Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering

Holmes 383
2540 Dole Street
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-7550
Fax: (808) 956-5014
Web: cee.hawaii.edu

Faculty

*P. Ooi, PhD (Chair)—geotechnical engineering
*C. Cho, PhD (Graduate Chair)—structural engineering
*M.S. Alam, PhD—structural engineering
*A. R. Archilla, PhD—transportation and infrastructure systems engineering
*S. Bateni, PhD—hydraulics
*R. Chen, PhD—transportation and smart cities
*V. Dharmapalan, PhD—construction engineering management
*O. P. Francis, PhD—coastal engineering and sustainable infrastructure; design, observations, numerical methods
*A. S. Kim, PhD—environmental engineering and physics, parallel computing
*J. Kim—environmental chemistry, environmental engineering
*J. H. Lee, PhD—groundwater monitoring, computational hydrology, uncertainty quantification, optimal control
*D. Moon, PhD—structural engineering
*H. Park, PhD—coastal and hydraulic engineering
*L. Shen, PhD—construction materials
*A. Singh, PhD—construction and cost engineering, risk analysis and decision making, legal affairs, project management, quality control
*M.K.I. Talagi, PhD—geotechnical engineering
*O. Vitali, PhD—geotechnical engineering
*J. Wang, PhD—structural engineering
*Z. Wang, PhD—environmental engineering
*T. Yan, PhD—environmental engineering, environmental microbiology
*G. Zhang, PhD—transportation engineering

Cooperating Graduate Faculty

*S. Khanal, PhD—bioenergy and biobased products; waste to energy heat and mass transport in chemically reacting ecosystems, energy conversion, bioremediation
*M. Kirs, PhD—microbial water quality and related public health issues
N. Lautze Maresca, PhD—geothermal/sustainable energy physical volcanology
*E. Marron, PhD—environmental engineering, environmental chemistry, water quality, contaminant transformation and fate, public health and toxicology
*W-W. W. Su, PhD—biochemical engineering, plant cell culture, molecular biotechnology
S. Q. Turn, PhD—thermo chemical energy conversion, fuels processing, energy systems

* Graduate Faculty

Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering (CECE) is to 1) educate civil and construction engineers that meet the requirements of the profession, are committed to life-long learning, and have the potential to be the future leaders of the profession; 2) create, develop, and disseminate new knowledge through high quality, innovative research; 3) provide service to various agencies of the state and counties of Hawaiʻi and the engineering community; and 4) provide leadership to the civil engineering profession in the Asia/Pacific Region.

The Academic Program

Civil engineering is concerned with the activities of people and the environment. The civil and construction engineer conceives, plans, designs, constructs, operates, and maintains the physical works necessary for the environmental needs of people. Students who enter the program today can look forward to one of the most rewarding careers of the modern era, providing personal fulfillment, financial reward, and enduring service to humankind. The curriculum is uniquely designed to meet the demands of business, industry, and government.

The construction engineer has knowledge of the fundamentals of civil engineering and specialized expertise in the processes of material and supply flows, scheduling, crew management, site compliance and safety, construction law, etc. Construction engineers work with architects and civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers to build projects and manage on-site construction activities. Construction engineers deliver building and infrastructure projects.

Undergraduate Study

Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

The five program educational objectives describe what graduates are expected to attain within a few years of graduation:

Graduates will practice civil engineering in the private and public sectors in Hawaiʻi, the Asia/Pacific region, and elsewhere.
Graduates will have obtained technical and non-technical knowledge/skills that contribute to personal and employer success and benefit the communities they serve.
Graduates will recognize conflicts and adhere to professional ethical standards.
Graduates will apply sustainability principles in their construction, environmental, geotechnical, hydraulics/ hydrology, structural, and transportation engineering projects and designs.
Graduates will continue their professional development and aim for advanced degrees and professional licensure.

The BSCE degree requires completion of at least 131 credit hours of course work, the equivalent of four years of full-time work. These requirements include at least 58 credit hours of civil and environmental engineering courses from the following areas: applied mechanics, construction, environmental, geotechnical, structural, transportation and water resources engineering. There are additional required courses in mathematics, physics, and chemistry, as well as courses required by UH Mānoa in humanities and social sciences. The curriculum provides a broad-based background of fundamentals with coverage of the humanities and social sciences, basic sciences, mathematics, and the engineering design method. The undergraduate experience culminates in two senior capstone courses in which students apply the knowledge they have gained throughout their undergraduate course work toward the planning and design of a comprehensive civil engineering project. Course enrollment for all CECE majors is subject to the approval of an advisor. The requirements are described below and reflected on the check sheet and the list of course prerequisites.

All electives are subject to the approval of the academic advisor and the department conferring the degree.

The student learning outcomes (SLOs), also known as student outcomes, describe a skill set that students are expected to have at the time of graduation. The SLOs are:

An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics;
An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors;
An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences;
An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts;
An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives;
An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions;
An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Specialty Tracks

The department offers two specialty senior year tracks, one in structural engineering and another in sustainability and innovation. Students who wish to pursue a specialty track should refer to the curriculum checksheet for alternative senior year course work and inform their academic advisor that they wish to switch to a specialty track.

Bachelor’s Degree in Construction Engineering

The five program educational objectives describe what graduates are expected to attain within a few years of graduation:

Graduates will practice construction engineering in the private and public sectors in Hawaii, the Asia/Pacific region, and elsewhere.
Graduates will have obtained technical and non-technical knowledge/skills that contribute to personal and employer success, and benefit the communities they serve.
Graduates will recognize conflicts and adhere to professional ethical standards.
Graduates will apply sustainability principles in their construction engineering projects and designs.
Graduates will continue their professional development, and aim for professional licensure and advanced degrees.

The BSCNST degree requires completion of 130 credit hours of course work, the equivalent of four years of full-time work. These requirements include 66 credit hours of civil and construction engineering courses from the following areas: applied mechanics, structural analysis, hydraulics, transportation, soil mechanics and various aspects of construction (project management, methods, safety, law, etc.). The undergraduate experience culminates in two senior capstone courses in which students apply the knowledge they have gained throughout their undergraduate course work toward a comprehensive construction project.

The student learning outcomes (SLOs), also known as student outcomes, describe a skill set that students are expected to have at the time of graduation. The SLOs are:

An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

There are three basic components to the undergraduate program:

The university-wide General Education Core and Graduation requirements, which are usually substantially completed during the first two years of the university experience.
The College of Engineering requirements; and,
The CECE department requirements.

Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 for all registered credit hours and a minimum GPA of 2.0 for all upper division courses (numbered 300-499) in mathematics, science, and engineering.

Advising is an important element of the undergraduate program. All students are assigned an advisor prior to their first semester. Students must receive approval of their program of courses prior to registration each semester and will not be able to register without it. Such advising takes place during the prior semester (for continuing students); the advising period will be listed on this website and communicated to students prior to advising week.

Graduate Study

Please see “Programs” section below for more information about our graduate programs.

Programs

Bachelor’s

Master’s

Civil Engineering, MS

Doctorate

Civil Engineering, PhD

Combined