Graduate Catalog 1993-1994
College of Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering
General Information

Telephone: (302) 831-2441

   The Department of Civil Engineering offers graduate programs of
study and research leading to three degrees: Master of Civil
Engineering, Master of Applied Sciences, and Doctor of Philosophy in
Civil Engineering. The Master of Civil Engineering degree emphasizes
Civil Engineering, while the Master of Applied Sciences degree
involves considerable effort in more than a single engineering or
physical science department, and/or is for students not having
engineering first degrees. The Ph.D. is aimed at training the graduate
student in research within a chosen topic. All three degrees are based
on the student completing an individually designed program of courses
and writing a thesis. Areas of concentration are:

      Environmental Engineering        Structural Engineering
      Geotechnical Engineering         Transportation Engineering
      Ocean Engineering                Water Resource Engineering
      Railroad Engineering

   In each area mathematics, fundamental sciences, and engineering
sciences are combined to provide a personalized program of study and
research.
   All graduate students work in close cooperation with the faculty,
and the department has extensive facilities for research and graduate
study in all the areas of concentration. Laboratories specifically
devoted to research in environmental engineering include facilities
for study of chemical and physical aspects of water and wastewater
purification with specialized equipment for analysis of fluid particle
suspensions and particle technology, heavy metal and toxic waste
removal and biological engineering aspects of water pollution control.
   The ocean engineering laboratory is one of the largest and best
equipped in the country. A unique wavemaker capable of generating
realistic three-dimensional seas has been installed in one of the wave
basins. Narrow and wide wave tanks are also available and a high
precision 108 ft. long wave flume was added in 1990. Equipment
available for field research includes tide gages, current meters,
fathometers, surveying equipment, remote-sensing apparatus, and small
research vessels.
   The structures laboratories include an excellent range of
equipment for static, dynamic, and fatigue testing, photoelastic and
holographic stress analysis and a modern concrete testing facility.
The geotechnical laboratory has state of-the-art equipment for testing
soils and geotextiles. Computational research is facilitated by a
powerful departmental network of SUN workstations operating with a
central file server, the Civil Engineering Microcomputer Lab with IBM
PS2s and access to the university mainframe (presently an IBM 3090
model 300E).
   The department's research is extensively funded through many
contracts from federal agencies, the state, and private engineering
sponsors. The department also operates the Delaware Transportation
Center, established as a cooperative effort with the Delaware
Department of Transportation and the Center for Applied Coastal
Research.