Page 27 - 4228

automatic control, chemical engineers were among the first to
incorporate automatic controls into their designs.

Civil Engineering

Civil engineering is perhaps the broadest of the engineering fields,
for it deals with the creation, improvement, and protection of the

communal environment, providing facilities for living, industry and
transportation, including large buildings, roads, bridges, canals, railroad
lines, airports, water-supply systems, irrigation, harbors, docks,

aqueducts, tunnels, and other engineered constructions. The civil
engineer must have a thorough knowledge of all types of surveying, of
the properties and mechanics of construction materials, the mechanics of
structures and soils, and of hydraulics and fluid mechanics. Among the

important subdivisions of the field are construction engineering,
irrigation engineering, transportation engineering, soils and foundation
engineering, geodetic engineering, hydraulic engineering, and coastal

and ocean engineering.

Nuclear Engineering

This branch of engineering is concerned with the design and
construction of nuclear reactors and devices, and the manner in which
nuclear fission may find practical applications, such as the production of

commercial power from the energy generated by nuclear reactions and
the use of nuclear reactors for propulsion and of nuclear radiation to
induce chemical and biological changes. In addition to designing

nuclear reactors to yield specified amounts of power, nuclear engineers
develop the special materials necessary to withstand the high
temperatures and concentrated bombardment of nuclear particles that
accompany nuclear fission and fusion. Nuclear engineers also develop

methods to shield people from the harmful radiation produced by
nuclear reactions and to ensure safe storage and disposal of fissionable

materials.

Safety Engineering

This field of engineering has as its object the prevention of
accidents. In recent years safety engineering has become a specialty
adopted by individuals trained in other branches of engineering. Safety

26