What is Civil Engineering?

Civil Engineering is the Engineering sector responsible for the design of structures and infrastructure.

The story is very old and Civil Engineering ranges from first real major civil works, such as the Pyramids of Egypt, dating back to 2700-2500 BC, up to the Great Wall of China by General Meng Tian. The Romans built the civil works throughout the Empire, especially aqueducts, insulae, harbors, bridges, dams and cities they connected to each other through an extensive network of Roman roads.

In the Eighteenth century, the term civil engineering began to be used to indicate the construction of ports, jetties, breakwaters, lighthouses, in order to distinguish it from the Army Corps of Engineers.

The first self-proclaim Civil Engineer was John Smeaton, builder of the Eddystone lighthouse.

The Civil Engineer, for example, intending to build an aqueduct, raises the question of where and how to draw water from a site, to be able to carry up to the city or part of a building, to assess the strengths that the foundations of a building exchange with the ground and check the balance as a result of a statistical analysis on the probability of occurrence of certain weather events (telluric phenomena, rain, snow, etc.).

Ultimately, Civil Engineer job culminates with the design of large works such as dams, airports, skyscrapers, bridges, roads.

Published by
Nicola Lovecchio