Reflection on environmental engineering

Reflection is a ‘learning method’ where you actively think about what you experienced, and this thinking and exploration then enhances and deepens your learning. The more you understand what you think and how you think, the deeper is your learning experience. Reflection often comes awkward for engineering students but then they get the hang of it. It is basically a method to help wire your brain better on the topic you are learning and to help you be more in tune (more conscious) about what you are learning.

Answer the following questions and upload your finished work to BB as a word document.

1.As you learned, environmental engineering is one of the subfields of civil engineering. At UToledo, we teach environmental engineering as part of the civil engineering B.S. degree. In addition, at UToledo, we have a separate environmental engineering B.S. degree for students that want to dive deeper into the environmental engineering field. Now you know a little more about environmental engineering from our class discussion. What was most interesting to you from the environmental engineering presentation? What was confusing to you in the presentation?

2.Use what you learned from the presentation, the web, and engineer friends/relatives to come up with five examples of what an environmental engineer may analyze or design? Do any of these appeal to you?

3.What are the steps towards becoming a PE? Why is it important for a civil engineer to have a PE?

4.A key organization that Environmental Engineers belong to is AAEES. Visit the AAEES website and browse through its publications link. Reflect on what you learned. http://www.aaees.org/

5.Drs. Apul, Gruden, Kang, and Seo in our department are members of AEESP. Visit the AEESP website. Reflect on what you learned. http://aeesp.org/

6.Go to ASCE’s technical areas page and click on ‘Environmental and Water Resources’. Reflect on what you learned. http://www.asce.org/routing-page/technical-areas/

7.Rank your current interest in environmental engineering compared to structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, and transportation engineering. As you think about the level of your interest in environmental engineering, use 1 as being least interested and 5 being most interested. Explain your reasoning.

8.Here are companies that recently hired our students for civil/environmental engineering jobs. Put an x in the cell next to the company (in the third column) if they do any environmental engineering related work. Explain in the next column (fourth column) what type of environmental work this may involve. Regardless of whether the company does environmental work or not, make a note in the last (fifth column) on whether the company interests you or not.