expands and it makes variations in the balance of environment through construction of new roads and transportation systems becoming the major requirements of expansion.

With the recent advancement of technologies, Geographical Information Systems are now used for efficient planning and analysis of town planning, management, construction as well as expansion. High level of research and analysis is required for any public service systems like construction of railway lines, roads, and similar projects. From this point of view, a civil engineer should also be aware of the problems and solutions related with environment.

Some of the disciplines under Civil Engineering are:

Structural Engineering: After learning the fundamentals of civil engineering, this discipline mainly focuses on the structural aspect of any construction. This is the fundamental requirement of any construction. To build a bridge, you need a basic structure. This includes where it is being constructed, the dimension, the weight load it can handle, etc.

Environmental Engineering: With the growing threat on environment in recent times, demand for environmental engineers is increasing. They have to find the best suitable methods to eliminate the waste flushed out by the industries and householders.  This involves safety of the living population in a city or in any rural areas.

Geo technical Engineering: This is mostly related with the ground in the place where the construction is planned. While building a dam or a tunnel for a railway line or any other purpose, the type of soil, the surface area, etc. are important. One has to learn the behavior of these things as it will affect the construction in the long run.

Water resources: As anyone knows, water resource is the one area where the whole world is looking at. Providing safe drinking water as well as treating the waste water without harming the environment and the population is one of the critical areas where the civil engineers from this specialization will work on. They also have role in construction of beach walls, similar sea shore projects, etc.

Transportation: This is completely known to any small child in this world. This plays an important role not only in the crowded cities, but also ensuring the availability and delivery of all the goods and services that depend solely on transportation.

Construction: from a normal house to a multistory commercial building or a hotel or a resident flat, the role of construction engineer varies. In this case, structural engineering also is linked. It too has mostly to do with geo-technical as well as environmental engineering.

Urban planning: This is turning up a urban area to an efficient community area with good spacious roads, buildings, sewage systems, and all other amenities and necessities required for a livelihood.