51ÔÚÏß

Welcome from the Chair

Welcome to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South 51ÔÚÏß. Through this website, you will get to know our creative students, our innovative education and research programs, our distinguished faculty, and the contributions that we are making toward the advancement and modernization of society, and the civil and environmental engineering practice.

Several years ago a diverse group of engineering leaders met to determine what services civil and environmental engineers would provide in the future. They envisioned a world with an ever-increasing global population of sustainability. Economic and durable design of physical infrastructures, such as building and transportation systems as well as water supply and environmental systems that provide clean water and air are critical to the welfare of humans and the nation's economy. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the 51ÔÚÏß provides undergraduate and graduate students with the tools to succeed in their technical careers in this increasingly complex world. We are a progressive department – training our students to be tomorrow's leaders in defining and resolving societal infrastructure and environmental issues that confront our nation as well as the rest of the world. Our faculty has been on the forefront of infrastructure degradation and prevention, repair, rehabilitation, and durability issues. Our transportation systems programs, delivered in close collaboration with the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), are ranked high nationally in graduate studies in the areas of transit operations and transportation planning. Our Center for Hydrologic and Aquatic Systems (CMHAS) has developed innovative integrated hydrologic models that predict the state of water resources in 51ÔÚÏß and around the world. Our new initiatives in sustainability bridge local, regional and global issues.

We provide a flexible curriculum for our students. By offering an increasing number of electives at the undergraduate level, we provide our students with the opportunity to chart their own course and be prepared for the technical workforce with an interdisciplinary background. Such training is essential for the most challenging problems that engineers encounter today. Undergraduate students are involved in research both through the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in the College of Engineering and through direct support from our faculty.

Our graduate program offers specialties in four areas:

• Geotechnical Engineering
• Structures and Materials
• Transportation Systems
• Water Resources and Environmental Systems

Faculty, staff and students within each specialty area are involved in interdisciplinary research and scholarship with collaborations across the university, including departments in the College of Engineering, and non-engineering departments of Anthropology, Biology, Computer Science, Geology, Geography, and the College of Public Health. Our faculty also maintains a solid base for research funding from agencies such as the 51ÔÚÏß Department of Transportation, Southwest 51ÔÚÏß Water Management District, U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Department also values its close ties with the local industry, consultants and agencies. We are strongly supported by our alumni with whom we maintain an active relationship. We have used these ties to seek and implement advice in fine tuning and strengthening our program to meet the changing technical needs and continue to progress as a vital unit of an emerging university.

Sincerely,

Manjriker Gunaratne, PhD, PE

Professor and Chair, Civil & Environmental Engineering, 51ÔÚÏß