Perspectives in Civil Engineering

Book excerpt: This report contains 27 papers that serve as a testament to the state-of-the-art of civil engineering at the outset of the 21st century, as well as to commemorate the ASCE's Sesquicentennial. Written by the leading practitioners, educators, and researchers of civil engineering, each of these peer-reviewed papers explores a particular aspect of civil engineering knowledge and practice. Each paper explores the development of a particular civil engineering specialty, including milestones and future barriers, constraints, and opportunities. The papers celebrate the history, heritage, and accomplishments of the profession in all facets of practice, including construction facilities, special structures, engineering mechanics, surveying and mapping, irrigation and water quality, forensics, computing, materials, geotechnical engineering, hydraulic engineering, and transportation engineering. While each paper is unique, collectively they provide a snapshot of the profession while offering thoughtful predictions of likely developments in the years to come. Together the papers illuminate the mounting complexity facing civil engineering stemming from rapid growth in scientific knowledge, technological development, and human populations, especially in the last 50 years. An overarching theme is the need for systems-level approaches and consideration from undergraduate education through advanced engineering materials, processes, technologies, and design methods and tools. These papers speak to the need for civil engineers of all specialties to recognize and embrace the growing interconnectedness of the global infrastructure, economy, society, and the need to work for more sustainable, life-cycle-oriented solutions. While embracing the past and the present, the papers collected here clearly have an eye on the future needs of ASCE and the civil engineering profession.