Mar 28, 2024  
2020/2021 University Catalog 
    
2020/2021 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Civil Engineering


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OFFICE: Engineering 424
TELEPHONE: 619-594-6071
E-MAIL: ccee@sdsu.edu
WEBSITE: http://ccee.sdsu.edu

The undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET, http://www.abet.org.

Undergraduate Information

Faculty

Emeritus: Banks, Buyuksonmez, Chang, Chou, Gurol, Hayhurst, Johnson, Krishnamoorthy, McGhie, Noorany, Ponce, Sharabi, Westermo
Chair: Supernak
The AGC Paul S. Roel Chair in Construction Engineering and Management: Alves
The William E. Leonhard, Jr. Chair in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering: Mladenov
Professors: Bayasi, Garoma Ararsso, Supernak, Valdes
Associate Professors: Alves, Dowell, Kinoshita, Mitropoulos, Mladenov
Assistant Professors: Akhavian, Dykstra, Ghanipoor Machiani, Jahangiri, Miletic, Tavakol-Davani, Verbyla

The Associated General Contractors (AGC) Paul S. Roel Chair in Construction Engineering and Management

The AGC Paul S. Roel Chair in Construction Engineering and Management is funded with an endowment established by generous gifts from members of the Associated General Contractors in San Diego Chapter. Recognizing the need for expert construction professionals, the local construction community has invested considerable resources in this new degree program. In particular, the endowment is funded by a significant gift from Roel Construction, in honor of Paul S. Roel, the son of the company’s founder and the man responsible for moving the family business to San Diego in 1959.

The William E. Leonhard, Jr. Chair in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering

The William E. Leonhard, Jr. Chair in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering is funded with an endowment created by generous gifts from William G. Leonhard, Jr. and his parents, William E. and Wyllis M. Leonhard. After Bill Leonhard graduated from San Diego State in 1964, he entered a career in the Air Force, rising to the rank of colonel. In January 1990, he retired from the Air Force, spent the next several years in private industry, and retired again in 1998.

The current chair, Dr. Natalie Mladenov, promotes excellence in undergraduate education, research in environmental engineering, and conducts scholarly activities on the topic of water quality in environmental engineering.

Mission of the Department

The mission of the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering is to ensure student success by providing a high-quality education through focused instruction, research, and continuing professional development for the benefit of the engineering profession, the environment, and society.

The objective of the program is to give the student a basic knowledge of civil, construction, and environmental engineering, as well as the interdisciplinary background and skills to meaningfully participate in and contribute technical advances toward this profession. The program integrates technical aspects with studies in the social sciences and humanities to ensure appropriate sensitivity to socially related problems.

Instruction is given both at the undergraduate level, leading to the bachelor’s degree, and at the graduate level, leading to the master’s or doctoral degrees. The undergraduate program builds upon concepts of mathematics, physics, chemistry and basic engineering with specialized study in civil, construction, and environmental engineering. Engineering design is emphasized, particularly in conjunction with computer utilization and practical engineering problems. Aspects of safety and engineering ethics are woven throughout the program. Breadth and depth of social science and humanities studies is assured by department approved courses. Completion of the under-graduate degree prepares the student for an entry-level professional position in addition to informal or formal graduate studies.

Many students who complete the undergraduate programs of the department choose to continue their formal studies on a full- or part-time basis at San Diego State University or at another institution. (See the Graduate Bulletin for additional information.)

The civil, construction, and environmental engineering programs are enhanced through cooperation with the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Public Works Association, the Associated General Contractors, the Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society, and other national organizations who sponsor student chapters to further aid the student’s professional development. The chapters at San Diego State University have won many awards in regional and national competition with other schools throughout the country.

Program Educational Objectives

Graduates of the civil engineering program will (1) be successful engineers in their respective fields of work; be continually progressing in their chosen careers through formal and informal professional development; and (3) be contributing to their profession for the betterment of society and the environment.

Transfer Credit

No credit will be given for upper division engineering coursework taken at an institution having an engineering program which has not been accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET, unless the student successfully completes the first 12 units of engineering work attempted at this university. At that time, and upon recommendation of the department, unaccredited work will be evaluated for full or partial credit.

The Major

Civil engineering is the application of engineering principles to the improvement of the human environment. The civil engineering major prepares students to design and supervise the construction of buildings, dams, roads, harbors, airports, tunnels, and bridges. It also provides training in the planning and construction of the complex systems that supply clean water to cities, remove sewage, control floods, and perform other functions which ensure continued health and safety.

Civil engineers are needed in both the private and public sectors. They are employed in the aerospace industry, usually as structural engineers; design and construction of roads, buildings, bridges, airports, dams and other structures; research and teaching at colleges and universities (with an advanced degree); public utilities and transportation; manufacturing; and offshore drilling, environmental pollution, and energy self-sufficiency. New job opportunities in civil engineering will result from growing demands in housing, industrial buildings, power generating plants, and transportation systems.

Retention Policy

The engineering program expects all majors will make reasonable academic progress toward the degree. Engineering premajors who have either (1) completed major preparatory courses, earned 60 units, but have less than a 2.7 cumulative GPA or (2) earned 60 units but have not completed major preparatory courses and/or have less than a 2.7 cumulative GPA may be removed from the premajor and placed in undeclared.

Impacted Program

The civil engineering major is an impacted program. To be admitted to the civil engineering major, students must meet the following criteria:

  1. Complete with a grade of C (2.0) or better: CIV E 225 ; CHEM 202  (or CHEM 200  ); MATH 150 , MATH 151 ; PHYS 195 , PHYS 196 . These courses cannot be taken for credit/no credit (Cr/NC);
  2. Have an overall cumulative GPA of 2.7.

To complete the major, students must fulfill the degree requirements for the major described in the catalog in effect at the time they are accepted into the premajor at SDSU (assuming continuous enrollment).

Major Academic Plans (MAPs)

Visit http://www.sdsu.edu/mymap for the recommended courses needed to fulfill your major requirements. The MAPs website was created to help students navigate the course requirements for their majors and to identify which General Education course will also fulfill a major preparation course requirement.


Graduate Information

Faculty

Janusz C. Supernak, Ph.D., Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, Chair of Department
M. Ziad Bayasi, Ph.D., P.E., Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Temesgen Garoma Ararsso, Ph.D., P.E., Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, The Blasker Chair in Environmental Engineering, Interim Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, College of Engineering
Julio R. Valdes, Ph.D., Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering [Senate Distinguished Professor]
Thais da Costa Alves, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, Director of Construction Engineering Management
Robert K. Dowell, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering (Graduate Adviser)
Alicia M. Kinoshita, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Panagiotis Mitropoulos, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, Director of Construction Engineering
Natalie Mladenov, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, The William E. Leonhard, Jr. Chair in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Reza Akhavian, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Christine Dykstra, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Sahar Ghanipoor Machiani, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Arash Jahangiri, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Marta Miletic, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Hassan Tavakol-Davani, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering
Matthew E. Verbyla, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering

The Associated General Contractors (AGC) Paul S. Roel Chair in Construction Engineering and Management

The AGC Paul S. Roel Chair in Construction Engineering and Management is funded with an endowment established by generous gifts from members of the Associated General Contractors in San Diego Chapter. Recognizing the need for expert construction professionals, the local construction community has invested considerable resources in this new degree program. In particular, the endowment is funded by a significant gift from Roel Construction, in honor of Paul S. Roel, the son of the company’s founder and the man responsible for moving the family business to San Diego in 1959. The current appointee to the chair, Dr. Thais da Costa Alves, has been teaching and advising students, researching, and collaborating with construction companies toward the dissemination and implementation of lean, especially in the field of production planning and control at construction sites.

The Blasker Chair in Environmental Engineering

The Blasker Chair in Environmental Engineering was established by an endowment from the Blasker-Rose-Miah Endowment Fund of the San Diego Foundation. The fund was created in honor of Mr. Samuel Blasker who left $8.0 million to the San Diego Foundation. Mr. Blasker was a successful aeronautical engineer and a business man with a vision to nurture and develop unique and innovative discoveries and experiences which may be of benefit to humanity.

The current appointee to the Chair, Dr. Temesgen Garoma Ararsso, is an accomplished scholar with teaching and research emphasis on renewable energy, resource recovery, and water and wastewater treatment.

The William E. Leonhard, Jr. Chair in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering

The William E. Leonhard, Jr. Chair in Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering is funded with an endowment created by generous gifts from William G. Leonhard, Jr. and his parents, William E. and Wyllis M. Leonhard. After Bill Leonhard graduated from San Diego State in 1964, he entered a career in the Air Force, rising to the rank of colonel. In January 1990, he retired from the Air Force, spent the next several years in private industry, and retired again in 1998.

The current chair, Dr. Natalie Mladenov, promotes excellence in undergraduate education, research in environmental engineering, and conducts scholarly activities on the topic of water quality in environmental engineering.

Programs

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