Clemson Civil Engineering Program in Top 20
DATE: 8-29-06
CONTACT: Nadim Aziz, (864) 656-3321
e-mail: aziz@clemson.edu
WRITER: Susan Polowczuk, (864) 656-2063
e-mail: susan.polowczuk@clemsonews.clemson.edu
CLEMSON CIVIL ENGINEERING PROGRAM IN TOP 20
CLEMSON — Clemson University’s department of civil engineering has made it into the top 20.
According to U.S.News & World Report, the department is ranked 14th among public engineering schools whose highest degree is a doctorate. The rankings, based on results of a national survey of engineering deans and senior faculty, are considered a benchmark among college programs nationwide. The department is ranked 24th in a list that includes private and public schools.
U.S.News & World Report this year ranked Clemson University as a top 30 public institution among the nation’s 162 public doctoral-granting universities. Clemson President James Barker’s goal is to move the university into the top 20, and the school has advanced from 74th to 30th under his leadership.
Clemson civil engineering chairman Nadim Aziz said the department’s ranking reflects the work of its students, faculty and staff.
“We have developed a system that demonstrates we care about every student,” he said. “Our faculty work one-to-one with our students, from mentoring to teaching. We offer our students opportunities to become team players and leaders and to participate in research. One measure of our success is the number of students we graduate and who go into the work force immediately. Our students are in tremendous demand.”
Clemson University civil engineering alumna Vicki Willis Ford, a designer on the new Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, is currently working on a new stadium design for the Dallas Cowboys.
“I’ve always felt I had a top education,” said Ford. “The technical skills and confidence I gained in my undergraduate and graduate work at Clemson prepared me for the role I’m in today. I credit a lot to the faculty, who were always accessible.”
Ford is a structural engineer with Walter P. Moore, an engineering firm ranked among the best places to work in the nation. This year, seven of the company’s 30 new structural engineers are from Clemson.
National competitions and firsthand experience are a large part of Clemson civil engineering students’ success:
* In the National Concrete Canoe Competition, the Clemson student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) team has earned three national titles and has ranked consistently in the top 10 teams in the nation.
* In the last decade, Clemson won a national championship and consistently has been a top contender in the National Student Steel Bridge Competition that offers future structural engineers the chance to do steel design and fabrication.
* The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) recognized Clemson University with the 2006 Outstanding Student Chapter Award.
* Members of the Clemson University chapter of ITE won the 2006 Traffic Bowl for the 10-state southeast district.
* Several teams of Clemson students participated in groups studying the effects of hurricane Katrina.
The Clemson Wind Tunnel, a facility for studying the effects of high winds on low-rise buildings, serves an internationally recognized program, whose experts testify before Congressional sub-committees researching hurricane preparedness.
The civil engineering department is also home to the Asphalt Rubber Technology Service (ARTS) that provides research and service in the use of scrap tires in asphalt pavements and other innovative applications.
The expertise of Clemson civil engineers is recognized in national and international broadcasts, such as the Discovery Channel, National Geographic and the ABC network’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, where tornado shelter safety was the topic.
Since 2000, Clemson’s civil engineering department has doubled its Ph.D. enrollment, hired nine new faculty and more than doubled its research expenditures per faculty.
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