Heavy Civil Engineering

The Hoover Dam. The Golden Gate Bridge. The Mercer Street Tunnel in Seattle. All are examples of Heavy Civil Engineering, a branch of engineering centered around design and construction of airports, bridges, canals, dams, levees, roads, and tunnels. As infrastructure ages, civil engineers will be needed to manage projects to rebuild, repair, and upgrade structures of all types. 

The Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering Management Department at California State University Long Beach emphasizes this growing branch of engineering with generous support from the Beaver's Charitable Trust, which devotes its proceeds to assisting students entering the heavy construction engineering industry. 

Thanks to the trust's support, retired Westminster City Manager Marwan Youssef was named the Professor of Practice— Beavers Endowed Chair. Rising from associate civil engineer to city engineer and city manager, Prof. Youssef provides a deep well of expertise and experience for CSULB civil engineers to draw from. Prior to accepting the new role, Youssef taught structural engineering at CSULB for over 12 years as a part-time lecturer. 

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Students using the MTS test apparatus

The Beavers also funded a MTS 370 Uniaxial Servohydraulic Load Frame for teaching and research, which students can use to learn assembling components for testing, as well as analyzing and discussing real-time output of test results. The MTS load frame can be used for testing high-strength concrete samples. It is available for remote or in-person use by CSU faculty and students and other researchers, to inquire about its use, contact Assistant Professor Mehran Rahmani or Assistant Professor Andrea Calabrese