History of Civil Engineering

"...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.

"Institution of Civil Engineers' original charter, 1828

This original charter instituted by the Institution of Civil Engineers is the foundation of the duty of Civil Engineers. Civil Engineering is the oldest form of engineering to date. Civil Engineers built the pyramids and the Great Wall. The wonders were all created on paper before constructed to scale. Some of these structures were built it assist people like the Roman aqueducts and others for show like the Eiffel Tower. Whether these marvels were built for the intention to help people or to be just an attraction, they do depict and show the history of Civil Engineering came to be. They are Civil Engineering's past, present and future.

Sponsor Meeting 4

This past visit to see Charlie I actually had a chance to see the nasty side of being a civil engineer. I saw footage of what Charlie and his co-workers call "Dirty Movies." The videos were not actually dirty movies, they were footage of what goes on inside a sewer line. In the video I saw several different types of cracking and gaps in piping. At one point in the video I actually saw tree roots that pierced the sewer line to reach the nutrients in the water that was running through. Soon after I saw that, I also saw something that posed a serious problem to the area the pipe was running through. The side of the pipe actually broke. I saw a huge break in the pipe wall exposing the ground. When I asked Charlie about it he told me that it must off been a recent break and that it needs to be replaced immediately. After a while longer of watching I began to get bored of watching the same thing. When Charlie noticed this he asked me if I wanted to go visit the drafters again. I answered with rejoice. There, I learned a little more about how the plans are created on the computer with AUTO CAD, a program which enables drawings and renderings of land plots and/or projects. Next week when I visit, Charlie hopes to have me actually start my senior project product. Hopefully I won't face any problems early on.

Engineering and Sports

Baseball will be starting next week and I can't wait. Now that I think about it, I wonder how much the town paid to construct the fields in which we play on. On my second sponsor visit I met an engineer, Tim, who told me all the components to building a sports complex and all the possible problems that come with it. For instance, my towns sports complex has five baseball fields. Two are for little league baseball, two for softball, and one official baseball field. At the heart of the complex is a concession stand with bathrooms and storage for field maintenance. There is about six lights for night games and a parking lot that sits upon a hill that overlooks the fields. There are more fields to the park, but the main focus I see is on the baseball fields. I truly wonder how much this project cost entirely. I can assume a hefty sum of money, but solely for the fields. I have an idea about the cost, but I only learned that by visiting my sponsor.

Engineer of the Year

I received an invitation a few weeks ago to the Engineer of the Year banquet in Philadelphia. The banquet is to honor Drexel Alumni Christopher Ferguson,. Ferguson is an astronaut who is also a Mechanical Engineer. In 2008, Ferguson commanded the space shuttle Endeavour STS-126. Ferguson worked with his six-person crew on a 15-day space mission to install a system that recycles urine into drinking water. Ferguson is now being honored for his contributions to engineering. The banquet is tonite, however. I am not sure if I want to go mainly because I am not a part of that so called "scene." I also know that some of the friends I made with over the summer are going to the party. This may possibly sway my decision, but I have not really selected an option.

Video of the Week

This video of the week splices new school reggaeton with some old school salsa music. This new blend allows the younger Latino generation to appreciate the music of elder generations by using the flow and beats of the past in conjunction with the words of the youth. I believe this form of reggaeton helps me to remember where I came from. It helps me keep my mind focused and defers all distractions. I want to always remember where I come from be able to be proud of it. Not letting anyone stand in my way and belittle me is my belief, and just because there are many stereotypes about the education of Hispanic does not mean they are all true. I am proud of where I come from and no one will tell me otherwise.

Sponsor Meeting 3

This week, Charles had me taste a bit of what civil engineers must face when not on site. As soon as I saw him, Charles told me to sit down at a drafting bench and do so calculations. He taught me how to calculate the slope of piping by measuring the lateral footing of the pipe and the inversion of each side. At first I thought I was going to mess up because I actually had to find the numbers myself, whether it was measuring the drawing or inspecting the paper for the inversions. After I finished one set of plans, he gave me another to work on. This set of plans, however, was several pages longer than the previous one I had completed. After about and hour or so he told me that he finished the estimations of road projects the company will do in 2010. He told me he he used a spreadsheet, which took him about four hours to complete. The overall cost to do the 15 road projects was estimated to be 7.2 million dollars. This is only in the following year. I can only imagine how much the projects this year will cost. Next week Charles plans to have me either on site seeing how sewer problems emerge or watching videos of what happens in the sewer. Either way, I will get a better understanding of how sewers work and how cross contaminations or leaks occur.

A Mercury Contaminated Building

I was reading the paper a few minutes ago and came across an article that mentioned a mercury contamination. The building was used as temperature controlled facility, but many leaks and spills happened and the building closed down. Those leaks seeped into the walls and remained there. The building was reopened as a Child Care center when the man who owned the building sold it to the Kiddie College franchise. Low and behold the man who sold the building did not mention the building was contaminated. Once the truth was revealed later on, over 100 kids were reported to be infected. No severe harm has been done or seems to be expected. I believe that any kind of contamination needs to be dealt with in any way possible. The longer the contamination is left unchecked, the more harm it can do to civilians living in the nearby area.

Project Thesis

Lately Mr. Abrams has reminded to keep a weary eye on what we want our topics for the research paper coming soon. I allegedly thought about Salsa and how Salsa music evolved from classical music, but now i think I may do something different. I think I may do a research paper on the steps necessary to create an engineering project. From plumbing to water will all be included. I think this paper will allow people to grasp the idea on how much time and energy it takes to actually design the project and bring it to life. As I was told yesterday, it would take about 14 million dollars to create a working sports complex, which will only have two soccer fields, only two. But because it will be a sports complex facilities such as bathrooms and concessions will also need to be built. That will require water, gas and a septic system. Lightening also comes into play as well as the electrical source powering the lights. All these factors are interesting to know when an engineering marvel is completed and used by other people because no one truly thinks about this kind of things.

2nd Sponsor Meeting

My sponsor meeting today went so much beter than last week's mainly because the weather was so much nicer. This week my sponsor had to handle a last second meeting with one of his clients. This, off course, happened right as I arrived. I called Charles to tell him I had arrived and he told me that another engineer, Tim, would assist me. While waiting for Charlie, Tim showed me two land plots of two entirely different projects. One was a land plot of land Remington and Vernick bought from the state. The town wants that land to be used in order to build a new soccer complex; however, they're several problems that must be dealt with. They include, a gas line that cannot be moved, a waste removal system, contaminated soil, water to facilities, the elevation of the land, and an eagles nest that sits to the Northeast of the land. The estimated cost, Tim and Charlie expect, is approximately 14 million dollars. The lightening alone for night games will cost 70,000 dollars a light without maintenance. The other project was a complete overhaul of one street in Haddonfield. There was a cross contamination between the water line and the sewage system. The sewage leaked into the water and killed all the fish in a nearby pond. The town wants this problem fix, but there are other problems with the street that also have to be tended to. Overall, I believe I learned a lot this week because I was able to visualize what civil engineers have to face when tackling various problems.

Maintaining Modern Marvels

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/39274202.html

This article, which I heard about through Mr. Abrams, shows how much work is required to maintain modern structures. The number of people required to fix even a small problem like a light bulb demands the input of several experienced individuals. In addition, I learned that it takes 30 painters 18 months working full-time to completely paint the Eiffel Tower. Taking care of a monument that big takes a lot of time, especially the problems that need to be taken care of higher up. The men who have to tend to problems higher up need to wear climbers gear and work in pairs to ensure safety. Not only that, but the workers also have to make sure not to drop anything because someone could die if he or she were hit. In conclusion, many people need to work on one structure to maintain it workability, safety, and its longevity as a historic landmark.

Civil Engineering News

http://www.cenews.com/article.asp?id=3557

This article reveals how the structures built years ago are becoming more deficient and more likely to fail as time passes. The "grade" of each structures quality is diminishing and we, as a country, need to invest in these projects in order to prevent a serious problem like how the levees broke when Katrina hit. These wore down projects need to be revamped and redesigned in order to ensure the safety of the nation.

Drexel News

http://drexel.edu/news/headlines/substantial-work-ahead-for-water-issues,-say-scientists-at-acs

I was searching through news articles the other day and I came across this article on Drexel University's website. This article identifies how to preserve clean water and distribute it to the people of the world. This article ties in to my project in two major ways: infrastructure and water cleanliness. Engineers and scientist are trying to develop methods to keep water cleaner in new water lines and attempting to create a water contamination detector that can read a contamination but differentiate a false alarm from a serious threat. These are the problems I will have to face when I become an engineer because water conservation will become a more serious issue as time goes by.

First Day on the Job

Yesterday I met with my sponsor for the first time at his office in Haddonfield. I was lost for awhile, but I managed to find him within the freezing cold blizzard. Once we met, my sponsor, Charles, navigated me around the town. He told me his company has seven seperate buildings in Haddonfield. I told him I managed to figure that out when I past several buildings with his company's logo. After we spent a few minutes roaming the his office we took to the streets. We walked several blocks, and on every block, Charles pointed out some problem that he has to fix or modify in the town. The majority of the problems consisted of a cross connection between water and sewer lines. This problem is serious because if a sewer line breaks, the sewage can possibly seep into the town's water lines. Another problem he presented to me dealt with the reconstruction of an intersection to make it accesible to disabled individuals. This meeting lasted about an hour, and Charles told me to come back next Tuesday. Next week, he told me, that he will have me working on some calculations that civil engineers need to make in order to maximize efficiency while minimizing cost.

A Bad Day Turns Around

This morning was one of the worse mornings I've ever had. I woke up with the most annoying upset stomach that didn't go away until third period. On top of that, Coach Synder asked me before school began to speak on behalf of the Senior Project Seminar class. At the moment I felt annoyed because I didn't have anything prepared, but I soon felt honored that he asked me to speak. Before the actual address, I was in my Chemistry class working on lab that went horrible wrong. I was on the verge of completing a large portion of the lab, but I mistake cost me the results I desired, and now I have to start over. Even though all these bad occurrences happened, my day is turning out well.

Somehow, I managed to laugh off all the negative things that happened today, and transformed it into something positive. For once in my life I do not have a ton of homework to complete and i do not have any school activities today. I'm just glad that Monday is almost over and that all these bad things happened today, and that they are done and over with.