Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
Introduce the student to the areas of professional, civil and environmental engineering practices with exposure to faculty members specializing in each area, solving typical problems in each professional area, learning of the activities of service organizations, and the responsibilities of professional practice.
Permitting, environmental impact statements and other environmental issues associated with human activities and engineering projects.
Precise measurement of lengths, angles, areas, and elevations in geodetic systems; computation of construction control, including highway alignment and land areas.
Introduction to the engineering properties of structural materials, including steel, wood, aggregate, concrete and asphalt, including experimental testing procedures and interpretation of results.
Water is one of the most abundant, yet most precious, natural resources on Earth. Processes occurring within and across many geosystems determine water’s movement and properties. This course explores how components of Earth’s water and climate systems operate and are linked through a combination of lecture and experiential field/lab activities. Fieldtrips and lab activities are designed to expose students to standard and innovative techniques used by engineers and geoscientists to understand water and climate systems, including map interpretation, glacial mass balance analysis, and dendrochronologic (tree ring measurement) analysis to obtain river flow and flood information. Fieldtrips will also help students better understand how humans modify water systems, through processes such as river regulation. Students will reside in Innsbruck (Austria) [with daytrips to King Ludwig II’s castles in Bavaria, Stubaier Glacier in Austria, and Bolzano, Italy] and Munich (Germany).
Introduction to the scientific and engineering principles needed to analyze and solve environmental engineering problems in the practice of environmental engineering related to air, water and waste water management.
Static and dynamic interaction of soil and water; theories of stress distribution, consolidation, strength and failures; stability of soil structures. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course.
An introduction to different modes of transportation with emphasis on roadway and traffic engineering. Topics include transportation economics and planning, highway geometric and pavement design, drainage, construction, traffic control devices, traffic operations, and management and highway capacity analysis.
Applying engineering economic principles to construction and engineering problems; construction management processes and methods in planning, scheduling, and monitoring engineering projects.
Students use of software to design site projects in teams, prepare construction drawings and deliver engineering reports. This class is normally taken during the last term on campus. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course. Computer proficiency is required for a passing grade in the course. A student who does not display computer upper-division student skills with Civil 3D and HEC-HMS will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in the other areas of the course.
Students use software to design projects in teams, prepare construction drawings and deliver engineering reports. Writing proficiency within this discipline and computing proficiency are required for a passing grade in this course. Computer proficiency is required for a passing grade in the course. A student who does not display computer upper-division student skills with Civil 3D and HEC-HMS will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in the other areas of the course.
Students use software to design building projects in teams, prepare construction drawings and deliver engineering reports. The course is normally taken during the last term on campus. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course. Computing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. All students will use the software program Revit to model their design project.
Students use software to design building projects in teams, prepare construction drawings and deliver engineering reports. The course is normally taken during the last term on campus. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course. Computing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. All students will use the software program Revit to model their design project. A Revit assignment and test will be given during the semester.
Students use of software to design site projects in teams, prepare construction drawings and deliver engineering reports. This class is normally taken during the last term on campus. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course. Computer proficiency is required for a passing grade in the course. A student who does not display computer upper-division student skills with Civil 3D and HEC-HMS will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in the other areas of the course.
Students use software to design building projects in teams, prepare construction drawings and deliver engineering reports. The course is normally taken during the last term on campus. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. A student who does not write with the skill normally required of an upper-division student will not earn a passing grade, no matter how well the student performs in other areas of the course. Computing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course. All students will use the software program Revit to model their design project.
An overview of management information systems (MIS). The course will focus on the practical aspects, applications and methodology or MIS, particularly from the construction engineer's perspective. Information design methodology and building information modeling (BIM) will be covered in detail.
The course will provide basic examination of processing and analyses of large-scale transportation-related data. The course will prepare the students with programming skills in Python, the understanding of important algorithms and machine learning methods in transportation research and projects, and applying these algorithms and models using transportation data.
This is an engineering management course designed to introduce students to the functions of project engineering and managers. It details the processes of planning and controlling project scope time and cost.
An introduction to management principles and the management functions of planning, organizing, motivating and controlling. Management of engineers in research, design, manufacturing/construction and quality will be studied.
Environmental Engineering phenomena are explored through conducting laboratory experiments, selecting analytical protocols to achieve an objective, evaluating collected data sets, and discussing the results in well written reports. The course is composed of classroom lectures/discussions and weekly laboratory activities.
Engineering and regulatory requirements for the collection, storage, recycling, treatment and disposal of solid wastes.
Physical, chemical and biological principles and design of municipal water and wastewater treatment units.
This is an introductory course in Air Quality Engineering. We have to major foci. The first is to understand and evaluate our air resources and air quality (as related to human and environmental health) in terms of fundamental principels and design processes. The second is to introduce the student to a varity of air pollution issues and engineered treatment processes.
This course covers the state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice methods of non-destructively evaluating and testing various civil engineering structures and materials such as concrete, asphalt, and steel. Students will use the techniques to solve real-world problems by evaluating and testing various structures across campus.
Introduction to the matrix-displacement method of analysis for framed structures, including computer implementation of analysis. An introduction to finite-element analysis is also included.
Concrete materials, placement of concrete and theory and design of reinforced beams, girders, slabs, columns and footings.
Theory and design of structural steel members and their connections.
Modern timber engineering: design of beams, columns, trusses and floor systems.
Design of reinforced concrete building components including two-way slabs, slender columns, prestressed beams, slap-on-grade and retaining walls.
Basic and elementary design procedures for steel structures such as plate girders, mill buildings, multistory buildings, highway bridges and light-gauge steel structures.
Design of wood and masonry components and subassemblies for low-rise residential and commercial buildings according to current design specifications.
Application of the principles of geometric design and traffic signal layout: vertical and horizontal alignment, intersections, traffic control, and traffic signal layout. Design projects will be prepared to illustrate standard techniques.
The course will provide a foundation in urban transportation planning, including an introduction to the planning process, software associated with transportation modeling and conducting transportation planning and traffic impact studies.
Vehicle operating characteristics, traffic flow, geometric design of road and intersections, and methods of traffic control.
This course covers two major areas of asphalt and concrete pavements: pavement thickness design and pavement maintenance. Topics include pavement design by the Asphalt Institute and AASHTO methods. Major maintenance will cover overlay design and slab repair, while routine maintenance will cover distress surveys, pothole repair, and crack and joint sealing.
Addresses the estimating and cost control function from conceptual planning through project execution. Topics include productivity analysis, organization of estimates, cost forecasting, estimating tools and techniques, contingency planning, and relationship to contract types and project execution strategies.
An introduction to safety management and accident prevention, including state and federal laws related to general and construction projects. Topics include accident theories, safety regulations, Construction Safety act, hazards and their control, human behavior and safety and safety management.
An introduction to sustainable and lean construction, including application of engineering economics principles to sustainable construction problems. Green design, construction, and operations from a project management standpoint. Theoretical concepts and industry practices used to model, evaluate, and enhance construction performance through the design and implementation of effective project schedules, construction operations, and contracting relationships.
Financial management of construction projects. Topics include alternative selection, life-cycle analysis, applied financial management techniques, insurance/indemnification, risk management and tax implications.
The management structure of construction companies and the laws, regulations, practices, tools and processes used in planning, scheduling and monitoring construction projects. Writing proficiency within this discipline is required for a passing grade in this course.
The course focuses on statistical hydrology, climate, dendrohydrology (tree rings) and glaciers. The classroom lectures and in-class labs include the use of statistical software to analyze hydrologic datasets, the use of remote imagery to evaluate glacier recession, application of empirical equations to estimate glacier mass loss, evaluation of hydrologic (streamflow, snowpack) and climatic datasets, developing skeleton plots and cross dating tree-ring data, and seminars. The field labs consist of hand coring and analyzing tree ring data.
Basic concepts of fluid flow, energy and momentum principles, flow resistance in nonuniform sections, channel controls and transitions, and nonuniform flow computations.
Hydrologic cycle, rainfall-runoff relations, unit hydrograph, statistical hydrology and hydrologic simulation. Includes a class project with application to flood control, water supply and multipurpose projects.
This course develops a quantitative approach to understanding and prediction of hydrologic processes. The processes covered include interception, snowmelt, evapotranspiration, infiltration, groundwater flow, overland flow, and streamflow. Relative (dis-)advantages of different model representations will be highlighted. Process couplings and their impact on the integrated hydrologic response will be also discussed.
When failures in the built environment occur, whether during design, construction or in-service, a thorough examination of the causes is essential to both the evolution sound engineering practices and to dispute resolution through the legal system. The role of the engineer in this process is examined.
Legal aspects of engineering and construction contracts and specifications; contract formation, interpretation, rights and duties, and changes; legal liabilities and professional ethics of architects, engineers and contractors. Writing proficiency within this discipline is required for a passing grade in this course. This is a three hour survey course covering, primarily, the organization of the federal and state courts, construction contracting, potential tort liability and professionalism for engineers in Alabama.
Nature and magnitude of erosion problems. Erosion plan development. Rainfall energy and erosion predictions. Sediment transport in urban areas. Channel and slope stability. Sedimentation and other controls.
Introduction to geographic information system design and use for civil engineering problem solving.
Credit is based on the amount of work undertaken. This course is presents developing topics in the Civil Engineering disciplines including: transportation systems, processes and model; site development; architectural & building systems; advances in civil engineering materials and structural design; environmental analysis, modeling, or processes; hydrologist processes, models and water resources advances; next generation construction engineering; sustainability and resilient infrastructure systems.
Independent study, either as individual students or a group of five students or less working under the guidance and mentorship of an instructor. The independent study will typically focus on: (1) a specific issue, problem, application, design or process in a traditional field of civil engineering OR (2) a specific development, advancement, issue, problem, or challenge in a new or developing specialty area in the fields of civil engineering.
Conduct research under the guidance of a faculty member. Analyze data. Produce and present, submit or publish related scholarly work.