Conference Session

Sustainable and Urban Development

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sharon deMonsabert, George Mason University; Laura Miller, George Mason University

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

Department. Ms. Miller is a PE and a LEED AP. Page 14.660.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2009 Greening the CapstoneAbstractThe Senior Design Project course at George Mason University provides a capstone designexperience that integrates the fundamental knowledge employed by a contemporary civilengineering design team in areas such as land use planning, transportation design, water andsewerage management, grading and storm water design, site analyses and layout, and economic,environmental and regulatory restrictions. In response to the growing need for civil engineerswith a solid foundation in

Conference Session

Sustainable and Urban Development

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Clara Fang, University of Hartford

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

AC 2009-1643: COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICE PROJECT LEARNING IN CIVILENGINEERING COURSESClara Fang, University of Hartford Page 14.342.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2009 Community-based Service Project Learning into Civil Engineering CoursesAbstractThis paper describes and analyzes the experience of implementing community-based serviceproject learning into civil engineering undergraduate courses at the University of Hartford, andconsiders the evidence of the impact of such learning on students and community organizations.The paper begins by discussing how such a learning module has been developed and analyzesthe

Conference Session

Innovation in the Civil Engineering Classroom

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew Roberts, University of Wisconsin, Platteville

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

you think such activities will play in your professional engineering life?In addition to developing historical perspective, the project presents students with an op-portunity to practice their written and oral communication skills. The peer assessment isparticularly important, because it provides the students with feedback on how to improvetheir writing and also identifies strengths they already possess. Significantly, it is hopedthat assessing others’ writing forces the students to contemplate the attributes of excellentwriting and leads to improvements in their own writing.Assessment of the Project EffectivenessIn order to assess the impact of the project, graduating students in the capstone designcourse were surveyed and asked to name

Conference Session

Educational Issues in Civil Engineering

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wei Zheng, Jackson State University; HuiRu Shih, Jackson State University; Yi-Lung Mo, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

AC 2009-1195: THE INTEGRATION OF COGNITIVE INSTRUCTIONS ANDPROBLEM/PROJECT-BASED LEARNING INTO THE CIVIL ENGINEERINGCURRICULUM TO CULTIVATE CREATIVITY AND SELF-DIRECTEDLEARNING SKILLSWei Zheng, Jackson State University Dr. Wei Zheng is an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at Jackson State University. He received his Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001 and has over10-year industrial experience. Since becoming a faculty member at JSU in 2005, he has made continuous efforts to integrate emerging technologies and cognitive skill development into civil engineering curriculum. He currently is the Principle Investigator for Nanotechnology Undergraduate

Conference Session

Professional Issues in Civil Engineering Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Hart, United States Military Academy; Joseph Hanus, United States Military Academy; Adam Chalmers, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

course to generate sufficient intellectual excitementto overcome senioritis and be the bridge between baccalaureate education and the ‘real world’.In the authors’ opinion the capstone course is not the culmination of the undergraduateexperience; it is the first pre-licensure experience. Through this process the authors hope that thestudents will reach the sublime state of Civil Engineering Enlightenment-- that ‘Ah-hah’ momentwhen an individual stops thinking and acting like a student and starts thinking and acting like apracticing engineer.Background The ‘perfect capstone project’ is the Holy Grail for many engineering programs.Educators continually seek it and seldom find it, but, when we do, it provides a phenomenalexperience for both

Conference Session

Professional Issues in Civil Engineering Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen Chou, Minnesota State University, Mankato; Deborah Nykanen, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

wall panels. In the following Page 14.292.6week, they visited the construction site where these products were being erected. Prior to thefield trips, the first author was able to provide a brief presentation on the design of the buildingand the unique features that the students should observe during the site observation.During one of the senior capstone design projects, the first author directed the students to anarchitect-designer in her firm to discuss issues such as the American Disability Act, clearance forhallways, classroom sizes, etc. that needed to be followed in the academic building beingdesigned by the student structural group for

Conference Session

Integrating Computer-based Technology in the Civil Engineering Classroom

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chad Caldwell, United States Military Academy; Joseph Hanus, United States Military Academy; Adam Chalmers, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

engineering, hydrology, hydraulicengineering, construction management, site planning, and engineering economics in an open-ended, realistic, semester-long capstone design experience. Working in small groups acting as acivil engineering consultant team to an architecture firm, students follow a nine phase EngineerDesign Process, commonly used in the US Army Corps of Engineers, to develop the functionalrequirements for a proposed project site and develop several feasible courses of action that theycan then quantifiably evaluate against measurable criteria. The teams consist of a ProjectManager, Structural Engineer, Geotechnical Engineer, Hydrologic Engineer, and a ConstructionManager. The students have to conduct in-depth problem solving and

Conference Session

Professional Issues in Civil Engineering Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

E James Nelson, Brigham Young University; Gus Williams, Brigham Young University; Paul Richards, Brigham Young University; Grant Schultz, Brigham Young University; Travis Wight, Brigham Young University; Jeff Armstrong, Armstrong Forensic

Tagged Divisions

Civil Engineering

haveconsequences that the civil engineering profession may not have fully considered and addressed.One of the main topics raised in the comments is the potential impact that the additionaleducation requirement will have on the projected shortage of engineers. These commentspresent the thought that this change may exacerbate the issue by making a Civil Engineeringdegree less attractive to students. These comments also suggest that the proposed change couldlower the average salary of a Civil Engineering graduate, rather than raise it.The comments from academic leaders who responded to the survey include the followingthoughts related to recruiting and training future engineers (items in brackets were added): “In my capstone design class of >90