Famous Engineers
This ancient Greek engineer shouted “Eureka!” after discovering a principle of buoyancy in his bath.
Archimedes
Type A (Type 1)
This common construction material is made by mixing cement, water, sand, and gravel (coarse and fine aggregate).
Concrete
These main elements of a suspension bridge hangs between towers and supports the deck.
Cables
This bird can mimic human speech and is known for its intelligence and social behavior.
Parrot
This engineer’s polyphase electric AC system won the War of Currents and powers modern electric grids.
Nikola Tesla
This soil has large particles, drains well, and gains strength mainly from friction.
Sand
This steel reinforcement is embedded in concrete to resist tensile forces and improve structural strength.
Rebar
This software helps design project cross-sections, profiles, and 3D modelling
AutoCAD
This ocean is the largest on Earth, covering more than 30% of the planet’s surface.
Pacific
American competitive eater. As of 2024, he is ranked first in the world by Major League Eating. Ate 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, a new record.
Joey Chestnut
This shallow foundation spreads loads near the surface and commonly supports low-rise buildings.
Spread Footing
In transportation road engineering, this material is made of gravel (coarse and fine aggregate), and bitumen (crude oil).
Asphalt
These massive underground structures hold the main cables at each end, keeping the bridge in tension.
Anchors
This famous artist cut off part of his own ear.
Vincent van Gogh
This mathematician laid the foundations of statics through beam theory, elastic curves, and equilibrium of forces. He also derived the buckling formula that predicts when slender columns fail under load.
Leonhard Euler
This test measures soil resistance by counting hammer blows during penetration in a borehole.
Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
This construction ingredient is a fine powder that, when mixed with water, forms a paste that hardens chemically to bind aggregates. It is made of limestone and clay.
Cement
These are made of tiers and support the main cables by transmitting the load to the foundations of a suspension bridge.
Towers (aka Pylons)
This planet in our solar system spins on its side, making its seasons extreme.
Uranus
The 31st president of the United States was a civil engineer before taking a seat in the White House.
Herbert Clark Hoover
Used in modern surveying, this instrument combines angle measurement, distance measurement, and often data recording for high-accuracy site mapping.
Total Station
In masonry construction, this mixture of cement, sand, and water bonds bricks or stones while accommodating slight movements and load transfer.
Mortar
These bridge components support the ends of a span and retain the approach fill, preventing soil from sliding onto the structure.
Abutments
This famous playwright invented over 1,700 words for the English language.
William Shakespeare