Information Pages
Welcome
Overview
News
Contact Us
Directions to Campus
Baltimore-D.C. Area
O V E R V I E W
Civil engineers apply sophisticated analysis and design techniques to advance the needs of society for shelter, infrastructure, and a safe environment. Typical projects are the structural design of buildings, highways, bridges, and dams, as well as the addressing of environmental problems including questions of pollutant fate and transport, water resources engineering, drinking water and wastewater treatment, and technology, society, and environmental change. Increasingly, civil engineers are also involved in exciting new areas such as space structures, robotics, risk management, infrastructure, and biomedical engineering.
The Department of Civil Engineering offers programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels. Because the scope of expertise of the modern civil engineer must include environmental engineering, as well as a concern for social and economic issues, the undergraduate program is offered in cooperation with the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering. Graduates of Johns Hopkins University have traditionally risen to leadership roles in education, research, industry, and government.Mission
The civil engineering program educates intellectual leaders of the profession by
instilling in them a fundamental understanding of the mathematical principles of physics
and nature that underlie engineering science, a practical appreciation of the challenges
of creative engineering design, and a sense of responsibility for professional service.
Objectives
Education
The program develops a sound understanding of the scientific principles upon which
engineering research and practice are based. Different aspects of learning are integrated
through classroom, laboratory instruction, and independent study experiences. Graduates of
the program possess critical thinking skills, the ability for both independent and team
problem-solving, and a sense of the excitement of engineering creativity and design. The
program also develops communication skills necessary for its graduates to function in
teams and to deal with other professions in public and private arenas. Its liberal
education furthers student understanding of the context in which engineering is practiced
in modern society. This understanding is reinforced further by internships, cooperative
learning experiences, and a capstone design experience, all of which involve professional
engineers in undergraduate learning. Thus, the program educates leaders for tomorrow,
providing the tools and perspectives for a lifetime of learning, opportunities, and
professional advancement.
Research
Research is essential for expanding the body of engineering knowledge needed for
continuous improvement of professional practice to meet new challenges. The civil
engineering program integrates new concepts from independent research into classroom and
laboratory study. The program strives to develop an enthusiasm on the part of the student
for independent creative activities leading to new knowledge that addresses problems of
national importance. Independent research provides students with an opportunity to develop
their talents and skills for problem formulation and solution under the guidance of a
faculty mentor, synthesizing different fields of knowledge to formulate solutions to
relevant technical problems using modern engineering tools.
Professional Service
Students graduate from the program with a sense of the responsibility that the civil
engineering profession accepts for applying the principles of engineering sciences for the
betterment of the built environment and society. Its graduates have an appreciation of
professional ethics and the value of service to their profession and society through
participation in technical activities, and in community, state and national organizations.
Facilities
The teaching and research facilities of the Department of Civil
Engineering are located primarily in Latrobe Hall. The Department has a
student library, a conference room, and a lunch room. Each graduate student is
assigned individual study space and his/her own networked computer from which access to
departmental and other computational and information resources is possible.
Teaching laboratories include the fluid mechanics laboratory, the undergraduate and graduate soil mechanics laboratories, and the structural testing laboratories. The facilities of the Latrobe shop, including an electro-mechanical technician and a part-time machinist, are available for student course and research work.
Seminars
The department sponsors an ongoing seminar series, as well as the Richard
J. Carroll endowed lectureship. Both are designed to bring prominent civil
engineers to campus to speak with students and faculty.