Department of Civil Engineering

Ashok Pandit, Ph.D., P.E., Head

Degree Programs

Professors
Paul J. Cosentino, Ph.D., P.E., pavement design and evaluation, transportation planning, containment of hazardous wastes, geotechnical engineering with emphasis on in situ testing and slope stability.

Edward H. Kalajian, Ph.D., P.E., geotechnical engineering, foundations, stabilization of waste materials.

Ralph V. Locurcio, M.S., P.E., construction management, project management, quality management, engineering leadership, disaster recovery, urban engineering, urban infrastructure, industrial relations.

Ashok Pandit, Ph.D., P.E., groundwater hydraulics and hydrology, numerical methods in subsurface modeling, hydraulic design, stormwater management.

Jean-Paul Pinelli, Ph.D., P.E., wind and earthquake engineering, risk analysis and risk modeling, wireless instrumentation.

Associate Professors
Albert M. Bleakley, Ph.D., P.E., construction management, project management, soil mechanics, structural systems, transportation engineering, safety.

Howell H. Heck, Ph.D., P.E., solid waste management, degradable materials, determining the ultimate fate of chemicals in disposal facilities.

Nakin Suksawang, Ph.D., P.E., structural health monitoring and field testing; micromechanics, nanomechanics, advanced construction materials.

Adjunct Faculty
D.W. Fisher, J.D.

Professor Emeritus
Jack W. Schwalbe, M.S.

Mission Statement

The mission of the civil engineering department is to provide state-of-the-art education in a caring and nurturing environment, helping students achieve their full potential.

Civil engineering extends across many technical specialties, such as construction, environmental, geological, structures, transportation and water resources, that interact with each other. The planning, designing and constructing of facilities and infrastructure systems used in public and private sectors are the responsibility of the civil engineer. Civil engineers work with architects and other engineers designing and constructing buildings, bridges, highways, aerospace facilities, ocean structures, ports and harbors, and utility facilities. Many civil engineers are involved in the solution and prevention of environmental problems and work on water resources management, soil and groundwater cleanup, and solid and hazardous waste management.

Some Florida Tech students select an environmental engineering emphasis to prepare for careers concerned with the treatment and distribution of water and water resources, as well as the management, treatment and reuse of wastewater, and soil remediation, groundwater cleanup and solid waste management.

Employment opportunities in civil engineering can be found in technical, administrative or commercial work with manufacturing, design, construction, transportation or power companies; with city, state or federal agencies; and with architectural and engineering firms.

Research

Research activities of the faculty encompass the major areas of civil engineering. Current research projects in structures are in the areas of wind and seismic engineering, catastrophe risk modeling and wireless instrumentation development. Faculty also have a strong interest in concrete materials including studying concrete materials at a fundamental level using nanotechnology to characterize their mechanical properties, and nondestructive testing technologies. Geotechnical research is concentrated in the areas of stabilization of waste materials for beneficial uses, in situ testing of soils, fiber-optic sensors in soils and evaluation of pavements. Research investigations in hydrology and water resources are related to development of new models and usage of existing models in the areas of numerical groundwater modeling, and design and performance of stormwater management systems. Model development is sometimes supplemented by field and laboratory experiments. Research activities in the environmental area include water treatment using reverse osmosis and activated carbon, biomass production, degradation of consumer products, landfill and compost simulation and solid wastes management.

Laboratories for research and instructional activities are available in the areas of materials and structures, soil mechanics, solid waste, unit operations and interactive graphics. Other campus laboratories can be used by students conducting graduate research. The materials and structures laboratory is equipped with several universal testing machines for physical testing, and equipment and instrumentation for experimental stress analysis. The soil mechanics laboratory contains commercial equipment for evaluating the engineering properties of soils. The solid-waste analysis laboratory is equipped to analyze solid wastes, to degrade solid wastes under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, and to process solid wastes by a variety of methods.