Graduate Courses

Theory and formulation procedures: energy and residual. One-dimensional problems: stress analysis in axial structures, steady and transient fluid and heat flow, consolidation, wave-propagation, beam-column. Two-dimensional problems: field and plane/axisymmetric, use of computer codes for solution to typical problems.

Dynamics of immiscible fluids in porous and fractured media, anisotropy and scale, advective solute transport, consolidation and land subsidence, multiaquifer systems, free surface flow, and salt water/fresh water interfaces.

Finite difference, finite element and boundary integral methods for subsurface fluid flow and mass transport; applications to aquifers, unsaturated soils, earth structures.

Outlines the extent of uncertainties under which civil engineering designs and decisions are made. Theory and application. Advanced topics in risk-based engineering design. System reliability concepts. Statistical decision theory and its application in civil engineering. Identifying and modeling, nondeterministic problems in engineering and in understanding many recently issued engineering codes.

This course introduces students to the concepts of the conduct of research in an empirical setting.

Differential equations governing unsteady flow in open channels. Simple surface waves in subcritical and supercritical flows. Introduction of kinematic, diffusion, and dynamic wave methods. Applications to reservoir routing, dam break flow and overland flow.

Discussion and analysis of major topics of the hydrologic cycle and their interrelationship, such as rainfall, infiltration, evaporation and runoff. Statistical and probabilistic methods in water supply and flood hydrology.

This web-based, distance-deliverable course teaches engineering practitioners and college students the basic principles of sediment transport and the skills for performing sediment transport analysis using hydraulic models, such as the HEC-RAS4.1. The course consists of three parts: fundamental theories of hydraulic models, basis of sediment transport models, and application of HEC-RAS unsteady flow and sediment transport models. Practice examples are designed based on two dry land rivers in Arizona: the Rillito River and the Pantano Wash. Sixty percent of the content is the fundamental principles that govern flow and sediment transport in open channel flows, and 40 percent is regarding the application of HEC-RAS models. Concepts of bed material, bed load, and suspended load; formulas to predict bed load, suspended load, and total load; methods to estimate fluvial resistances based on bed forms (e.g. ripples, dunes, antidunes); calculation of local scour and bank erosion; and design of stable channels are also included.

Design of waterways, erosion control structures and small dams. Methods for frequency analysis and synthetic time distribution of rainfall. Methods for estimating infiltration and runoff from small watersheds, flow routing and stormwater management. Estimating erosion using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation.

Computer modeling of surface water hydrology, flood plain hydraulics and water distribution systems. Theoretical basis. Application and design studies.

Selected advanced topics will be covered in the fields of hydraulics and water resources engineering with emphasis on analysis and design of water systems.

Advanced problems in the analysis and design of steel structures including beam columns, plate girders, composite construction, multi-story buildings; static and dynamic lateral and vertical loads; connections; computer applications.

Determination of gravity and lateral loads on structures. Design of wood structures for axial load and bending; structural wood panels, diaphragms and shear walls. Types of masonry construction. Design of masonry structures for gravity and lateral loads.

Behavior, analysis and design of statically determinate and indeterminate prestressed concrete structures; calculation of loss of prestress.

Advanced problems in the analysis and design of concrete structures, design of slender columns and one- and two-way slabs; lateral and vertical load analysis of bridges and multistory buildings; introduction to design for torsion and seismic forces; use of structural computer programs.

Structural systems, gravity load resisting systems, lateral force resisting systems, tall building design, computer structural analysis, structural steel, reinforced concrete, building codes, seismic resistant design.

Settlement and bearing capacity of shallow and deep foundations; beam on elastic foundation; design of footings and pile foundations; foundations on metastable soils; the use of computer codes for foundation problems.

Stability analysis for earth slopes, including planar, circular piecewise-linear, and composite-surface methods; analyses for static and steady-flow conditions; earth pressure theories and calculations for generalized conditions; design of rigid and flexible retaining structures; design of braced and tie-back shoring systems; design of reinforced earth walls; computer-aided analysis and design.

This course covers different ground improvement techniques, including those without addition of materials, by adding materials and using reinforcing elements. During the course, opportunities will be given to students to develop a range of generic skills including written communication skills, problem-solving skills and analysis and critical evaluation skills. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to understand the principles, applications and design procedures for various ground improvement techniques; use analytical/theoretical/numerical calculations to assess the effectiveness of a ground improvement technique; gain competence in properly evaluating alternative solutions; and the effectiveness before, during and after using ground improvement.

The objective of the short course is to show the applications of block theory for rock mass surficial and underground excavations. Three papers will be given to illustrate the application of theory to shiplock slopes of the Three Gorges dam site in China, a mine in Arizona and a highway rock slope in Arizona.

Introduction to geoenvironmental engineering; physiochemical and microstructural behavior of geomaterials, effect of pollutants, design of waste disposal systems; advanced laboratory testing, geotextiles, space geomechanics, etc.

Waste generation and disposal regulations; types and characterization of wastes; engineering properties of soil-water-contaminants; use of earth and geosynthetic materials in waste containment applications; evaluation, design and construction of liner and leachate collection systems used in landfills and heap leach mining; remediation of contaminated sites.

Review of plate tectonics and seismology, analysis of earthquake ground motions, travel path and distance effects, and site response effects. Soil liquefaction susceptibility, identification, and mitigation. Introduction to seismic slope stability.

Brief statements and applications of numerical methods based on closed-form solutions; finite difference and finite element methods for problems involving soil structure interaction such as piles, retaining walls, group piles, underground works; seepage; and consolidation.

Application of statistics and probability to uncertainty in the description, measurement and analysis of hydrologic variables and processes, including extreme events, error models, simulation, sampling.

Introduction to soil and water relationships, irrigation systems, irrigation water supply and irrigation management; basic designs.

Design and operation of surface, sprinkler and trickle irrigation systems based on economic and environmental criteria.

Water quality and system design for agricultural drainage and wastewater systems.

Selected advanced topics will be covered in the field of transportation engineering, with emphasis on analysis and design of transportation systems.

The course will cover various modeling and simulation approaches used in studying traffic dynamics and control in a transportation network. The model-based simulation tools discussed include dynamic macroscopic and microscopic traffic flow simulation and assignment models. Models will be analyzed for their performance in handling traffic dynamics, route choice behavior and network representation.

This class will introduce traffic system design concepts, control components, management strategies and tools for evaluating their effectiveness.

Methods for the efficient and safe operation of transport facilities through analysis of capacity, safety, speed, parking and volume data.

Methods for the integrated design of components typically found in transportation structures including bridge super- and sub-structures, retaining walls, pavements, highway geometrics, traffic, drainage, etc. Taught by practicing engineers.

This course introduces important concepts of database design and application. Popular database and analytical tools are introduced and demonstrated using traffic sensor data, roadway geometric data and traffic accident data. The objective is to introduce modern concepts, algorithms and tools for transportation data management and analysis. With the instructions, assignments and projects in this course, students are expected to learn database design theories; analytical methods for capacity, safety and time series analyses; and skills on popular software tools for transportation data management and analysis.

Study of geometric elements of streets and highways, with emphasis on analysis and design for safety.

Detailed investigation of methods to model travel demand, covering data collection and analysis, model development, and forecasting applications.

Students will learn and integrate the basic principles of microbiology required for understanding of application of bioremediation to contaminated sites, become familiar with current research in bioremediation, and learn to solve problems often encountered in application of bioremediation.

Engineering concerns in toxic and hazardous waste management with focus on aspects of chemical transport between air, water and soil systems; and microbial degradation processes in natural and engineered environment.

Application of theory and engineering experience to the design of unit operations for the production of potable water. Covers water regulations, conventional treatment technologies and selected advanced treatment topics.

Application of theory and engineering experience to the design of unit operations for the treatment of wastewater. Covers water regulations, conventional treatment technologies and selected advanced treatment topics.

Management, planning, legal and engineering aspects of liquid and solid hazardous waste treatment and disposal.

Develop an enhanced understanding of construction project planning, scheduling, execution and control in preparation to contribute to construction firms, project management consultants and owners upon graduation. Topics include network scheduling, critical path method, resource allocation, cost control, software applications to scheduling and contract documents.

Develop an enhanced understanding of quantity take-off and cost estimating of construction resources including materials, labor and equipment. Skills and knowledge of cost estimating will provide preparation for builders and designers to contribute to construction firms, project management consultants and owners upon graduation. Topics include: types of cost estimates, budget estimates, pre-construction services estimates, quantity take-off, self-performed estimates, subcontractor work estimates and bid preparation.

Introduction to the principles of occupational and environmental health, with emphasis on industrial hygiene aspects of recognition, evaluation, and control of environmental and industrial health hazards.

The objective of this course is to prepare you to identify, characterize and evaluate prevalent soil types in Arizona and to design safe and economical foundations.

Develop an enhanced understanding of construction equipment and methods to contribute to construction firms, project management consultants and owners upon graduation. Topics include: costing, safety, earth-moving equipment, cranes, creating and securing deep digs, constructing deep foundations, and forms and temporary structures.

Research presentation only for CE and EM majors.

Stress (acoustic wave propagation and dispersion in infinite solids and finite wave guides), application of wave propagation theory in destructive and nondestructive evaluation of materials and structures, dynamic failure behavior of materials. 

This course is an advanced research topic for graduates interested in pursuing a professional career in water resources engineering.

Concepts and methodology required to upscale near-surface hydrologic processes to catchment scales with development of watershed models to quantify hydrologic response in different climates. Special attention given to how landscape geomorphologic structure affects hydrologic behavior.

Status of infrastructure and causes of deterioration of constructed facilities. Strengthening of bridges and buildings. Application of advanced modern materials such as fiber composites in new structures and for rehabilitation of existing structures.

Inelastic behavior of beams and columns; short- and long-term beam deflections; combined bending, shear and torsion in beams; behavior under load reversals; analysis and design of beam to column connections and shear walls.

The course covers stability theory as it pertains to structural engineering. The lectures will primarily involve theoretical derivations of stability behavior and how this theory is translated into design rules. Course coverage begins at the structural member level, including the examination of in-plane elastic stability, in-plane inelastic stability and three-dimensional elastic stability. The course concludes with an examination of two-dimensional structural stability, including elastic-plastic collapse of frames.

The course covers stability theory as it pertains to structural engineering. The lectures will primarily involve theoretical derivations of stability behavior and how this theory is translated into design rules. Course coverage begins at the structural member level, including the examination of in-plane elastic stability, in-plane inelastic stability and three-dimensional elastic stability. The course concludes with an examination of two-dimensional structural stability, including elastic-plastic collapse of frames.

Topics and applications will vary with instructor. Advanced application of statistics and probability to hydrology, time series analysis and synthesis, and artificial neural network methods, as applied in the modeling of hydro-climatic sequences or Bayesian and other analyses in the decision-making process of water resources. A combination of theory and application to the fields of hydrology, environmental and water resources engineering, climatic modeling and other related natural resource modeling.

Introduction of advanced modeling and solution techniques for management and operation problems in the modern urban transportation systems. A term project is required in addition to regular scheduled homework assignments and exams.

Economic analysis of transportation projects and transportation infrastructure investment, including analysis of travel demand, benefits, costs, equilibrium, pricing and market structure.

Advanced design for water and wastewater treatment. Emphasis on modern environmental engineering processes for water and wastewater treatment.

General three-dimensional equations of elasticity; problems in plane stress, plane strain, extension, torsion; energy, residual and other solution methods; applications to rings, beams, plates, torsion and other problems.

General three-dimensional equations of elasticity; problems in plane stress, plane strain, extension, torsion; energy, residual and other solution methods; applications to rings, beams, plates, torsion and other problems.

Modes of fracture, crack propagation, Griffith energy balance, crack tip plasticity, J-integral, fatigue cracks, analytical and numerical techniques, constitutive models for damaged materials.

Approximation functions; Lagrangian and Hermitian interpolation; isoparametric elements and numerical integration; mixed, hybrid and boundary element methods; nonlinear analysis; nonlinear problems in solids under static and dynamic loads; time integration schemes;  fluid and heat flow coupled problems and mass transport.

Research presentation only for CE and EM majors.

Some of the following topic areas are covered in this class: theory of elasticity, plasticity, numerical methods, constitutive modeling, advanced structural mechanics, wave propagation and fracture. The detailed course content varies from semester to semester and could have interdisciplinary components; students should contact the department for details.

Stress (acoustic wave propagation and dispersion in infinite solids and finite wave guides); application of wave propagation theory in destructive and nondestructive evaluation of materials and structures; dynamic failure behavior of materials. 

Vibrations and dynamic response of structural systems to periodic and arbitrary loadings and support motion; response spectrum and step-by-step formulations for seismic analysis and design.

This graduate-level course is designed to give students an in-depth understanding of the advanced concepts in structural dynamics. Topics include modal analysis theory and implementation, data acquisition and analysis, digital signal processing, random vibration concepts, system identification, structural health monitoring and damage detection, advanced sensor technologies, and smart structure technologies. A big portion of the course will be devoted to the fundamentals of numerical simulations and experimental methods in structural dynamics, exposing students to state-of-the-art simulation software and dynamic testing equipment and providing practical laboratory experience. For many problems, such simulation and testing is essential to validate new structural concepts, as well as to understand structural responses and failures that are not readily explained by intuition, analytical models or previous experience.

Statement of axioms of continuum mechanics. Strain, stress and nonlinear behavior. Laboratory testing including hyperelasticity; hypoelasticity; rate type models; plasticity review; hardening, volume change and dilatancy; softening; inherent and induced anisotropy;  laboratory testing and implementation.