On the 150th anniversary of the founding of the American Society of Civil Engineers it is important to review the growth of the profession and the country it serves. This paper introduces the major projects and people who changed the practice of civil engineering from almost an art form in the 1850s to the science that it is today. In the opinion of the writer, those included are the ones that had the greatest impact on the country. Others favoring other projects and people should prepare similar papers for the society.

Recently, employers have indicated that they are not totally satisfied with the individualistic approach of the average engineering graduate. This may be due to the fact that, today, in many companies, team goals, team contributions, and team rewards often supersede individual actions. In fact, some authorities believe that the development of critical thinking, collaborative learning, communication, and leadership skills is vital for engineering programs, as well as for students. The findings of this study suggest that students have accepted the concept of collaborative teaching and learning. As an example, the evaluation of student-teaching presentations was found to be above average with scores greater than “B” for all categories. In addition, comments indicate that a course utilizing the concepts of collaborative learning and teamwork was interesting and informative and could be of assistance to respondents in future endeavors. Studies also indicate that undergraduates prefer classroom discussion and problem solving, group interaction, teamwork, and the opportunity for student input rather than formal lectures. Also, the results suggest students perceive that they have mastered communication skills in their civil engineering classwork. For comparative purposes, the findings of this investigation can be utilized by other institutions and departments that may wish to study their curriculum.

This study was conducted on current practicing construction industry employees who were volunteer students in the Mechanical Contractors Association of America's Institute for Project Management's Managing for Profit two-week intensive project management course. The goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Institute for Project Management course and to determine the usefulness and value of an actual ongoing construction continuing education course for practicing construction industry employees. Since there are no published papers on construction continuing education, hopefully, this paper will serve to initiate more studies. Administrators of the Institute for Project Management course extrapolated data on the students' opinion of this construction continuing education program. The results indicated that the students were satisfied with the course and would attend an advanced project management course, if one were offered.

Community service projects are key components of successful ASCE student chapters or clubs. Community service projects allow chapter members to serve the community, develop leadership skills, interact with professional civil engineers, and hone their own engineering skills on real-world projects. This paper presents a proven plan for student chapters and clubs to develop and run successful community service projects.

In this paper, I use the case of the defective rear cargo door on the DC-10 aircraft and specifically the actions of the chief engineer at Convair to illustrate the sometimes frustrating problem of deciding just what skills are most useful to engineers if they are to best serve the public need. I suggest that although colleges of engineering are required by society (and accrediting agencies) to prepare engineers to solve technical problems using applied natural sciences such as physics and chemistry, they also should require engineering students to obtain a background in social sciences such as economics, political science, management, and ethics. I argue that engineering should therefore be thought of as not only an “applied natural science,” but also an “applied social science.”

Consultant architects and engineers (AE) are usually selected based on their skills. Additionally, the selection of consultants may also be based on a series of attributes known as the “network factor.” Attributes of the network factor include the reputations of AE and past, ongoing, and future relationships with clients, contractors, and other consultants. The purpose of this study is to identify network attributes that are relevant to AE selection. Data from parties who select and hire AE (i.e., project owners and design/build contractors) as well as data from AE themselves were collated from standard questionnaires posted to respondents. The results of the study reveal that the reputations of AE are the most important network attribute in determining AE selection. To increase the chances of AE being engaged as design consultants, it is important to have a reputation of being trustworthy, professional, and honest. In addition, design/build contractors tend to select AE who have harmonious relationships with them, with the project owner, and with other consultants in the project team. Finally, the study also concludes that it is advantageous for AE to adopt agreeable personalities in professional contexts in order to establish harmonious relationships with clients, contractors and other consultants, thus increasing the demand for their professional services.