Civil Engineering

CIVIL ENGINEERING

Throughout history, civil engineers have designed and built facilities that have advanced civilization and provided for a higher standard of living. From developing better water supplies, municipal sewer systems, wastewater treatment plants to the design of buildings to protect citizens from natural hazards and provide health care, to improved agriculture through water resource development and distribution projects to rapid and dramatic changes in transportation systems, civil engineers have developed the basic infrastructure on which modern society depends. Civil engineers were the first and continue to be dedicated to technology development for the common good.

From the pyramids of Egypt to the exploration of space, civil engineers have always faced challenges of the future - advancing civilization and building quality in to life. Today the world is undergoing vast changes - the technological revolution, population growth, environmental concerns, and more. All create unique challenges for civil engineers, and now is the best time to find out if civil engineering is the right career.

Civil Engineering is for people who desire to see the nation grow and enhance the quality of social life. As a civil engineer, you will help development of industry, transportation systems and infrastructure that are the milestones of our economy. Civil Engineering is about community service, development, and improvement. It includes planning, design, construction, and operation of facilities essential to modern life. As a civil engineer one will be called upon to play a major role in developing water, oil, gas, mineral and other natural resources and address energy needs and urban community planning.

The prevailing boom in the infrastructure and construction sectors has brought the limelight back into civil engineering, with the demand for civil engineers growing exponentially. With the Indian Government's renewed thrust in the construction sector permitting 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment, the need for quality civil engineers will shoot up. This sector is witnessing heightened activity as a result of which there has been a substantial increase in the number of projects. Thus there is a surge in demand for quality civil engineers.

About the department
The department of civil engineering was started in the year 1979 with a sanctioned intake of sixty students. Over the year it has grown into a full-fledged department offering undergraduate course in civil engineering with the revised sanctioned intake being ninety students. It has so far trained more than 2000 civil engineers who are serving the nation with distinction in public and private organizations in India, in addition to a few who have gone abroad. In 2004, a Post Graduation Course in Structural Engineering was started with a sanctioned intake of 18 students.

TECHNIQUES IMPLIMENTED TO ENHANCE THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS
The civil engineering students' association in consultation with the faculty arrange for technical field visits and educational tours in conformity with the curriculum. Faculty and students have access to EDUSAT, a distant learning programme - an initiative of the VTU, Belgaum. The faculty can access and browse textbooks and journals through DELNET and J-GATE, an open source for information promoted by the UGC and Ministry of Education, New Delhi for which the college is a subscriber. The faculty and students have unlimited and free access to INTERNET through the college Internet browsing centre. Following techniques implemented inside the classroom have contributed to enhancement of the quality of delivery of lectures:
a)Top-down structuring of the procedure involved in a topic and presenting the same in the form of a flowchart..
b) 2D and 3D animation to illustrate concepts, behaviour and application.
c) Interactive session with/without hi-tech gadgets of 15 minutes duration in every lecture hour to assess the depth of penetration of subject matter taught and ignite further interest in the topic.

Research topics being pursued in Civil Engineering
The thrust areas of research identified by the department are waste management, hydrological modelling, concrete technology, alternate building materials, stability of soils in open wells, masonry structures, finite element analysis of laminated composite shells, and optimisation of civil engineering processes and studies on Ecology and Environment Protection. The department has identified the following thrust areas for investigation and research keeping in tune with the current trends and societal needs.

· Waste Management,

· Hydrological Modelling,

· Concrete Technology,

· Alternate Building Materials,

· Stability of Soils in Open Wells,

· Masonry Structures,

· Finite Element Analysis of Laminated Composite Shells,

· Optimisation of Civil Engineering Processes,

· Studies on Ecology and Environment Protection.

The department has the following well-equipped laboratories/workshop:

1. Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory (100 sq. m)
2. Basic Material Testing Laboratory (180 sq. m)
3. Survey Stores (66 sq. m)
4. Geology Laboratory (50 sq. m)
5. Computer Aided Design Laboratory (79 sq. m)
6. Concrete and Highway Material Testing Laboratory
7. Structures Laboratory (180 sq. m)
8. Environmental Engineering Laboratory (90 sq. m)
9. Hydraulics and Hydraulic Machinery Laboratory
The department library has over 400 books and copies of student project reports. One book is being issued to a student for a period of fifteen days at present. It is planned to have journals, compact disks containing academic and other relevant technical information for being used by staff and students. A computer is placed in the library to enable the students and staff to study the material on CDs. Internet connection is also provided. The department has a seminar hall with a seating capacity of sixty. It has an overhead projector, computer and LCD projector. Students and invited speakers, use the facility for delivering seminar lecturers/talks. It is also being used for engaging elective and tutorial classes. The CAD laboratory is equipped with state-of-art computers and the necessary software for undergraduate teaching. The computers are networked. Students have unlimited access to the laboratory and for browsing the net.
A departmental computer centre with sufficient number of computer systems and Internet connections exist. Students of final year make use of this facility for their project works. The students and faculty have unlimited access to this centre.

INDUSTRY INTERACTION
The department invites eminent persons from industry to deliver technical talks on emerging areas for the benefit of our students and staff. The department has signed MOUs with leading organizations in respect of material testing and research. The department has included eminent persons from academics and industry in the academic advisory council to shore up academic transfer of knowledge as well as consultancy.

CONSULTING
The department of Civil Engineering is actively involved in consultancy works pertaining to Material Testing, Infrastructure Management, Pavement Evaluation, and Traffic Management, Water Quality Analysis and Environmental Impact Assessment studies.
On going consulting projects include:
1. Traffic Count Stations for NH-4, NH-207 and NH-48