The Engineer as Builder

The Egyptian pyramids Tools developed during the Iron Age The Great Wall of China Athens Parthenon 

The Roman Pont du Gard in what is now France China s Grand Canal Printing press Steam engine The telegraph system Transcontinental railroad in the U.S. 

Mass production of affordable automobiles and untold other consumer and producer products 

The Panama Canal San Francisco s Golden Gate Bridge Digital computer Commercial jet aircraft 

A nation s quality of life is heavily dependent on its infrastmcture which includes, but is not limited to, its water supply and wastewater systems, transportation systems (e.g., highways, bridges, tunnels, railroads, airports, ports), stormwater management and flood control systems, communication systems, power generation and distribution systems, and other structures, facilities, and systems supportive of daily life. The infrastructure is built and maintained by the constmction industry. Annual U.S. constmction is on the order of a trillion (1,000 billion) dollars making it the largest product-based, contrasted with service-based, industry in the country (Halpin 2006). 

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Alfred Bernhard Nobel was bom in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 21, 1833, as the third of four sons to Immanuel and Andriette (Tyilsell) Nobel. That same year, his father, an engineer and builder, went bankmpt when barges full of building materials were lost at sea. In 1837 Immanuel left Stockholm and moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he started manufacturing equipment for the Russian army. His factory flourished, especially with the manufacture and sale of naval mines of his own constmction. 

Traditionally, civil engineers were master builders of infrastructure. They were cognizant of technical aspects, safety and health implications, etc. of their constructions. The latest vision of civil engineers sees the civil engineer as ... 

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