Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, SUST

HISTORY
Civil and Environmental Engineering abbreviated as CEE (the then Environmental Engineering and Pollution Control abbreviated as EEPC), one of the two engineering departments was established with an objective of keeping pioneering role to mitigate the environmental problems of Bangladesh specially in the north-eastern region of the country during the session 1994-95 with the initiative of Professor Dr. Syed Mohibuddin Ahmed, the then Vice Chancellor of the SUST. Internationally reputed Civil Engineer/Environmental Engineer Professor M. Feroze Ahmed of Environmental Division of Civil Engineering Department of BUET has been involved in the building up of the department since its establishment in 1995 who is actively associated with the design and preparation of syllabi & curricula, recruitment of the teachers, setup of the department etc. Environmental Engineering and Pollution Control (EEPC) was renamed as Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) in June 2001.

ACADEMIC FACILITIES IN CEE
Now CEE department is offering four-year undergraduate degree B. Sc. in Civil and Environmental Engineering. CEE academic faculty is located at the ground floor of Academic Building- III of SUST. CEE has the modern laboratory facilities. Major CEE laboratories are Water supply and Waste Water Engineering Laboratory, Environmental Pollution Control laboratory, Environmental Modeling and GIS laboratory, Fluid Mechanics laboratory, Concrete laboratory, Strength of Materials laboratory, Soil Mechanics and Geo-technical Engineering laboratory and Transportation Engineering laboratory. Shophosticated equipment like Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AASP of Varian Model USA), Gaschromotograph (GC of Varian Model USA), Universal Testing Machine (Houdston UTM of USA), Environmental Monitoring Station (ELE Model of UK) are available in CEE laboratories to facilitate modern testing facilities. CEE Seminar library is also well-furnished with the help of ITN collaboration project..


INTERNATIONAL LINKAGE PROGRAM OF CEE DEPARTMENT
CEE is the first department of SUST making international linkage with the universities at home and abroad. CEE with Chemistry and Social Work Department signed linkage Project “Appropriate Technology for Waste Water Treatment” between Shahjalal University of Science & Technology (SUST) and Staffordshire University of UK financed by ODA (UK) in November 1996. CEE Department of SUST is linked with BUET under the umbrella of International Training Network (ITN) for water and waste management as a sub-center since 1996. Since then The CEE department has been working is successfully as an active Sub-center of International Training Network (ITN) for Water and Waste Management of Bangladesh Center located at BUET funded by World Bank/DANIDA wided in 18 developing countries of the world. CEE department as an associate partner of Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science Department of SUST was also inter linked with University of Applied Science, at Karlsruhe, Germany, Jiangsu Polytechnic University of Peoples Republic of China and Institute of Membrane Technology ITM-CNR of University of Calabaria of Italy through INNOWA-Innovative Water and Waste Water Treatment project funded by EC under Asia-Pro Eco program from 2005-07. CEE department has also the plan to make international linkage and research collaboration with other universities of home and abroad especially with foreign universities in future.


CONSULTANCY, RESEARCH AND TESTING SERVICES OFFERED BY CEE
CEE department established the centre for research, testing and consultancy (CRTC) to provide research, testing and consultancy services in 2003. CRTC has already contributed a lot; .CRTC designed water treatment plant to remove high concentration of iron(>11mg/lit) in ground water of Sylhet region (value of 1,00,000 Tk), such a plant has been successfully operating since 2006 in Hotel Asma International, a sophisticated hotel of Sylhet city. CTRC already planned and designed the Madina Garden City near Sylhet International Airport (value of 10,00,000 Tk) including EIA and recently has been working for Gazi Burhan Uddin Model City near Sylhet upashahar (value of 20,00,000 Tk). CRTC has been performing all kind of testing in the field of water, waste water, cement, concrete, rod beam, soil, air, noise etc. since 2003.

CEE ACTIVITIES IN PROFESSION AND RESEARCH
EEPC has been actively involved in professional development, research and abatement program of environmental issues in Sylhet division. Apart of the academic activities, CEE has been contributing significantly in the development of professionals in water and waste management through ITN activities such as developing and offering training courses for professionals since 1997 under the linkage between ITN Bangladesh Center at BUET and SUST Sub-center. CEE faculty members have been actively involved in ‘Healthy City Program’ of Sylhet Paurashava since 1997. CEE faculty members have been conducting significant researches in the field of earthquake, water and waste water treatment specially removal of iron, arsenic, tannery waste, textile and dying waste, fertilizer waste, paper and pulp waste, pharmaceutical waste etc.; hill cutting; wet land issues; sanitation specially solid waste management and human waste management; water supply specially rainwater harvesting; environment impact assessment; environment management; geo-environment engineering; biodiversity assessment; traffic management, transportation engineering; structural engineering etc. CEE department concentrated to basic research on appropriate technology based on locally available materials. A young research group of CEE department has invented a new technology to treat tannery waste using another waste without the application of chemical that has been found to more effective and perform very successfully. Young CEE faculty members also invented the low cost technology for removing iron and arsenic using locally available natural ingredients without the application of chemicals.

CEE department organized a National Conference on Prospects of Environmental Engineerin Bangladesh in August 10-11, 2001. CEE department has been taken part in the International ETP FAIR 2007 held in September 111 to 13, 2007 organized by DoE in BCFCC where the stall of CEE has been regarded as the best research exhibitor in the field effluent treatment processes. CEE department is going to organize the “First International Conference on Indigenous People of Bangladesh and Environment” with Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, Bangladesh Environmental Network (BEN) to be held in December 17-18, 2007 in the IEB Conference Centre.

CEE faculty members are conducting basic researches in the field of civil and environmental engineering. More than 100 researches publications authorized by CEE faculty members have been published in international journals and conference proceedings..

ROLE OF CEE DEPARTMENT IN INTERNATIONAL FORUM

CEE faculty members review technical papers for Water Research Jounal ‘Water Supply’ of IWA published by Elsevier Publication Ltd. of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Research Jounal ‘Water Science and Technology’ of IWA published by Blackwell Science Ltd., London, UK, Journal of Waste Management published by by Elsevier Publication Ltd. of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. CEE faculty member was elected the Member of the Distribution Division (Operation and Maintenance Committee) of International Water Supply Association (IWSA) in September 1995 and attended Division Meetings (in Madrid 1995 & in Hong Kong in November 1996) and took active participation in the activities of division. CEE faculty member also worked as the Member of the Task Force for Unaccounted for Water of International Water Supply Association (IWSA) for the session 1996-1997. CEE faculty members also actively associated with Global Water Partnership (GWP), Ramser Convention for Wetland.


CEE GRADUATES AROUND THE WORLD
Already six batches (each batch leaving 50 graduates) have been graduated from this department date till April 2007. B.Sc engineers graduated from this department are working as B.C.S Cadre in PWD, R&H, PDB, DPHE, WDB etc. Also they are working as engineers in LGED, BDRD, different ministries of Bangladesh, different research organizations like Bangladesh River Research Institute, Bangladesh Institute of Water Modeling etc. Civil & Environmental engineers of SUST has been working in different consulting and construction firms, NGOs, different international organizations etc. and providing the services in the development of our nation. Besides about 30 CEE graduates are working abroad and earning name and fame as the sincere professionals in USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Newzeland, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Middle East countries.