Mathematics Applied to Civil Engineering

One additional career field- aside from those mentioned in my previous posts- requiring a strong mathematics background is civil engineering. "Estimators" (often with assistants) are needed to interpret engineers' plans of public projects and perform "takeoffs", mathematical calculations. In excavation, for example, estimators need to calculate the volume of dirt moved, as well as the amount by which to decrease or increase the altitude (cut or fill dirt, respectively) at any given location. This information is needed in the bidding process, when endeavoring to simultaneously compete with other excavation companies, as well as guiding the workers in the field when the actual excavation is completed.
A mathematician working in this field can appreciate the application of numerical analysis and modern computer technology to greatly reduce the time required for excavation takeoffs. Prior to the computer age, a civil engineer was compelled to make use of a planimeter, a useful device which computes the area of a figure it is rolled around. By rolling it around contour lines at various intervals, for both the natural (untouched) and final (excavated) grades, civil engineers used this device to compute volume, estimated as the sum of the volumes of figures with base defined by the contour line traced and height determined by the interval at which the contour lines are traced. Modern-day computer software packages perform this calculation much more quickly. Civil engineers can now use software packages allowing them to digitize contour lines, add grade breaks along altitude gradients, and direct the computer to perform this calculation (within a few minutes, at that point). Takeoffs are still quite time-consuming, but much less so than prior to the availability of computer technology.