The Development Of Civil Engineering

In the 18th century, the term civil engineering was coined  to incorporate  all things civilian as opposed to military engineering. The first  best know   civil engineer was John Smeaton who  created   the Eddystone Lighthouse. In 1771 Smeaton and some of his colleagues  formed the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers, a group of leaders of the  industry   who met informally over dinner . Though there was evidence of some technical meetings, it was little more than a social society.

Engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginnings of  man . The earliest practices of Civil engineering jobs may have  started between 4000 and 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (Ancient Iraq) when early man  started to abandon a nomadic existence, thus causing a need for the construction of shelter. During this time, transportation became increasingly important leading to the development of the wheel and sailing.

Until modern times there was no clear distinction between civil engineering and architecture, and the term engineer and architect were mainly geographical variations referring to the same person, often used interchangeably. The construction  of Pyramids in Egypt (circa 2700-2500 BC) might be concluded as   the first instances of large structure constructions.

Ancient historic civil engineering jobs include the Parthenon by Iktinos in Ancient Greece (447-438 BC), the Appian Way by Roman engineers (c. 312 BC), the Great Wall of China by General Meng T'ien under orders from Ch'in Emperor Shih Huang Ti.

Throughout ancient and medieval history most architectural design and construction was carried out by artisans, such as stone masons and carpenters, rising to the role of master builder. Knowledge was retained in guilds and seldom supplanted by advances. Structures, roads and infrastructure that existed were repetitive, and increases in scale were incremental.

One of the earliest examples of a scientific approach to physical and mathematical problems applicable to civil engineering is the work of Archimedes in the 3rd century BC, including Archimedes Principle, which underpins our understanding of buoyancy, and practical solutions such as Archimedes' screw. Brahmagupta, an Indian mathematician, used arithmetic in the 7th century AD, based on Hindu-Arabic numerals, for excavation (volume) computations.

In 1818 the Institution of Civil Engineers was founded  in London, and in 1820 the  well known   engineer Thomas Telford became its first president. The institution received a Royal Charter in 1828, formally recognising civil engineering as a  industry . Its charter defined civil engineering as: the art of directing the great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of man, as the means of production and of traffic in states, both for external and internal trade, as applied in the construction of roads, bridges, aqueducts, canals, river navigation and docks for internal intercourse and exchange, and in the construction of ports, harbours, moles, breakwaters and lighthouses, and in the art of navigation by artificial power for the purposes of commerce, and in the construction and application of machinery, and in the drainage of cities and towns

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The many faces of the civil engineer

The many faces of the civil engineer

Of all the different engineering disciplines, civil engineering is the oldest and most public-facing. Civil engineers are responsible for the construction and upkeep of buildings and physical infrastructure, and are involved in all stages of the process, from planning and design through to maintenance and management. Roads, bridges, buildings, sewers – the work of civil engineers makes them all possible, and has done since the birth of civilisation.
Building engineers are perhaps the most common civil engineers, and are involved in the entire life cycle of a building, from planning through to renovation. There are a large number of civil engineering jobs in this field, allowing a building engineer to specialise in design, construction, health and safety, maintenance and many other areas.

While it could be said that construction engineering falls under the umbrella of building engineering, it’s actually a sub-division of civil engineering in its own right. Civil engineering jobs are available during every stage of any construction project, from planning through to testing and evaluation.

On top of the design, construction and maintenance of buildings, civil engineers are also responsible for other societal infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, airports and sewerage systems. Every human settlement on the planet has been developed through the endeavours of civil engineers. They are the foundation of civilisation, and without them, our towns and cities would not be what they are today.

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