Penn State University

Internet Resource Guide

Civil Engineering

Alexander M Edgar

2/11/2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Front Matter

What is in the Guide

This guide contains resources and information related to civil engineering at Penn State University. Civil engineering is an extremely broad topic and area of work. Due to this, the guide narrows its scope to focus on how students can maneuver their way around the program and find an appropriate area of study. The CE program at Penn State can be broken up into six focuses; Structural, Environmental, Land Development, Water Resources, Transportation, and Geotechnical. This information in the guide will review basic concepts of civil engineering and explain new ideas to aspiring learners.

There are a number of resources that can be utilized at Penn State, including a learning center and the Pattee and Paterno Library, which has several journals related to the civil engineering field. Along with professional journals, joining a national society should be one of the first tasks a young student at Penn State should do. Another key topic the IRG discusses is how to use the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications and the Statistical Abstract of the United States. These two reference tools can be extremely useful to succeed in not only the courses here at Penn State, but also in a professional setting.

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Who this Guide is For

The guide is intended for civil engineering students at Penn State University, anywhere from incoming freshman to graduating seniors. It primarily can be used as an aid for choosing courses and setting one’s schedule to graduate on time, or take a semester abroad. It will also benefit the graduating CE’s who are either applying to secondary school, or ready to take the next step towards becoming a professional engineer. Not only will this guide help students progress in their academic schedule, it will give them valuable assets to perform better research in the classroom. Penn State has a number of resources that students do not benefit from, and can be learned in the following sections of the IRG. The guide can also be used by administrators and professors, who want to gain experience on a student’s prospective of the course curriculum.

What this Guide Assumes

This guide will assist the reader with many challenges a college student will face. However, just reading the guide alone will do nothing to set oneself apart from another student. The guide is merely steps that the reader can take and begin a solid foundation for scheduling, studying, and post-collegian success. The guide also assumes that the reader has basic knowledge of what civil engineering is, and how it is implemented in society. Penn State students will understand the IRG much better than another college student because of the course names, and six focus curriculum. The guide also assumes a basic knowledge of using the internet, and how to maneuver around a website. However, there will be easy steps to follow with the specific links to the webpages in each appropriate section. If there are any problems, reference the “tips” at the end of the abstract or the FAQ on the website.

Organization of this Guide

The guide is organized chronologically from broad to narrow with four main sections. It begins with a “Penn State Civil Engineering Information” section which explains some basic information on the college, and how a first year student can use the University’s resources. Next, there will be a section on “Student Academic Help”, and how to prepare a student for exams, papers, and communication courses. There are plenty of databases that Penn State supplies that will assist with every major no matter the academic year. This is great lead into the last topic of the IRG that will focus on research information journals for upperclassman, and young professional engineers. Following the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications and the Statistical Abstract of the United States, the guide will address an index that can be used for both students and professionals in today’s society. Within each section, there will be a title, a

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webpage hyperlink of where to find the appropriate homepage, and an abstract. There will also be a “Tips” section, which will hopefully answer any additional questions the user has.

Tips for Using this Guide

To truly understand the information in the guide, one must have a basic understanding of Civil Engineering, and some experience in the profession. The best way to learn is through experience, so if the user can take information contained in this IRG and apply it to real world situations, such as an internship or co-op, they will develop their skills much quicker. The first and second section are most useful to a first year student at Penn State as it gives insight to how to stay on track. Penn State Learning is a great source for all students, but it really assists young freshman trying to understand how take exams and write college-level papers. Another tip the guide continually addresses is talking to one’s advisor to help pick a specialty early on. The six focuses specify the major because civil engineering is extremely broad, and can be used in many different fields. However, if the schedule for a specific focus is not done correctly, there will be no way of graduating on time. For additional advice, every abstract will have a few tips that address the specific webpage and how to find more information.

Penn State CE Information

This section provides two websites that every aspiring Penn State civil engineer has been too. The first site is the homepage for Civil Engineering, which gives information on both the undergraduate and graduate programs. The second website is the student chapter of American Society of Civil Engineers at Penn State. Getting involved in extra curriculum actives is not only a resume builder, but gives you real world experience with your major, and team bonding.

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Penn State Civil Engineering Department Homepage

Website

Location and Availability

Homepage: http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/

Undergraduate Page: http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/undergraduate.html

Graduate Page: http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/graduate.html

Description

The homepage for Penn State Civil Engineers is extremely easy to use, and has information for both undergraduate, graduate, and visitors of the university. Undergraduate students can find information from applications, advising, and student organizations. It is a very good resource to use and to find professors who can point a student in the right direction. There is also an updated slide show of current events going on in the college, with news of upcoming programs.

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There is a section called “Explore Civil and Environmental Engineering”, where five of the six subcategories of CE are discussed. For an aspiring student, this is a good way to get acclimated and to get an idea of the disciplines within the major. Once a civil engineering student steps on campus, there is a small window of opportunity to finish their 132 credits on time. It is essential to figure out what focus the student will enter, so finding upperclassman or professors to discuss ones future is a great idea. On the left hand side of the homepage, there is a list of categories the user should look into. Two in particular are “Job Placement” and “Research Areas”. The end goal to everyone’s graduation is to find a job or to continue onto secondary school. For this reason, even as a freshman, the student should contact professors and companies about research opportunities as well as internships and co-ops.

Tips

•Before entering the college of engineering, the student should look through every tab of the “undergraduate students” section. The information may be repetitive, but it is essential to graduating on time, keeping up with current events, and gaining information on scholarships

Penn State American Society of Civil Engineers

Website

Location and Availability

Homepage: http://www.pennstateasce.com/

Description

Joining a national society in college is a great idea for a number of reasons. The first of which is a resume boost, in which every company will most likely be associated with. A second is the amount of knowledge a student will learn while they perform team oriented tasks. The American Society of Civil Engineers is exactly this, as they have implemented three specific programs for their students. Steel Bridge, Concrete Canoe, and Bridge to Prosperity are three separate parts of ASCE that all will create real world experiences in design, construction, and team building. There is a competition once a year where teams from the East Atlantic region gather and perform tests against each other on both a steel bridge and concrete canoe. Penn State has recently started a Bridge to Prosperity Chapter, in which 10 to 20 students are helping to design, implement, and

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construct a bridge in Panama. These three groups will undoubtedly give students the real world experience every company is looking for.

The ASCE homepage is a simple website that shows how to become a member of the society and its sub-teams. Twice a year, ASCE puts on a career fair for all civil engineering students that is extremely successful and fully student run. Not only can a student become a lifelong member of a renowned society, but there are endless opportunities to become a better engineer when joining the Penn State chapter.

Tips

•Check out the bottom of the homepage for information on upcoming events, including the spring mixer and career fair.

•The ASCE Office is located in 104 Sackett Building, in which the organization’s leaders have an open door policy.

Penn State Civil Engineering Handbook

Website

Location and Availability

Homepage: http://www.engr.psu.edu/ce/Academics/UG_Handbk_201112.pdf

Description

One of the most, if not the most important document a Civil Engineering student must know is the CE Handbook. It is very helpful to go see an advisor, which can be found on one’s elion website, but looking up your course schedule on the handbook is just as useful. The handbook is really easy to use, because every course schedule is located one after another with appropriate headlines. The first two years of the civil engineering program is the same for all members, as most students enter their major the first semester of junior year.

By this time, the student should have an idea of what discipline they will enter, and can decide on their schedule. For instance, a structure major within CE needs to take CE 340 (Structural

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analysis) their first semester of junior year. If they don’t, they will be off schedule and will not be able to graduate on time. Therefore, it is highly recommended to take a schedule of courses pamphlet, and meet with your advisor each semester of college to stay on track.

Tips

Do not stray away from the handbook in the first few semesters of college. Taking all the required general education classes like Math 140 and Physics 211 is extremely important to stay in any engineering field.

Student Academic Help

Civil Engineering students as well as all other students at Penn State make an incredible stride into college. Due to its enormous size and peer competitiveness, it is very easy for a freshman student to be intimidated. The university understands this, and created an academic help center called “Penn State Learning”. Along with PSU Learning, there are other groups that focus on helping students learn to deal with stress, and becoming a more mature man or woman.

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Penn State Learning

Website

Location and Availability

Homepage: https://pennstatelearning.psu.edu/

Description

Arriving on campus with over 40,000 undergraduate students can be challenging and overwhelming for a first year student. Penn State understands this pressure, and tries to make the transition as easy as possible with a very good tutoring program – Penn State Learning. PSU Learning’s homepage is more advanced than other websites described in the guide. The main purpose of its page is to display everything it has to offer, with course icons across the bottom of the site.

When talking to most upperclassman CE students, the first and second semester is the hardest course work, due to the college trying to “weed out” out the lethargic students. The main

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courses that do this are Calculus (Math 140 and 141), Physics (Phy 211 and 212) and Chemistry 110. Keeping up with homework, and studying for midterms on a weekly basis seems like a new idea for most students, but Penn State Learning makes it easy, useful, and readily available. For example, if help is needed in math, a student can simple go on the homepage, scroll down and click on the Math icon. The next page gives information on contacts and subject session for “drop-in-tutoring” as well as “guided study groups”. Penn State learning is also a way to meet new people in your major of study, or a means of occupancy such as tutoring.

Tips

Penn State learning can be used for a number of subjects and references. Make sure to click on the “About Us” tab across the top of the homepage to learn more about the “Public Writing Initiative” and how to get involved as a tutor.

Study groups are a great way to learn material and meet new people with the similar course work. The “Study Group” tab has great information on a new “Study Buddy Partnership Program”, as well as FAQ.

College Reference Tools

Once acclimated with the civil engineering program, a student has a number of classes that require research techniques for a wide assortment of projects. To get a better understanding of how to use research tools such as the Catalog of U.S. Publications and the Statistical Abstract of the U.S., the reader should pay close attention to this section. The following information will describe these two sources, and how to maneuver around the site with a few quick and simple tips.

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Catalog of U.S. Publications

Catalog

Location and Availability

Homepage: http://catalog.gpo.gov/F?RN=557894658

Description

Description & Abstract: The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications is a search tool for finding electronic articles on current and past publications. There are an infinite amount of search possibilities as well as the way one can perform a search. When entering the site, the homepage looks very clear, and easy to maneuver. In fact, there is only one search bar located in the middle of the screen with a toolbar across the top. The “simple” toolbar describes 4 main search methods; basic, advanced, expert, and browse. For example, one may enter the generic topic of “civil engineering” into the main search bar, and receive over 1000 results in return. To narrow the search, the user may simply select the “Advanced” drop down button.

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A civil engineering student could find this technique very valuable for a number of projects, or information on previous design. The “Advanced” section of the homepage gives the user the following search capabilities; 3 linked search boxes, year, format, language, and other catalogs to chose from. When specifying the search, the user may link “civil engineering” to “disaster” and get 9 results. One interesting results is the “Handbook for the seismic evaluation of buildings [microform] : a prestandard /”. The handbook was issued by FEMA in 1998 to help civil engineers reduce the amount of natural disasters in their design. The topic is extremely valuable to both students and the professionals who are designing geotechnical, land development, and structural components of construction.

Tips

The user should use the “Advanced” search engine to perform any searches that involve more than one phrase. Example: When searching for the design of civil engineering, the user may use the “Advanced” key and enter in “civil engineering” and “design”.

Before performing a search, the user should click on the “About” button from the toolbar located on the top of the homepage. This will clear up most FAQ on the actual website, and how to search for information correctly.

Statistical Abstract of the U.S

Abstract

Location and Availability

Homepage: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

Description

The Statistical Abstract of the U.S. is a convenient volume of statistical references on a number of subjects including education, construction, law enforcement, and much more. The Abstract has been published since 1878, with main sources such as Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and other established federal agencies. Much of the emphasis in the Abstract is directed to national data, but there are tables that narrow down its findings for regions or individual states. The Statistical Abstract can be either obtained online in pdf mode, or located at a library, specifically Pattee and Paterno Library here on campus.

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Regarding this specific IRG, the site can be very useful for finding information on all assets of civil engineering. When entering the homepage, the left side is extremely easy to navigate, as it lists all the possible areas of study that include statistical analysis. Two important subjects that will be beneficial to CE professionals include, “Construction & Housing”, and “Transportation”. As mentioned before, transpiration is one of the six focuses that Penn State documents for studying Civil Engineering. For instance, if a student finds themselves researching for their senior design project on the variety of highway uses, they could easily find updated information on this census page. Begin by scrolling over the “Transportation” tab and selecting “Highway Infrastructure and Use”. This will bring you to several pdf listings of highway uses, including a table on “Commuting to Work by State” (Table 1100). This would be extremely valuable to any of the state DOT’s when they are researching ideas to increase public transportation and HOV lanes. Due to the increase in transportation funding, many CE students are finding it easier to find jobs in this field, increasing the use and importance of the Statistical Abstract of the U.S.

Tips

Students and young engineers who are eager to learn should look through the “Research” tab on top of the homepage. It stresses the importance of seminars and the continued learning of researchers. There are a number of ongoing seminars at universities throughout the country

The “Earlier Editions” tab allows the user to look at archived articles from any of the statistical abstracts in the past, dating back to 1900

Civil Engineering Resources

Penn State University does a great job supplying Penn State students with the resources and tools to find a successful job right out of college. However, the learning should not stop here, as most the industry is constantly looking for more efficient and cost effective ways to build. To help understand about these issues, students and CE professionals should join ASCE or another organization to receive specific journals relating to their field. Along with journals, indexes to the Civil Engineering field can be extremely helpful, as they can be used as a guide to assist in construction and design.

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The American Society of Civil Engineers Journal

Professional Journal

Location and Availability

Homepage: http://ascelibrary.org/

Specific Journal: http://ascelibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1061/%28ASCE%29EI.1943-5541.0000180

Description

The American Society of Civil Engineers writes more than 7,000 papers per year on research and updated practice in today’s field. It is one of the, if not the most established societies in Civil Engineering today, and publishes 34 current journals. The ASCE library can be easily accessed online, and has a list of all the journals, e-books, standards, and proceedings on their homepage. Access to most of the contents is for members only, but like mentioned before, it is recommended to become an avid participant in ASCE. This material will help a young student or professional keep up with current projects, and engineering practices, as well as a resume

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builder. For this case, click on the “Journals” drop down menu, and all 34 journals will appear for access.

One particular article found using this database is “Broad, Global, and Multidisciplinary Civil Engineering Education”. In today’s day in age, continued education is a must, whether you are trying to gain experience for a PE license, or go to graduate school. In addition, most companies implement weekend long training sessions for new and experienced employees to always have the cutting edge tools and resources. This article focuses on designing a college and post graduate curriculum that will help engineers become more evolved, and less focused on technical issues. The problem starts with education in k-12th grade, which has to start with our professional organizations making contributions to education. Once these young adults enter college, the article discusses a new general curriculum which includes the following; political science, law, economics, history, sociology, behavioral sciences, and finance. By rounding out the CE classes with more practical general education classes, students will have an easier transition to the workplace.

Tips

Once the specific Journal is selected, the bottom of the page lists five or six recently published articles. The webpage also gives the option of viewing the “most cited” and “most viewed” articles in the specific journal.

Engineering Village

Professional Index

Location and Availability

Homepage: http://www.engineeringvillage.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/search/quick.url

Description

Engineering Village is a premier information database for the entire engineering community. The index can be used for a number of searches and the interface is extremely easy to maneuver. For Penn State students, one must be on the university library homepage, and select the database option followed by choosing “Civil and Environmental Engineering”. The Engineering Village search page will appear with three separate search boxes to help expedite an advanced topic. No matter the search, Engineering Village finds relevant and trustworthy information by linking its database to a range of sources: Scholarly journals, trade publications, patents, government reports, reference books, conferences, and more.

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The user interface is much like the Catalog of U.S. Publications, as a subject, author, etc. must be typed into the search boxes. For instance, by searching “civil engineering” with the “All fields” type selected, over 50,000 results were found. The first two were extremely relevant to Penn State’s curriculum and this particular IRG. As most students know, civil engineering is directly correlated to the weather and natural disasters, probably more than any other engineering degree. Due to this, there is a strong push for young engineers to find sustainable and cost effective designs to help mitigate this problem. The first two articles addressed this topic and how nanotechnology needs to be implemented in future CE practices. From this example, it is easily seen how resourceful the Engineering Village is, and how students could use this index in their studies, and future occupations.

Tips

After a search is conducted, the user can control the results found by clicking the boxes in the “controlled vocabulary” section.

Once you complete your search, the tool bar on the top of the page allows the user to save and archive any information that could be used for a later date.