Topic 5 Observing Community

Earlier this semester I attended a meeting/informational session covering Civil and Environmental Engineering.  The session covered the basics of what each of these programs essentially are at Michigan State University.  The two presenters were professors that teach within the College of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  The beginning of the presentation was all specifics about which classes are needed to gain entrance into the College of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  Not many people know what Civil Engineers actually do so this meeting would be a nice intro to what Civil Engineers do within their profession.

The main points that were covered were specifics about what someone with a degree in Civil Engineering can do.  Before going into Civil Engineering specifically the presenter covered a bunch of things that engineers in general do. These included planning, design, testing, construction and other things engineers in general are tasked with doing.  From there the presentation went to specific to what Civil Engineers do.  These sub categories were: structural, geotechnical, highway, transportation planning, pavements, water resources, and environmental.  Because most people aren't fully aware of what Civil Engineers actually do this would be an eye opener for most people breaking many of their own misconceptions about what Civil Engineering.

Finally the presentation ended with students talking about a few of the students speaking about different academic organizations and groups that are associated with Civil Engineering at Michigan State University.  The first was the MSU Steel Bridge team.  This prepares for a completion where the team goes and must design and build a steel bridge which is then judged and awarded the appropriate place.  The next was the Concrete Canoe team which spends the year designing and creating a full sized canoe that is built only using concrete.  The third and final group was the American Society of Civil Engineers.  This group is a specific organization for Civil Engineers that has meetings where outside companies come and present to the group and sometimes look for employees from the organization.  Overall the experience of the meeting was very friendly and made me excited about my next four years and beyond as a Civil Engineer.

By: Quinn Foster