The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering celebrated its storied history in 2023, marking 150 years of service to students, the profession, and the state of Iowa. The occasion was marked during the 2023 Homecoming Week. Faculty, students, staff, and alumni reconnected with a series of events including an open house, two symposiums, tours of the Water Treatment Plant and Seamans Center, and the unveiling of the new Steel Sculpture outside the Seamans Center.
For the last 150 years, we have taken great pride in molding future engineers and shaping the trajectory of civil engineering. This milestone invites reflection and celebration of our exceptional faculty, staff, and students who have advanced our natural and built environment through the ingenuity of engineering since 1873.
— Allen Bradley, DEO, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Timeline: 150 years of civil engineering at Iowa
1873
Course of study in civil engineering approved as a four-year degree.
1896
Course requirements for the 3rd and 4th years include geology, military drill, sanitary engineering, and steam engine.
1901
South Hall, home to civil engineering, burns to the ground.
1912
Archibald Alexander, the first engineering graduate to become a member of the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Academy, earns a civil engineering degree.
1919
A tradition begins in which engineering students design, build, and erect a massive corn monument on the Pentacrest lawn.
1920
First hydraulics lab is constructed, jump-starting a legacy of water-based research and innovation.
1931
Floyd Nagler, a professor of hydraulic engineering, founds and directs the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research.
1936
The civil engineering program is first accredited by ABET in 1936.
1943
Emma Upham Morgan becomes the first female graduate, receiving a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Four months later Morgan would receive a second degree, a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
1988
VC Patel and Subhash Jain start the first International Perspective study abroad course in India.
2008
The Iowa Flood Center is formed in response to catastrophic flooding events. CEE faculty play a large role in bringing the center to life.
2017
The new environmental engineering program is approved and later accredited in 2021.
2023
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering marks its 150-year anniversary with the installation of an American Institute of Steel Construction Steel Sculpture, which are found on 170 college and university campuses around the world.
2023
The graduating class has 84 students and includes 46 civil engineering degrees, 17 environmental engineering degrees, 14 Master of Science degrees, and seven PhDs.
