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Assessing Civil Engineering Students' Knowledge and Perception towards Sustainable Infrastructure Development at an HBCU

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Conference

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Publication Date

June 22, 2025

Start Date

June 22, 2025

End Date

August 15, 2025

Conference Session

Sustainability & Civil Engineering

Tagged Division

Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

16

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/55468

Paper Authors

biography

Julius Ogaga Etuke Morgan State University

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Julius Etuke is a COREN-registered civil engineer and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), with over 15 years of experience in structural design, construction, and consultancy. He has led major infrastructure projects across Nigeria and holds a BSc in Civil Engineering and an MSc in Civil Engineering (Construction Management). Julius is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Engineering at Morgan State University, where he serves as a graduate research assistant, focusing on sustainable transportation design. He has served as a STEM research judge, including at the University of Bridgeport, and previously lectured at Delta State University, Abraka, where he taught core civil engineering courses and held key departmental roles. His academic contributions include peer-reviewed publications on infrastructure resilience and engineering education, reflecting his strong commitment to sustainability, research, and capacity building in civil engineering.

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Adeolu Victor Banjo Morgan State University

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Banjo Adeolu Victor is a doctoral student and research assistant in the Department of Civil Engineering at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland. With Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Architecture and years of professional practice in the architecture and construction industry, he combines academic teaching experience with industry expertise. His research explores the integration of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to advance sustainable infrastructure engineering. Passionate about innovation and education, he has participated in several conferences and workshops, contributing to immersive learning, sustainable construction, and infrastructure resilience initiatives.

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biography

Micheal Oketunde Okegbola Morgan State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-2817-4737

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Surv. Micheal Okegbola was a faculty member with the Department of Surveying and Geoinformatics,
Federal School of Surveying, Oyo, Oyo State, Nigeria and an Adjunct with the Surveying and
Geoinformatics department, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Oyo State, Nigeria where he teaches
undergraduate and graduate courses. Surv. Micheal is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Sustainable and
Resilient Infrastructure Engineering at the Department of Civil Engineering, Morgan State University.
He is also a graduate research assistant at the Sustainable Infrastructure Development, Smart Innovation
and Resilient Engineering Research Laboratory also at the Civil Engineering Department. His research
interests include UAV applications in high-rise and bridge infrastructures monitoring, Remote Sensing
and GIS in engineering applications, engineering education, student success and hands-on engineering
pedagogy for program enhancements.

He is an alumnus of University of Nigeria (UNN), having earned his M.Sc. in Surveying and Geoinformatics
(Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System). He previously completed a B.Sc. in Surveying and
Geoinformatics, at the Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria. Micheal is a Registered/Licensed Surveyor of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the professional body, Surveyors Council of Nigeria (SURCON), which is
vested with the power by the Law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to register professional Surveyors.

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biography

Pelumi Olaitan Abiodun Morgan State University Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-4969-9591

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Pelumi Abiodun is a current doctoral student and research assistant at the department of Civil Engineering, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland. Pelumi got his BSc and MSc degree in Physics from Obafemi Awolowo University, where he also served as a research assistant at the Environmental Pollution Research unit, in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. As part of his contribution to science and engineering, Pelumi has taught as a teaching assistant both at Morgan State University and Obafemi Awolowo University. With passion to communicate research findings and gleaned from experts in the field as he advances his career, Olaitan has attended several in-persons and virtual conferences and workshop, and at some of them, made presentation on findings on air pollution, waste water reuse, and heavy metal contamination.

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biography

Oludare Adegbola Owolabi P.E. Morgan State University

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Dr. Oludare Owolabi, a professional engineer in Maryland, joined the Morgan State University faculty
in 2010. He is the director of the sustainable infrastructure development, smart innovation and resilient
engineering lab and the director of undergraduate programs in the department of civil engineering at Morgan
State University.

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Abstract

In advancing sustainable development to achieve long-term environmental and societal goals, civil engineers play a critical role. To address future sustainability challenges, Civil Engineering education must be designed to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills. This study aims to evaluate the understanding and perceptions of civil engineering students toward sustainable infrastructure development at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Additionally, it seeks to determine how much the institution has integrated sustainability principles into its curriculum and faculty initiatives, using the sustainability consciousness theory as a guiding framework. A mixed-method approach will be employed in this study. Quantitative data will be collected from students through a sustainability awareness questionnaire, which will assess: (1) students' knowledge of sustainable infrastructure principles; (2) their perceived understanding of the importance of environmental, social, and economic sustainability; and (3) their awareness of sustainable infrastructure practices within the industry. Additionally, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with faculty members to gather qualitative data. The data will be analyzed using SPSS to identify trends and validate the findings. The results of the study will inform curriculum development and enhance teaching strategies to ensure that students acquire the necessary skills to implement sustainable practices.

Etuke, J. O., & Banjo, A. V., & Okegbola, M. O., & Abiodun, P. O., & Owolabi, O. A. (2025, June), Assessing Civil Engineering Students' Knowledge and Perception towards Sustainable Infrastructure Development at an HBCU Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/55468

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