Advancing a systems approach to climate resilience in civil engineering

To prepare civil engineers for work on complex societal systems, ABET criteria include requirements for broad education, knowledge of contemporary issues, and multidisciplinary teamwork. These important criteria are more difficult to interpret and assess than criteria in technical areas, and this paper draws from a range of instructional experiences to offer guidance about incorporating them into university civil engineering programs. The experiences are designing an all-university core curriculum, integrating a civil engineering curriculum, teaching broad course content to civil engineering students, assessing curriculum for an ABET visit, and offering an experimental interdisciplinary graduate course about coupled natural and human systems. Conclusions show that educators cannot completely overcome root problems such as inadequate preparation of students in the K-12 system, but they can use a range of tools such as the systems approach, institutional analysis, and explanation of key historical events to focus discussion on broad and global issues. These would, in turn, provide outcomes that can be assessed for effectiveness.

In the context of the global systemic crisis, the private sector is becoming an equal partner of the state in solving strategic tasks of socio-economic development of the country and regions. It is noted that public-private partnership (PPP) is based on the effective application of economic forms of business interaction, the development of the economic system taking into account institutional factors, as well as on the identification of possible dominants for the progressive development of management principles and systemic approaches. The formation of a concept for the development of public-private partnership in civil engineering (hereinafter referred to as CE) is the main purpose of the study. The study was conducted by applying general scientific and special methods to development and analytical and forecasting methods. In the course of the study, when developing the concept of PPP development in the civil construction sector, taking into account the organizational and institutional component, the system of principles of the subjects' behavior in the process of implementing public-private partnerships in civil construction was clarified. These principles, in contrast to the existing ones, were supplemented with the principle of objectivity (understanding, evaluating, and minimizing the degree of subjectivity) and the continuous process of change (modernizing the object of partnership relations to achieve the goals of the partnership participants). The paper highlights the main problems and limitations of the development of public-private partnerships in civil construction: the lack of long-term approaches to planning and developing civil infrastructure projects; the insufficient level of development of the regulatory and methodological framework for public-private partnerships in civil construction; the lack of systematic management of public-private partnerships at different levels; limitations in budgeting and financing public-private partnership projects; the low level of development of public-private partnership operators in civil construction, and more. The following approaches have been identified for developing mutually beneficial cooperation in civil engineering: public-private partnerships as an effective tool for attracting private capital to the civil engineering sector; development programs for civil engineering facilities; accessibility of civil engineering facilities; elimination of bureaucratic barriers; and government policies to stimulate mixed investments in civil engineering.

As part of an NSF Department Level Reform (DLR) grant, the civil and environmental engineering programs at the University of Vermont (UVM) incorporated systems thinking and a systems approach to engineering problem solving within their programs. A systems thinking approach regards social, environmental and economic factors as necessary components of the problem solution. Because it is a whole systems approach it also encompasses sustainability. We have integrated systems thinking in the following ways; 1) new material has been included into key courses (e.g. the first-year introductory and senior design courses), 2) a sequence of three related environmental and transportation systems courses have been included within the curricula (i.e., Introduction to Systems, Decision Making, and Modeling), and 3) service-learning (S-L) projects have been integrated into key required courses as a way of practicing a systems approach. This culminates in the senior design course in which many of the projects specifically focus on sustainability. A variety of assessment methods have been implemented as part of our reform including student surveys, focus groups, faculty interviews, and assessment of student work. We specifically designed a survey tool that addressed sustainability understanding (both open ended and Likert scale). The survey was given to first-year first semester (FYFS) civil and environmental engineering students, FYFS environmental science students, and senior civil and environmental engineering students. Approximately 50% of the incoming civil and environmental engineering students could not define or give reasonable examples of what sustainability means, while their counterparts in environmental science showed that almost 100% could provide a good definition and provide reasonable examples of sustainability. However, by the end of the introductory course in engineering, the majority of the engineering students had a good working definition of sustainability and examples. Female students in both groups showed a statistically significantly higher interest in learning about sustainability than their male counterparts.

Coastal deformation, driven by sea-level rise, subsidence, and anthropogenic activities, represents a critical challenge for sustainable infrastructure and climate resilience. While satellite altimetry has become an essential tool for monitoring global and regional sea-level variations, its integration with ground-based civil engineering measurements remains underexplored. This study presents an AI-augmented framework for combining multi-mission satellite altimetry data with in-situ civil engineering observations to enhance the precision of coastal deformation analysis. Field validation was conducted using tide gauge records, GNSS measurements, and structural monitoring sensors from selected coastal sites in Europe and Asia, including the North Sea, Mediterranean coastlines, and the Bay of Bengal. Data preprocessing involved bias correction, temporal alignment, and outlier detection. Machine learning models, including convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and random forest regressors, were trained to detect nonlinear correlations between satellite altimetry-derived sea surface height anomalies and local deformation parameters, such as land subsidence rates and seawall displacement. Results demonstrated that the AI-augmented integration improved spatial resolution by nearly 30% and reduced noise levels by up to 25% compared to conventional statistical fusion techniques. Furthermore, validation against independent field datasets confirmed enhanced accuracy in detecting small-scale deformations, particularly in deltaic and harbor regions. The findings highlight the practical benefits of combining geodetic satellite technologies with civil engineering field data through AI, providing a robust decision-support tool for coastal planners and engineers. This research not only addresses gaps in the current literature regarding the joint use of satellite and ground observations but also underscores the potential of AI-driven data fusion to improve coastal risk management strategies. The proposed methodology is scalable, adaptable to diverse coastal environments, and capable of supporting climate adaptation policies in vulnerable regions worldwide.

Systems analysis is good in itself and the principles underlying the approach are sound. There have been failures as in other methodologies used for problem solving. However, the reasons for failure need to be carefully studied so that future attempts will have a greater probability of being successful. A number of universities are now offering systems options and system programs to students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. These are producing increasing numbers of professionals versed in the philosophy and techniques of system analysis. However, at the present time, the really competent practitioner is a rare being. It is hoped that, as future studies are implemented, the experiences gained will increase our supply of experts and our appreciation of the worth and limitation of systems analysis. As more emphasis is placed upon social considerations, the civil engineer will find himself being called upon to perform various functions in an interdisciplinary environment. He can either be a leader or a follower. The choice is really his own.

The role of service-learning in heritage preservation and engineering education

This paper outlines the technical and anecdotal findings of a horizon scanning exercise into the ability of civil engineers to deliver impactful climate action. Examples of interaction between extreme weather and built environment assets are broken down via systems thinking. The concept of unconscious bias is addressed in how infrastructure climate risk is diagnosed; beyond the effects of flooding, drought, and heatwaves. Differentiations between climate mitigation, resilience and adaptation are made. Opportunities to address each throughout the infrastructure lifecycle are discussed, including how to balance conflicts of interest between them.

Job analysis contains reports that detail the system, environmental conditions and performance of each job for obtaining higher efficiency. In order to do job analysis properly, information regarding the job have to be evaluated accurately and realistically. The originating point of the current research is based on this requirement. Related researches have mainly focused on either traditional or strategic approaches. Current study, however, has blended these two approaches together with systems approach in order to model a job analysis system and develop related documents. The developed job analysis form has been used to collect data from fifty civil engineers. Collected data has been statistically analyzed in order to be used for job analysis of civil engineers. Key words: Productivity, job profile, job requirements, time research, project management.

Discussion of “Systems Approach and the Civil Engineer”

Discussion of “Systems Approach and the Civil Engineer”

While contemporary civil engineering projects are increasingly complex, the cognitive abilities of the decision maker remain limited. There is a conflict between the complexity that is required to describe a scenario with all its relevant properties and the limited number of ideas that can be included in rational considerations and decisions. A resolution requires the decision maker to construct a limited model that includes the most significant features. In this paper, a systems approach provides a general decisionmaking scheme that makes involvement in broadly based decisions accessible. This scheme is valid at all scales and in all classes of problems. This paper establishes a practical method for generating systems that contain all features relevant to a professional decision. The criterion of decision invariance is offered as a guide for establishing the size of the system model considered by the decision maker. It is argued that surprises cannot be avoided and must form an integral part of the decision.

The current state of energy supply of civil engineering systems in Ukraine and resources that can be developed and used to increase energy efficiency and energy independence are investigated in the work based on a systemic approach, analysis and synthesis of important questions on the research topic, as well as the method of observation, measurement, formalization and generalization countries in the conditions of the globalization of the world economy, as well as the integration of artificial intelligence systems and neural networks in all spheres of life. The relevance of the research lies in Ukraine's desire for energy independence and energy efficiency of existing systems, modernization of energy supply systems, which are already outdated and have low efficiency and efficiency. Further ways of improving and optimizing the energy supply of civil engineering systems in Ukraine are being researched, and their feasibility is proven. It is concluded that understanding the importance of these issues will lead to energy independence and energy security of the country as a whole, as well as an increase in the volume of civil construction and energy renovation of civil buildings. Special attention is paid to RES, which are already used in Ukraine, are quite energy-efficient and preserve the environment, which increases the country's competitiveness in the world energy supply market, as well as the production of many goods and services that are relevant today. Leading experts in the field of civil engineering and energy consider the development of renewable energy sources (RES) as one of the most important ways to energy independence of Ukraine and the development of civil engineering systems, the needs of which are growing along with the construction of new consumer facilities. The further development of this work consists in the targeted monitoring of problematic links of the modern energy supply system and the implementation of the latest developments of domestic and foreign specialists, which are already available today and allow to significantly reduce the percentage of energy costs in all areas of energy supply stem of civil engineering.

Although originally motivated by applications such as image processing, multidimensional (nD) systems have mainly attracted the attention of the research community due to the richness of new theoretical questions raised by their treatment, and are often replaced by other settings when it comes to modelling, identifying and controlling processes in practical situations. The aim of this special issue is to illustrate the application potential of nD systems by presenting several contributions where the nD framework is successfully used either to deal with practical problems or to solve practically relevant questions that arise in other contexts that are not at first sight related to multidimensional systems. In the paper Multidimensional Control Systems: Case Studies in Design and Evaluation, by Rogers et al., after introducing the most commonly used models for the analysis and control of discrete nD linear systems, a series of case studies is presented with the aim of demonstrating the advantages of the nD systems approach in solving certain control problems. Namely, applications in the fields of sensor grid networks, iterative learning control, civil engineering and agriculture are considered. The paper Two-dimensional Generalized Predictive Control (2D-GPC) Scheme for the Batch Processes with Two-dimensional (2D)Dynamics, Shi et al. studies the problem of iterative learning control (ILC) design for batch processes. Based on 2Dcontrolled auto-regressive moving average (2D-CARMA) model, a novel two-dimensional generalized predictive control (2D-GPC) is proposed. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by the experimental results on packing pressure control of the injection molding process.

The analysis of the research needs of highway transportation has been prepared by the Committee on Research of the Highway Division for ultimate use in a combined report of civil engineering research needs. The over-all civil engineering report is being prepared by Colorado State University. The primary reason for the study was to obtain a basis for funding. The systems approach was utilized, wherein each component is represented in terms of its ultimate performance within some larger system. The efforts of research should be concerned with improvement of the planning processes, system operations, physical performance, and management procedures. Allocation of research funds assumes 12,000 professional staff and $30,000 per year per professional (with support staff) for a total requirement of $360,000,000 per year. The proposed level of expenditure is considerably less than could be effectively utilized to optimize the role of highway transportation in helping to fulfill society's need for transportation.

The development of information technology provides means for quick access to a wide variety of information and methods of modelling complex systems. Simulation models, databases, decision support systems and artificial intelligence have currently become more accessible. Advances of these techniques continue to impact highly on civil engineering. The aim of this paper is to present recent developments in information technology and their influence on concrete technology. A historical perspective on researches and a review of the application of artificial intelligence techniques on concrete are presented. Development of computer integrated knowledge systems, approach of virtual systems and soft- ware for concrete mix design are also discussed. These systems have greatly affected handling tasks in civil engineering design over the past decade and promise to have revolutionary impacts on the nature of the design tasks in the future. They are considered useful and powerful tools which are able to solve complex problems and represent a scientific challenge in concrete technology. Santrauka Vystantis informacinems technologijoms, atsiranda galimybiuų greitai gauti iųvairiausios informacijos ir metoduų, kaip modeliuoti sudėtingas sistemas. Pastaruoju metu paplito imitaciniai modeliai, duomenuų bazės, sprendimuų paramos sistemos ir dirbtinis intelektas. Šiuų metodikuų pažanga statybuų sektoriui ir toliau daro didžiule˛ iųtaka˛. Šiame darbe siekiama pristatyti informaciniuų technologijuų naujienas ir juų iųtaka˛ betono technologijoms. Apžvelgiami ankstesni tyrimai ir dirbtinio intelekto metoduų taikymas ruošiant betona˛. Be to, aptariamas integruotuų kompiuteriniuų žiniuų sistemuų vystymas, virtualiuų sistemuų naudojimas ir programinė iųranga betono mišiniams kurti. Per pastarajių dešimtmetių šios sistemos padarė nemenka˛ iųtaka˛ tam, kaip atliekamos inžinerinio projektavimo užduotys, ir turėtuų paskatinti projektavimo užduoČiuų perversma ateityje. Jos – naudingi ir galingi iųrankiai, leidžiantys spre˛sti sudėtingas problemas, tai mokslinis iššūkis betono technologijuų srityje.