Teamwork is an essential part of engineering practice. The Geo-Challenge is a teambuilding competition for civil engineering students, and both teambuilding and competition are useful for preparing students for engineering practice. while university education focuses on technical skills taught in the classroom environment, very little emphasis is placed on teamwork, even though the need to foster teamwork skills within the future engineering work force is recognized. Extramural student competitions can supplement classroom teaching and are effective in providing these essential skills. This paper describes three Geo-Challenge competitions and their effectiveness in building student teamwork. The background and competition details are provided. Competing students were given postcompetition surveys, and a statistical review of the results shows the goals of the Geo-Challenge were met. Those goals, along with other lessons learned, are discussed.

This paper presents the results of a study that incorporates computer simulations in teaching linear scheduling concepts and techniques, in a civil engineering course, “Construction Planning and Scheduling.” The effect of the use of computer simulations in the course shows that the students who were taught with simulation gained a better understanding of linear scheduling concepts and techniques than those students taught without simulation. The data and analysis leading to this finding are presented and discussed in this paper. Two groups of students were considered in this research: (1) civil engineering students from the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering at the University of Florida and (2) civil engineering students from the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Chile. Each group was randomly separated into two subgroups: one subgroup was taught by using the traditional method of linear scheduling (without the use of computer simulation) and the other subgroup was taught by using simulations. At the end of the teaching period, the students in both subgroups answered an objective test-type questionnaire specifically designed to address their understanding of linear scheduling techniques. They were also required, in a more subjective way, to provide their evaluation of the teaching method involved. To assess the effect of incorporating computer simulation in teaching linear scheduling, the students’ evaluations and answers to the questionnaire were statistically compared. The analysis of the responses showed significant differences between the students’ understanding of the subject by using the two teaching methods, with the use of computer simulation shown to be a more effective teaching tool for linear scheduling techniques.

Engineering syllabi often lack courses covering occupational risk prevention. In Spain, professional competences are awarded along with the completion of a university degree. This means that new graduates are certified in areas in which they have received little or no training, such as occupational risk prevention. However, the academic reforms established by the Bologna Process, which strives to homogenize university degrees throughout Europe, compels European universities to design new syllabi. The main goal of this paper is to define a framework for including occupational risk-prevention education in the new engineering syllabi. This exploratory research applied the Delphi methodology to a panel of 59 experts, using questionnaires assessed with a four-point Likert scale through two rounds. A website supported the information flow. According to the experts who participated in this study, education and training in occupational risk-prevention is essential for improving the safety culture within a company or workplace. The experts concurred that this subject should be a separate mandatory course in all engineering degree programs. The participants recommended that an optional course should be considered only if a mandatory course is not approved. It was also deemed desirable to integrate occupational risk prevention as a cross-field subject in other technological courses, even if the curriculum already includes some related courses.

This paper explores the ethical issues related to publication, authorship, and mentoring with the goal of better defining coauthorship standards and encouraging research ethics discussion and education within the academic civil engineering research community. Graduate students, junior and tenured faculty, technicians, administrators, and field practitioners in the civil engineering research community need to address the evolving ethical issues in multiple-authored and mentor-supervised publications. By using a five-step interrelated research methodology, the authors examine the current factors affecting the academic research environment and describe some of the unspoken but ethically questionable practices in the academic community. Most tangible rewards are on the basis of a faculty member’s or researcher’s publication record, and the increasing pressure to produce publications earlier and more often in the academic’s career exacerbate the problem of a lack of clarity in ethical standards for multiauthored publications. The timing and frequency standards associated with publications for tenure, promotion, and continuing research funding opportunities result in academics’ maximization of the number of research efforts taken to publication, with the number of authors per scientific publication steadily increasing. Further, as the number of authors has increased, the level of contribution of each coauthor to the research project and publication decreases. Data show that it is impossible to detect or assume equal-effort contributions by coauthors or their knowledge-base about the project design, findings, or implications. This paper proposes a threefold ethical framework for evaluating and analyzing the ethical norms for authorship status. It is the hoped that this thought-paper stirs the waters of this important issue to maintain the solidarity and integrity of engineering research activities and publications.

The roles of construction project managers have evolved throughout the years. Current-day construction managers are faced with several challenges that require the acquisition of competencies in administration and management. Most employers in the construction industry seek professionals with a sound background in managerial skills. Nevertheless, most university curricula in architecture and civil engineering concentrate on conventional construction programs, leaving little room for appropriate courses in management. Accordingly, this paper proposes a tool for analyzing and comparing graduate programs related to management and administration in the construction sector. To achieve this, the study takes into consideration (1) a holistic model intended to map managerial competencies in construction, and (2) specific required subjects, revealed through market demands. This investigation compares the model versus university syllabuses, and subsequently proposes a benchmark indicator that measures the deviation of each program from the overall average. This study takes a significant step forward in determining whether the main topics reviewed cover specifications stated by the model and market demands for the professional construction manager. Further research is recommended to enhance the proposed methodology and seek the best way to cover current needs of professionals and employers in the construction industry.

Universities are under continual pressure to reduce the expense associated with the laboratory education of undergraduate engineering students. Many alternatives to traditional laboratory instruction have been tested to improve educational benefits and to reduce academic input. This paper describes the benefits of laboratory classes run in an interactive competitive framework to enhance the teaching of structural engineering and construction materials. A creative framework that defines limits and quantifies performance encourages student engagement and allows reasonable control without stifling creativity. Two examples are presented in this paper: a wood bridge competition as part of an introductory structural engineering design course and a concrete technology competition within a structural concrete course. The educational benefits of this broad-based approach are compared with other laboratory methods. Course surveys suggest that students view this method of laboratory education positively when it is well integrated within an engineering degree course.

Revitalizing Achievement by using Instrumentation in Science Education (RAISE) was a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project in which undergraduate and graduate engineering students (fellows) assisted high school science teachers with sensor-based experiments as lab exercises to expand on concepts taught in the classroom. By using sensors and computerized data acquisition, the RAISE project sought to enhance students’ academic achievement; excite them about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); and inspire them to pursue STEM careers. Fellows assisted the teachers in presenting the lab experiments and helped students to understand the lab assignments. Despite difficulties in establishing appropriate baseline grades and comparison groups, analysis of available test scores of students involved in the RAISE versus non-RAISE classes indicates that (1) a slightly larger percentage of RAISE project students took standardized exams; (2) a larger percentage of RAISE project students passed the exams; and (3) the average grade attained by RAISE project students is slightly higher. Moreover, responses of high school students and their teachers to project evaluation questionnaires suggest that the RAISE project had some positive effects. The high school teachers were generally supportive of the project, found the fellows helpful in a variety of ways, and rated the sensor-based lab exercises as effective. The majority of teachers recommend participation in the project to other teachers. Fellows also recommend the project to other university students. They generally found the project a rewarding experience that helped them in developing their own science skills and most would be interested in continuing the experience.

This study investigated the influence of a construction management educational intervention on the expertise and work practice of nonconstruction engineers affiliated with a premiere U.S. engineering procurement and contractor (EPC) firm. In this experimental study, nonconstruction engineers with a supervisory role in the delivery of capital projects were instructed in three fundamental construction management subjects, i.e. front-end planning, contracts and project execution, and project completion and team dynamics. These subjects were independently instructed in a traditional classroom-style setting. To capture the sustained impact of the educational intervention, a self-assessment survey tool was designed and distributed to the instructed engineers 4 months after the intervention. The educational intervention resulted in a significant gain in construction expertise among the engineers. The intervention also induced positive changes in the work practice of the instructed engineers and of their organization, such as the development of solid intercommunication skills across engineering disciplines. Overall, the results of this study indicate a significant opportunity for transferring construction management principles and techniques to the engineers in the U.S. construction workforce.

As technologies evolve, academia must follow suit to best use these technological strides to advance structures for better reliability and overall safety. One such advancement is subsumed under the title “smart structures,” which use smart materials possessing unique qualities to collectively generate an adaptive structural system. Although the smart structure concept is widely used in the mechanical and aerospace engineering industries, the civil engineering community has been slow to adopt it because of system complexity and high cost. In addition, many universities still do not include smart structures in their curricula, which has hindered their broad implementation into modern structures. This paper presents a specialized course on smart structures designed to further the use of smart technologies in engineering education and ultimately the real-world. Included in the background is a look at institutions that already provide classes on the subject and a description of how one school (i.e., Texas A&M University) organized the class, including lab demonstrations, homework, projects, and lecture outline, as well as student evaluations of the class.

The civil engineering capstone senior design course at Purdue University involves all seniors in their last semester before graduation and is titled “Civil Engineering Design Project.” The course catalog describes it as “Planning, design, and analysis of a civil project; an integrated and realistic group project involving as much as possible all major aspects of the civil engineering profession.” This high-enrollment course (30–120 students per semester) has been team taught since the early 1960s and many approaches to teaching it have been utilized. Since 2001, the version of the course discussed in this paper has been taught in the spring semester with the student teams responding to a request for proposals (RFP) for local projects following the design-build method of project delivery. The proposals are submitted in two phases: (1) conceptual designs and alternatives analyses; and (2) design-build project proposal with approximately 30% complete design, total construction cost, and scheduling. The design-build proposal is the culminating activity in the course. Both phases have oral presentation components. Students are assigned to teams on the basis of factors that include overall grade point average, grades in key courses, work experience, computer software skills, and Meyers-Briggs typology. Peer evaluations, time sheets, and invoices for services are required. Since 2007, projects have had to meet LEED requirements specified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Continual development of the Purdue University civil engineering capstone course is anticipated to serve as a case study for other civil engineering programs looking to develop or revise their senior design course.