Welcome Back, CEIE Graduates

Since our first alumni graduated in 1992, we’ve seen some departmental name changes, from the Department of Urban Systems Engineering, to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and now to the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering. In that time, we’ve graduated over 650 highly-trained students. In the last 12 years alone we’ve grown 400%, with over 300 undergraduates in the current program, as well as 100 graduate students working toward their M.S., M.Eng., or Ph.D..

While maintaining the essence of our original department, we have seized the opportunities that an increased student population makes possible. We now teach the full spectrum of civil engineering including: construction engineering; environmental engineering; geotechnical engineering; structural engineering; transportation engineering; water resources engineering and land development. Distinguished practicing engineers continue to join the department’s adjunct and full-time faculty. Visit People to see faculty you may recognize, and learn who’s new on the staff—perhaps someone who returned from your graduation class has joined us as adjunct faculty.

If you graduated with a B.S., you’ll be excited to learn how the undergraduate program has changed. We now have a chapter of Chi Epsilon in 2010, the civil engineering honors society. We’ve launching the most ambitious honors program at GMU to recruit and retain gifted students. We’ve kicked off a study abroad program with civil engineering at University College Dublin.  We’ve created GMU Engineers for International Development: our first project was designing and installing a water storage system for the village of Compone in the Peruvian Andes.  The ASCE student chapter remains the heart of the CEIE program for many of our undergraduates, and they pour their efforts each year into preparing for and competing in the ASCE Virginias conference steel bridge competition.  A long overdue undergraduate teaching laboratory is completed at last, made possible with many gifts.  And our continuing partnership with the Civil Engineering Institute industry advisory body has only become stronger, affirming our connection and commitment to engineering practice.

Our graduate program continues to offer an accelerated B.S.-M.S. program that allows high-performing students to complete their M.S. with only a year of full-time study beyond their B.S. degrees. We’ve introduced a Master of Engineering degree that offers an integrated approach to structural, geotechnical, and construction engineering at the graduate level. We continue with our Master of Science program, now defined with distinct concentrations, and as part of that we have combined our environmental and water resources engineering concentrations to create a signature program.  Finally, our Ph.D. program, which was for some years awarded under a School-wide umbrella, became a completely independent CEI degree in 2009.  New research partnerships are being forged with world class federal laboratories in northern Virginia as we recruit new faculty and expand our research accomplishments.

Our accomplishments will make you proud of us. Thanks for reconnecting!

• Visit us on the ground floor of our beautiful new Nguyen Engineering Building, and see your name on the wall with every other CEIE graduate since our first class of 1992.
• Flip through the 2011 CEI Annual Report (PDF) to read about last year’s accomplishments.
• Consider joining our Facebook group for CEIE alumni to learn about our next alumni dinner as soon as it’s announced, a follow-on to our first alumni dinner in October, 2010.
• Share your practical insight into engineering practice with a presentation to a class, or to one of several CEIE student organizations: Chi Epsilon; the Design-Build Institute of America; the Society of American Military Engineers; the American Society of Civil Engineers; the Institute of Transportation Engineers; or Engineers for International Development.
• Get more involved with our American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter, preparing for their annual steel bridge fabrication and assembly competition each spring at the ASCE Virginias competition. Or with our Engineers for International Development Borders students who are designing and building simple but real engineering infrastructures in developing countries.
• Hire our students in the summer and teach them practical application of their classroom education. Enjoy shaping the next generation of GMU civil engineers, then reap the benefits by hiring them after graduation.
• Join our Civil Engineering Institute industry advisory body to advise on engineering practice and education.
• Make a gift to continue our reach toward excellence, and see your name honored on our wall of donors.

Our reputation is linked to yours. Our success is your success.

Welcome back.