Trine engineering receives GIS software

ICI grant provides funds

 

An Independent Colleges of Indiana Tech Fund Grant will provide software to expand programs in the Reiners Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Trine University this fall.

The $2,600 grant will provide the licensure and computer lab copies of software that will integrate geographical information systems (GIS) into the civil engineering program. The software will be installed in the civil engineering computer lab for use in the fall curriculum and thereafter.

GIS have emerged in the past several decades as some of the most powerful tools in civil engineering. Widely used by local, regional, state, federal and international agencies to collect, maintain and provide access to spatially-varied data, GIS allows engineers to access the data and present designs in easily understood maps and figures.

Civil site designs are based on an understanding of soil conditions, topography, existing and proposed land uses, hydrologic data such as river flows and rainfall, and environmental conditions such as the location of protected areas or toxic materials.

The software will allow Reiners Department students to understand GIS tools as they apply to these engineering challenges, preparing them even more completely to enter careers as working engineers. Trine will receive software from ESRI, the industry standard for GSI. The package known as ArcView can be immediately integrated into the learning objectives of the existing civil and environmental engineering courses. The software will also enhance the water resources courses of hydrology, hydraulics, and watershed management.