Civil engineering, surveying & building
June 2011
Many Victorian engineers have become household names, now, in the 21st century, with high speed rail, sky-reaching buildings and clean water on-demand we take civil engineers’ skills for granted. This is the story of the oldest professional engineering institution, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), and the people who made it; the men and women that have shaped the world around us with the projects they design, build and maintain and in doing do so have helped to improve the lives of millions of people. Opening the doors on the ICE’s extensive archives, this highly illustrated colour history looks at the development of the profession over nearly 200 years, charting the successes of construction from the great engineering advances of Victorian times to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the growth of the ICE into a global knowledge network with a membership of more than 80,000. With biographies of some of the great engineers who made these changes possible, including ICE past presidents: Thomas Telford, the first president and, for many, the greatest civil engineer of all time; George and Robert Stephenson, father and son pioneers of the British railway revolution; Sir John Fowler, responsible for the world’s first underground railway; Sir Joseph Bazalgette, creator of London’s sewer system; Sir Benjamin Baker, creator of the Forth Railway Bridge and the Aswan Dam; and Basil Mott, designer and engineer of the Mersey Road Tunnel. Explore the colourful history of the development of civil engineering and its professional institution in this informative and interesting account from authors with extensive knowledge of the ICE. The Civil Engineers is a fascinating read for all those interested in the civil engineering industry and its impact on the world, as well as an overview of the ICE and its key players for civil engineers working towards ICE membership.
