CIV E 401 - CIVIL ENGINEERING AND SOCIETY

FALL 2006

SUGGESTED TOPICS FOR TERM PAPERS


  1. The beginning of the industrial revolution

  2. The invention of digital computers

  3. The invention of the world wide web

  4. The environmental revolution

  5. The invention of Portland cement

  6. The biosphere

  7. The hydrosphere

  8. The lithosphere

  9. The atmosphere

  10. Photosynthesis

  11. Denitrification

  12. The Tragedy of the Commons

  13. The hydrologic cycle

  14. Desertification

  15. Salinization

  16. Overgrazing

  17. Clear cutting of forests

  18. Groundwater depletion

  19. Groundwater depletion in California

  20. Accelerated erosion

  21. Carbon sequestering by forests

  22. Global climate change

  23. Greenhouse gases

  24. Permanent indirect artificial combustion

  25. The global carbon cycle

  26. Atmospheric carbon dioxide

  27. The evolution of Homo Sapiens

  28. Number of motor vehicles

  29. Comparison of human and motor vehicle energy expenditures

  30. Sustainable development

  31. Operational principles for sustainable development

  32. Groundwater

  33. The ozone layer

  34. Acid rain

  35. Biodiversity

  36. The Endangered Species Act

  37. The Clean Water Act

  38. The Safe Drinking Water Act

  39. Floods

  40. Flood mitigation

  41. Blogs

  42. History of the World Wide Web

  43. Droughts

  44. Drought mitigation

  45. Hurricanes

  46. Disaster preparedness

  47. What have we learned from hurricane Katrina?

  48. The meaning of hydraulics

  49. Albedo

  50. Flyways and water holes

  51. Salinity

  52. Impact of salinity management on irrigation

  53. Wetland conservation

  54. The future of irrigation

  55. The future of rivers

  56. The dry sanitary latrine

  57. Air-powered toilets

  58. Alternative fuels for motor vehicles

  59. The future of transportation

  60. Ecological engineering

  61. Alternative building materials

  62. Mass transportation

  63. Ecological cities: Adelaide

  64. Solar energy

  65. Wind energy

  66. The future of hydropower

  67. The future of nuclear power

  68. Ecological architecture

  69. El Niño

  70. Landfills

  71. The status of landfills in California

  72. Trash-to-energy conversion

  73. The future of recycling

  74. The future of waste reduction

  75. The future of the United Nations

  76. The United Nations Development Programme

  77. The United Nations Environmental Programme

  78. Sustainable agriculture

  79. Reduction of industrial waste

  80. Future of the internal combustion engine

  81. Hybrid cars

  82. Past and future of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

  83. Past and future of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

  84. Flood management in the Mississippi River Basin

  85. California's water plight

  86. California's water transfers

  87. The fight against wildland fires in California

  88. Debris basins along the San Gabriel Mountains

  89. History of hurricanes in the Caribbean Basin

  90. The physics of hurricanes

  91. San Diego landfills

  92. What to do with the Salton Sea?

  93. What to do with the New River?

  94. Coastal erosion in San Diego County

  95. Experience in dam deconstruction in California

  96. Environmental impacts of dams

  97. Civil engineering and paleontology

  98. Civil engineering and community participation

  99. The future of the world wide web

  100. How to forecast landslides?

  101. The physics of lahars

  102. The eruption of Mt. St. Helens

  103. Dams in the tropics

  104. Dam deconstruction: Issues and Status

  105. International law on ocean disposal of solid wastes

  106. International law on ocean disposal of hazardous wastes

  107. What is the best roofing material, color, and texture to minimize energy consumption?

  108. Energy savings with roundabout traffic intersections

  109. The methane balance in the atmosphere

  110. The nitrous oxide balance in the atmosphere

  111. Are levees good or bad?

  112. Past and future of computing power

  113. Stakeholders and community participation in civil engineering projects

  114. The future of sand mining in Southern California streams and washes

  115. Watershed conservation

  116. Water and war

  117. Ecological economics

  118. Joule-based metrics in the global economy

  119. Experiences with humidification of ecosystems

  120. Water conservation

  121. How did Los Angeles get its water?

  122. What can we do about El Niño?

  123. Experience with artificial floods (Glen Canyon Dam flood)

  124. Sediment flushing from reservoirs

  125. Permeable pavements