Knowledge expectations of civil engineers at a large consulting engineering firm extend beyond their technical specialties to include such areas as business, law, ethics, marketing, government policy, and information technology. Meeting these professional development expectations requires an ongoing commitment by the engineers themselves, the universities, and the consulting firm. Civil engineers must recognize two facts about their educational needs: There are limits to university curricula, and every engineer must commit to lifelong learning. The role of universities is to concentrate on core curricula while selectively broadening course content. There is no practical way for universities to provide curricula that are broad enough to meet the varied demands of a consulting engineering practice. Only continuing education can adequately supplement engineering degree programs. Practitioners can expand their involvement by assisting in existing courses and teaching additional courses. Consulting firms can help engineers broaden their knowledge and skills through on‐the‐job training, self education, and professional development programs. Responsibility for professional growth within the civil engineering community requires continuous improvement of university curricula and the perpetuation of lifelong learning.

We are in an age of continuous innovation, and engineering, like all professions, is constantly changing. Engineers need to keep abreast of these changes and expand their knowledge to maintain their professional status, both in the eyes of the public and their colleagues. Also, the Code of Ethics of most, if not all, professional/technical organizations require that the individual continue their professional development throughout their careers. Many believe that the lack of mandatory continuing professional development is the essential element that keeps engineering from being viewed as a true profession. In addition, there is a national trend toward requiring continuing professional development for maintenance of licensure. The National Society of Professional Engineers reports that 14 states have laws in place requiring continuing education of engineers or are considering enactment. Mandatory continuing education for relicensing of engineers is upon us, are we prepared to accept this requirement?

This paper presents results of a survey of civil engineering systems analysis courses and a review of the four most commonly used textbooks. The numerical techniques of systems analysis appear to be appropriate for certain types of problems. These may be called “technological” as opposed to “economic” problems. The size of a problem appropriate to systems analysis methods must not be too large, although this limiting size is not precisely determinate. An Austrian assessment of the economic foundations of systems analysis shows that the typical content of systems analysis courses and their prerequisites are deficient. Descriptions of fundamental economic concepts are confused. Suggestions are offered to complete these most important ideas for the students and to complement the content of the typical systems analysis course work.

A brief overview of Japan's building design and construction industry is provided, and the technologies commonly used by it are outlined. The influence on the construction industry exerted by the largest and most influential design and construction firms in Japan is described. The striking technological capabilities of these “comprehensive constructors” are outlined, including their building design and construction methods, and research and development efforts. Specific examples of design, construction, manufacture, and maintenance technologies are described in detail. The relationship between the Japanese construction industry's overall organization and the technological methods it develops and employs is discussed. Relationships between corporate organization and technological strategies are also outlined. The use of technology in the Japanese and American construction industries is compared in terms of industry organization, corporate structure, design and construction techniques, and research methods. The competitiveness of U.S. industry relative to Japan in the global marketplace is briefly discussed.

The sources of research funding for U.S. academic institutions are examined through the past two decades. Of particular interest has been the flow of funding to engineering schools. Since the end of World War II most of the funding to our engineering schools has come from federal government sources. It is argued that the research projects carried out with federal funding support are much more science oriented than the research (and development) projects that are supported by industry funds. This science orientation in engineering research has greatly influenced the way engineering faculties view undergraduate education. Because of this science influence, entry‐level engineers in the U.S. enter the work force with little background in professional and related business subjects. It is postulated that this lack of professional training for our entry‐level engineers has significantly contributed to the nation's long‐term decline in the global competitiveness of U.S. technology‐based industries.

The Cooperative Extension (CEX) program has long been known for effective agricultural programming that brought science and technology to grass‐roots users within the food production community. However, it recently has embarked on a series of new initiatives that are likely to propel the CEX into domains far beyond its traditional role. These initiatives include management of natural resources, water quality, and waste management, all of which are traditional domains of environmental engineering. This paper discusses the Extension National Waste Management Initiative, with particular emphasis on the foreseen impacts of this program on rural communities. The Extension National Waste Management Initiative is necessitated by changes in minimum standards for solid‐waste‐disposal facilities that led to widespread reexamination of local waste‐management practices including those of rural communities. As a result, numerous landfills, especially those serving small rural communities, are expected to close. Another reason for the Extension National Waste Management Initiative is that disposal rules combined with normal public opposition to the siting of new disposal facilities are causing many rural communities to investigate alternatives to landfills, including recycling, composting, and burning waste for energy.

According to some philosophers, ethics may be divided into four primary theories—rights ethics, duty ethics, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics. In addition, four secondary theories—ethical egoism, corporate egoism, ethical relativism, and divine‐command ethics—may also be considered. This paper reviews the foregoing ethical theories and presents guidelines that may be followed to promote ethics and professionalism in the workplace. In addition, it presents the results of a survey of engineering students concerning ethics and professionalism and compares the findings with a previous study involving engineering practitioners. The results show that students with minimum work experience tend to rate, the frequency and seriousness of ethical issues lower than students with work experience, members of the Consulting Engineers Council, and faculty. Among the exceptions—alcohol and drug abuse, and failure to protect the environment—are listed in the frequency category. Three issues—technical incompetence or misrepresentation of competence; failure to protect public health, safety, or welfare; and poor quality control or quality of work—are considered serious by students with experience, faculty, and practitioners.

Current consulting practice in structural engineering relies heavily on the use of computer programs. In this paper, the writers present their views on the general use of structural analysis programs and the modeling of real structures by consultants for design purposes. Specific items are identified and addressed as they relate to user considerations and features of commercially marketed computer programs. Included in the discussion is a reiteration of how crucial it is for the analyst to verify the computer output results before incorporating them into the design. Basic checks for static and dynamic analyses are suggested. Throughout the paper, comments are made on the educational aspects of the basic engineering training that undergraduate students require in preparation for their work environment. More emphasis should be placed on teaching the principles on which computer programs are based, rather than how to get them to run. One of the objectives of this paper is to generate further discussions on some of the points raised, including the institution of “certification” requirements for computer programs.

As many researchers in engineering research organizations do not engage extensively in engineering practice, in the sense of routine involvement in design and operation activities, they may become out of touch with the needs of engineering practitioners and, thereby of research clients. To remain in touch and keep research relevant, it is important that researchers listen to what their research clients and sponsors say about their engineering and research needs. Technological progress, after all, is a two‐way process between research and practice. Whereas researchers may provide special expertise and facilities for solving difficult engineering problems and for advancing engineering methodologies, research clients often provide critical insights and special knowledge and identify new research areas that, in turn, enable researchers to apply their expertise and facilities effectively and to sustain their research vitality. Experiences and perspectives of a university‐based research institute, an institute of hydraulic research, are used herein to illustrate the importance of listening to the research client. The institute, a long established self‐funding unit of a state engineering college, has maintained its vitality, in part, by nurturing close contacts with diverse engineering‐practitioner clients.

The writer shares his observations on common sense in engineering citing examples of an engineer who used reed mats for concrete forms; a senior building engineer who ventured advice outside his field and advocated partition wall thinner than the side walls; springs closed by standing a vertical pipe around them (a retired chief engineer of West Bengal occasionally also used a grout pump); a Central Water Irrigation Navigation Commission director accustomed to Punjab weirs who suggested founding a weir in Kakrapara on sand instead of on trap rock but when more fully informed magnanimously retracted; two levelers who wrangled over the second place of a decimal yet blundered by a foot in reading; and lest the river may not divert, an engineer who time and again insisted on removal of an island (but the current eroded the island and the river diverted). Additionally, the necessity of checking is highlighted by three discrepancies in design of a water‐supply scheme (high overhead tanks, excessive capacity of underground reservoirs, and narrow spacing between tube wells) and an instance of foreigners employed after independence who became disillusioned (an American making impractical suggestions for lifting road‐bridge monoliths and spilling water over concrete tiles across an earth dam had to quit).

The major elements of the study described are: (1) A brief historical background of the transcontinental‐railroad construction era; (2) a summary of arguments which appeared during debates over these railroads; (3) a comparison of two railroads that had opposite financial policies; (4) an assessment of the efficacy of the subsidy policies; and (5) an attempt to relate the experience of the transcontinental‐railroad case to the more general issue of governmental intervention in so‐called engineering projects. A variety of sources including historians, economists, philosophers, political scientists, and popular “literature” is cited. Many of these authors have expressed unfavorable opinions concerning the extent of subsidized railroad construction in the last half of the 19th century and the magnitude of government subsidies involved. A better understanding of long‐term effects of short‐term policy is urged. One justification for the present study is to bring this variety of materials to the attention of engineering students who may become planners or leaders of large‐scale projects during their careers.