Introduction to

Civil Engineering
INS 1011

Dr. Onur SAHIN

Fall 2023
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Dr. Onur SAHIN
Division: Transportation

Office: B Block – Room # 2-037

Office phone: 0 212 383 5187

Webpage: https://avesis.yildiz.edu.tr/sahino

e-mail address : sahino@yildiz.edu.tr

Highway Engineering

Intelligent Transportation

Railway Engineering

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Course Objectives
This course aims at giving an overall introduction to civil engineering for the
first year students.

Through the course it is intended that the participants will gain

• Analytical thinking,
• Creative,
• Enterprising,
• Innovative and
• Team working capabilities.

The course includes lectures given by professionals from industry.

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Course Content
• History of civil engineering,
• Introducing civil engineering and qualification,
• Science, technology and engineering,
• Civil engineering education,
• Working areas of civil engineers,
• Technical Areas of Civil Engineering,
• Entrepreneurship,
• Innovation,
• Engineering responsibility,
• Engineering ethics,
• Importance of ethics in civil engineering.
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Course Learning Outcomes
• Knowledge about the role of civil engineering in daily life.

• Ability to make oral and written presentations.

• Knowledge about civil engineering education.

• Students shall gain knowledge of recent developments and topics such as

innovation and entrepreneurship.

• Students shall gain knowledge of fundamentals of ethics and role of

ethics in civil engineering.
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Weekly Subjects
Week Subjects
1 History of civil engineering, Introducing civil engineering
2 Working areas and education of civil engineers
Technical Areas of Civil Engineering,
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Introduction of Mechanics Engineering
4 Introduction of Structural Engineering and Transportation Engineering
5 Introduction of Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Management
6 Introduction of Construction Materials Engineering and Hydraulics Engineering
Entrepreneurship – Fundamental Concepts (What is entrepreneurship, Features of an
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entrepreneur, productivity in entrepreneurship)
Innovation - Fundamental Concepts
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(What is innovation, innovation in engineering)
9 Midterm Exam (Subject to change)
Fundamental Concepts in Engineering Ethics (Ethics and underlying theories,
10 Engineering ethics and context, Principles of engineering ethics, Effect of ethics in
decision making)
11 Student presentations
12 Student presentations
13 Student presentations
14 Student presentations

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Evaluation System

In-Term Studies
Final
Midterm Exam Presentation

30 % 30 % 40 %

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Engineers
Engineers are problem solvers.

They have a good grasp of fundamental physical and chemical laws and
mathematics and apply these laws and principles to design, develop, test, and
supervise the manufacture of millions of products and services.

Engineers, regardless of their background, follow certain steps when

designing the products and services we use in our everyday lives.

Successful engineers possess good communication skills and are team

players.

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Engineers
Ethics plays a very important role in engineering. As eloquently stated by the
National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) code of ethics,

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Engineering Work Is All Around You
Engineers make products and provide services that make our lives better.

To see how engineers contribute to the comfort and the betterment of our
everyday lives, let’s look around us more carefully.

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Engineers Deal with an Increasing World
Population and Sustainability Concerns
We as people, regardless of where we live, need the following things:

• Air,
• Food,
• Water,
• Shelter,
• Clothing,
• Sleep.

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Engineers Deal with an Increasing World
Population and Sustainability Concerns
According to the latest estimates and projections of the U.S. Census
Bureau, the world population will reach 9.3 billion people by the year
2050.

Not only will the number of people inhabiting the earth continue to rise but
the age structure of the world population will also change.

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Engineers Deal with an Increasing World
Population and Sustainability Concerns
How is this information relevant?

The world’s current economic development is not sustainable—the world

population already uses approximately 20% more of the world’s resources
than the planet can sustain. (United Nations Millenium Ecosystem Assessment
Synthesis Report, 2005.)

As a candidate engineer, you need to realize that what you do in a few years
after your graduation is very important to all of us.

You will design products and provide services especially suited to the needs
and demands of an increasing elderly population as well as increased numbers
of people of all ages.

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What Do Engineers Do?
Engineers apply physical and chemical laws and principles and mathematics
to design millions of products and services that we use in our everyday lives.

Engineers consider important factors such as cost, efficiency, reliability,

sustainability, and safety when designing these products.

Engineers perform tests to make certain that the products they design
withstand various loads and conditions.

They are continuously searching for ways to improve already existing

products as well.

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Engineering Disciplines
There are more than 20 engineering disciplines recognized by the professional
societies.

However, the most engineering degrees are granted in civil, electrical, and
mechanical engineering. enacademic.com
wallpaperflare.com

Civil Engineering: Civil engineering

is perhaps the oldest engineering
discipline. As the name implies, civil
engineering is concerned with
providing public infrastructure and
services. Civil engineers design and
supervise the construction of
buildings, roads and highways,
bridges, dams, tunnels, mass transit
systems, and airports. civ.utoronto.ca
bing.com 15
Other Engineering Disciplines
• Aerospace Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Computer Hardware Engineering
• Agricultural Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Environmental Engineering
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Petroleum Engineering
• Nuclear Engineering
• Mining Engineering
• Materials Engineering 16
History of Civil Engineering
It is difficult to determine the history of emergence and beginning of civil
engineering, however, that the history of civil engineering is a mirror of the
history of human beings on this earth.

Man used the old shelter caves to protect themselves of weather and harsh
environment, and used a tree trunk to cross the river, which being the
demonstration of ancient age civil engineering.

visitvictoria.com m.fonwall.ru

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History of Civil Engineering
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

considered the first instances of large structure constructions.

mytravel.ua

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History of Civil Engineering
Around 2550 BC, Imhotep, the first documented engineer, built a famous
stepped pyramid for King Djoser located at Saqqara Necropolis.

With simple tools and mathematics he created a monument that stands to this
day.

His greatest contribution to engineering was his discovery of the art of

building with shaped stones.

Those who followed him carried engineering to remarkable heights using skill
and imagination.

thecivilengg.com 19
History of Civil Engineering
Machu Picchu, Peru, built at around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire is
considered an engineering marvel.

It was built in the Andes Mountains assisted by some of history’s most

ingenious water resource engineers.

The people of Machu Picchu built a mountain top city with running water,
drainage systems, food production and stone structures so advanced that they
endured for over 500 years.

thecivilengg.com
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Educational & Institutional History 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 engineering school, The National

School of Bridges and Highways, France,
was opened in 1747.

The first self-proclaimed civil engineer

was John Smeaton who constructed the
Eddystone Lighthouse.

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Educational & Institutional History of
Civil Engineering
In 1771, Smeaton and some of his colleagues formed the Smeatonian Society
of Civil Engineers, a group of leaders of the profession who met informally
over dinner.

Though there was evidence of some technical meetings, it was little more than
a social society.

In 1818, world’s first engineering society, the Institution of Civil Engineers

was founded in London, and in 1820 the eminent engineer Thomas Telford
became its first president.

The institution received a Royal Charter in 1828, formally recognizing civil

engineering as a profession.

Its charter defined civil engineering as: “Civil engineering is the application
of physical and scientific principles, and its history is intricately linked to
advances in understanding of physics and mathematics throughout history.”22
Educational & Institutional History of
Civil Engineering
The first private college to teach Civil Engineering in the United States was
Norwich University founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge.

norwich.edu

The first degree in Civil Engineering in the United States was awarded by
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1835.

The first such degree to be awarded to a woman was granted by Cornell

University to Nora Stanton Blatch in 1905.

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The Roles of Civil And Military Engineer
in Ancient Times
As stated before, civil engineering is considered to be the first main discipline
of engineering, and the engineers were in fact military engineers with
expertise in military and civil works.

During the era of battles or operations, the engineers were engaged to assist
the soldiers fighting in the battlefield by making catapults, towers, and other
instruments used for fighting the enemy.

However, during peace time, they were concerned mainly with the civil
activities such as building fortifications for defense, making bridges, canals,
etc.

brighthubengineering.com
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Modern Concepts In Civil Engineering
Numerous technologies have assisted in the advancement of civil engineering
in the modern world, including high-tech machinery, selection of materials,
test equipment, and other sciences.

However, the most prominent contributor in this field is considered to be

computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacture (CAM).

pss.spb.ru
cadsay.com

Civil engineers use this technology to achieve an efficient system of

construction, including manufacture, fabrication, and erection.

Three-dimensional design software is an essential tool for the civil engineer

that facilitates him in the efficient designing of bridges, tall buildings, and
other huge complicated structures.
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What does a Civil Engineer do today?
A civil engineer designs and oversees the construction of public works, such
as roads, bridges, dams, tunnels, buildings, airports, water and sewage
systems, and other large infrastructure projects.

In the broadest of terms, What is a civil engineer? A civil engineer is someone

who applies scientific knowledge to improve infrastructure and common
utilities that meet basic human needs.
careerexplorer.com/careers/civil-engineer/

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Daily Tasks of a Civil Engineer
Civil engineers are often responsible for large teams that are involved in
project design, planning, and construction processes.

This requires that civil engineers regularly meet, collaborate with, and
manage these team members, composed of surveyors, construction managers,
architects, landscape architects, and urban planners.

In addition, they themselves will spend significant amounts of time designing

and planning projects and presenting proposals, needs assessments, budgets,
and amendments to clients.

The specific activities of a civil engineer change from subfield to subfield and
the career is composed of a wide spectrum of sub-disciplines.

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Sub-disciplines of Civil Engineering
• Architectural Engineering
• Construction Engineering
• Earthquake Engineering
• Ecological Engineering
• Environmental Engineering
• Fire Protection Engineering
• Geotechnical Engineering
• Highway Engineering
• Hydraulic Engineering
• Railway Engineering
• Traffic Engineering
• Transportation Engineering
• Water Resource Engineering

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