Civil Engineering at City College Prof. Beth Wittig

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Frederica Hood
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1 Civil Engineering at City College Prof. Beth Wittig

2 Presentation outline 2 A little about me What do Civil Engineers do? What do I do and why? What coursework is required for CE at CCNY? Active CE student clubs on campus?

3 A little about me 3 BE from UCLA PhD from Univ of Texas Post-doc at Carnegie Mellon University Field engineer for 5 years setting up and running air quality monitoring networks in CA, TX, and PA Regulatory policy analyst for 1 year reviewed proposed regulations at the USEPA in DC All in chem eng, but my electives were mostly in environ eng Associate professor and chair of Civil Engineering at CCNY I handle student issues: scheduling, registration, advisement, exceptions

Design of bridges, tunnels, buildings l Transportation:

Environment: Drinking water and wastewater treatment, air

4 What is Civil 4 Engineering? Provide infrastructure within 3 specializations l Structures: Design of bridges, tunnels, buildings l Transportation: Travel demand planning, design of roadways and highways l Environment: Drinking water and wastewater treatment, air pollution control, solid waste management, hazardous waste management Structures Transportation Environment

5 What do I do? 5 I don t do traditional environmental engineering, but my research requires knowledge of it I do research to reduce air pollution (AP) levels indoors and outdoors, to protect environmental & public health I do this because

6 Air pollutants are 6 responsible for Climate change Stratospheric ozone depletion Smog and poor visibility Ecosystem acidification Degradation of materials and structures Destruction of crops.

Exposure to air pollution can cause illness & death NYC, 1953 7 Location Date Pollutants # of deaths # of illnesses Meuse Valley, BG Dec 1-5, 1930 SO 2 63 100s Donora, PA (rural) Poza Rica, Mexico

7 Exposure to air pollution can cause illness & death NYC, Location Date Pollutants # of deaths # of illnesses Meuse Valley, BG Dec 1-5, 1930 SO s Donora, PA (rural) Poza Rica, Mexico Oct 26-31, 1948 PM & SO 2 from industrial mills 20 (+1000s of animals) 7,000 Nov 24, 1950 H 2 S London, England Dec 5-9, 1952 PM & SO 2 from coal burning 4, s New York, NY Nov 24-30, 1966 PM and SO unknown Bhopal India Dec 1984 methyl isocyanate 2500 unknown

8 The air is much cleaner now, but 8 NYC & NE US violate federal standard for PM 2.5 Also, NYC & US possess limited ability to protect against biochemical threat agents

Use instruments to measure air pollutants Absorbance

9 Examples of my research 9 Develop instruments to measure pollutant levels in Teflon blank air Sample Use instruments to measure air pollutants Absorbance Wavenumber (cm -1 )

10 Examples of my research 10 Improve understanding of how PM disperses in complex indoor spaces Refine models used to predict pollutant levels & estimate effectiveness of regulations

11 What goes into my research? 11 The atmosphere behaves like a chemical reactor with complex flow Transport & dispersion Kinetics & thermodynamics Civil Eng: knowledge of pollution sources Chem Eng: Kinetics, thermodynamics and transport / dispersion of air Mech Eng: Tools to visualize PM dispersion & transport Public health: Exposure estimation and risk analysis Physics: Particle motion Chemistry: Laboratory analysis of PM samples Field work: Instrument design and operation

12 Required CE Coursework 12 Core courses: All students take the core courses: l Includes courses in math, chemistry, physics, and CE courses in structural engineering, transportation, environmental engineering and data analysis Specialization courses: Students pick 1 specialization and take additional courses in it to develop expertise l Structures l Transportation l Environment l Common aka multidisciplinary

13 Core courses Special -ization courses * Math, physics, chemistry, engineering / engineering science, and liberal arts not shown CE Structural & site plans CE Structural mechanics CE Mechanics of deform bodies CE Structural analysis CE Soil mechanics CE Dynamics of CE systems CE Reinforced concrete CE Fluid mechanics CE Hydrology & hydraulics CE Environ impact assess CE Environ engineering I CE Transport n planning CE Transport n systems eng CE CE Data analysis CE CE Decision & system analysis CE Computational methods in CE CE Review of eng fundamentals CE CE management CE Senior Design Specialization Core (choose an option and take both courses in it) Structures Transportation Environmental CE 440: FEA of structures CE 520: Traffic Engineering CE 566: Eng Hydrology CE 442: Structural Design CE 540: Highways Eng CE 583/4: Air poll /SW Mgmt Multidisciplinary (take 4 courses total from the 6 listed here) Specialization Electives (take 2 more courses from same option) Structures Transportation CE 55000: Adv reinf concrete CE 54100: Highway & Airport Environmental CE 59000: Foundation eng CE 59000: Foundation eng CE 57100: WQ analysis CE 53000: Adv d strength CE 52500: Geo des facilities Chem 26100: Org chem ME 46100: Materials science CE 52600: Rail system design CE 51003: Indep Study CE 51003: Independent study CE 54500: Urban transportation ENGR 301: Remote CE 50500: Constrct Proj mgmt Sensing CE 51003: Independent Study ENGR 59901: GIS

14 What makes CE different from ESE 14 CE: learn environmental engineering and other topics l Take 8 env classes and 9 structures + trans classes ESE: learn earth science Most important difference is in your future career l There is a difference between an environ. engineer vs an earth scientist l As a CE, you can work as an environmental engineer, a structural engineer or a transportation engineer

15 15 Active CE student clubs at CCNY Concrete Canoe Steel Bridge Engineers Without Borders (not just CE) Provide several opportunities: l Great on resume because show passion, ethics, creativity and dedication (all) l Hands-on learning (all) l Service (EWB)

able to withstand torsion l Must be streamlined CCNY

16 Students design, build, and race a canoe: l Must use a specific material in mix l Must be buoyant and able to withstand torsion l Must be streamlined CCNY has gone to Nationals several times in recent years 16

17 Students design, build, & compete scale model bridge l Must accommodate passenger vehicles and allow ships to pass under l Must use a specific design and tolerate 2,500 lb load l Must be assembled quickly CCNY has gone to Nationals several times in recent years 17

18 Students bid on, assess, design, and 18 implement a project to provide infrastructure to needy communities Typical projects: Potable water, sanitation, ventilation, energy, roadways, bridges, buildings CCNY chapter started in 2005 Completed 3 projects in Honduras & working on new one in Camaroon now

19 Example 19 Project Gravity fed water system for 350 people in a small village at the top of a mountain in Honduras Disinfection / storage tank (12 x 20 x 6 ; concrete; Chlorine drip) Spring (concrete dam & lid) Pipeline to community (0.5 PVC) 1 mile pipeline with valves (1.5 PVC/GI)

20 How to join student clubs àccny CE website à Select Info for students à Select the club you are interested in under student activities à Look up executive board & club secretary 20

21 Final thoughts Get involved in 21 student clubs and research! After you have begun taking your major classes, you should consider getting more involved! l Research in a lab on campus: Prior experience is not always necessary and you may get paid. l An engineering student club: The projects are broad and so you can contribute even if you are not an expert on a topic. It looks great on your resume, you may get paid, and it offers hands on experiences for some of your coursework!

22 Questions?

23 23

sanitation, ventilation, energy, roadways, bridges, buildings CCNY chapter

24 Students bid on, assess, design, and implement a project to provide infrastructure to needy communities Typical projects: Potable water, sanitation, ventilation, energy, roadways, bridges, buildings CCNY chapter started in 2005 Completed 3 projects in Honduras & working on new one in Camaroon now 24

25 Environmental monitoring - Surveying - Water quality - Water quantity 25

storage tank (12 x 20 x 6 ; concrete; Chlorine drip) Spring (concrete

26 Design - Needs - Constraints - Technical analysis 26 Ex. Gravity fed water system for 350 people in Honduras Disinfection / storage tank (12 x 20 x 6 ; concrete; Chlorine drip) Spring (concrete dam & lid) Pipeline to community (0.5 PVC) 1 mile pipeline with valves (1.5 PVC/GI)

27 Construction - Little infrastructure - Possibly no line power 27

Civil Engineering Courses

Civil Engineering Courses CE 1000 - Civil Engineering CE 1001 - Sustainability and Civil Engineering Practice CE 3101 - Civil Engineering Materials CE 3202 - Structural Analysis CE 3331 - Professional