Syllabus
Course Objectives & Academic/Learning Goals
This course gives students a quantitative understanding of hydrology and its engineering applications. This includes:
- Principles and processes governing the movement of water through the hydrologic cycle; and
- Hydrologic statistics, and frequency analysis techniques applied to problems of engineering hydrologic design.
Student Outcomes addressed in this course include:
1. Identify the broad context of civil engineering problems
2. Design fundamental elements of civil engineering systems, system components and processes
4. Employ mathematics, science, and computing techniques in a systematic, comprehensive, and rigorous manner to support the study and solution of civil engineering problems.
5. Synthesize results to provide solutions that reflect social and environmental sensitivities.
6. Exhibit good teamwork skills and serve as effective members of multidisciplinary project teams.
7. Articulate and justify technical solutions through oral, written, and graphical communication.
9. Understand the constantly evolving nature of civil engineering, and recognize the need to stay abreast of the latest developments in the field.
Prerequisites
The student is expected to have a working knowledge of the basic principles of fluid mechanics and engineering hydraulics, and facility with the use of spreadsheets for performing advanced analyses including writing of modules. Thus, the student must have completed the following University of Texas at Austin courses or their equivalent:
- Civil Engineering 311S, Probability and Statistics for Civil Engineers
- Civil Engineering 356, Engineering Hydraulics
Text Required
Applied Hydrology – V. Chow, D. Maidment, and L. Mays, McGraw-Hill 1988. The book will be available in pdf form through the Canvas web site for this class.
Homework Policy
Homework assignments will be made by the instructor and due on the date posted in the "assignments" page of the course website or as modified from time to time by the instructor. The homework assignments that you turn in are intended to represent just your own work. Late homework assignments will be penalized 20% per day late. Once a homework assignment has been graded, no further homework will be accepted for that assignment. The instructor may assign a failing grade to any student not turning in 75% of the homework assignments for this course.
CAEE Department policy: "Graded materials must not be returned to a student in any manner that would allow others to see the student’s grade on the assignment. Graded materials may not be passed around the classroom or left outside an office. Graded assignments will be available for students to pick up from ECJ 4.200."
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory.
Office Hours
By appointment. Please feel free to call me at (471-5644), or send me an e-mail at daene@aol.com.
Exam Policy
Exam procedures - The exams will be closed book and closed notes. Exams will cover material introduced since the previous exam. One (1) 8.5 x 11 in page may be used in each exam. Conversion factors, physical properties of fluids will be provided to you on the exam paper as needed. Prior to the end of an exam the time remaining will be announced. You must submit your exam paper at the end of that time. At the end of the exam period the instructor or proctor will leave the room with all submitted exam material. Absolutely no exam material of any kind will be accepted by the instructor or proctor after leaving the exam room.
Calculators and Cell Phones: Calculators (equivalent to the model allowed on the SAT exam) may be used on the exam, but they must be provided by the student. The instructor does not have calculators to use during the exams, so bring your own. Computers (laptops, tablets, or smart phones) are not allowed to be used during the exam period. Cell phones are not allowed to be used during the exam period.
Exam dates will be posted on the class website and announced in class. Students are responsible for informing the instructor of any conflict with this schedule so that, if possible, alternative dates can be agreed upon by the class.
Makeup exams will not be given. Medical illness (or other comparable situation) will be the only excuse for being given credit for a missed exam. If you miss an exam during the semester for a medical reason, you will be assigned a grade for the exam based on the exams which you have taken as follows: A grade for the exam that you missed will be estimated based on how you did on the other exams during the semester relative to the rest of the class. If you miss an exam due to an illness, you will be asked to present definitive evidence that you were, in fact, ill. You must inform the instructor in advance that you are ill, unless there are compelling reasons why you cannot do so. If you miss an exam for reasons other than illness or other valid excuse, you will be assigned a grade of zero.
CAEE Department policy: Graded materials must not be returned to a student in any manner that would allow others to see the student’s grade on the assignment. Graded materials may not be passed around the classroom or left outside an office. Graded exams will be available for students to pick up from ECJ 4.200.
Project/Design Assignments
During the semester each student will work with a team on a project dealing with hydrology. These projects will deal with some aspect of a real, complex hydrologic issue of current interest to the world, nation, State of Texas, Austin, or the UT campus community. Students must work in teams. Each group will make a video presentation of their results and deliver it to the instructor.
Purpose - The purposes of the term project are:
- To enable you to explore in-depth an aspect of the subject of hydrology.
- To provide experience in the formulation, execution and presentation of an engineering investigation in the area of hydrology.
- To produce and deliver a report (both oral and written) that will be informative to you and to your classmates.
Steps in Carrying out the Project - The steps in carrying out the project are:
- Students and the instructor form teams.
- Teams will then develop a proposal for their project.
- Teams will present their project to the class as a video and submit a written critique of 2 other videos to the instructor.
Project Presentations - Final projects will be presented in video, 15 minutes (max). Presentations should include
- Introduction
- Short statement of problem, its importance, and what report contains
- Method(s)
- Theory and method of how you solved your problem
- Results
- Example of running your program or solution to your problem
- Conclusions
- What did you learn from the project, including an assessment of how effective you think your program or project is, and what could be done to extend or improve your project
Project Grading Rubric - Based on the project video and submitted computer implementation files, and considering:
- Originality
- Introduction
- Technical Competence (method, results, assessment)
- Overall quality of presentation or report (speaking, audience interest, language usage)
Project Reports - Should contain:
- Project presentation (video format)
- Computer code files (Groundwater Vista files for each alternative)
Grading
Grading basis - The basis of grading for this course will consist of the following components with the indicated weights:
- Exam 1: 25%
- Exam 2: 25%
- Homework: 25%
- Project: 3 parts
- Proposal = 5%;
- Presentation = 15%;
- Peer review = 5%
Grade Ranges - Letter grades will be assigned as follows:
- A grade >94%
- A- 90 ≤ grade < 94%
- B+ 87 ≤ grade < 90%
- B 84 ≤ grade < 87%
- B- 80 ≤ grade < 84%
- C+ 77 ≤ grade < 80%
- C 74 ≤ grade < 77%
- C- 70 ≤ grade < 74%
- D+ 67 ≤ grade < 70%
- D 64 ≤ grade < 67%
- D- 60 ≤ grade < 64%
- F grade < 60%
Drop Policy
The standard drop policy is in force.
Course Evaluation
Standard approved Course Instructor web-based form will be used.
Students with Disabilities
The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259 (voice) or 410-6644 (video phone) or http://diversity.utexas.edu/disability/
Topical Outline
See Assignments Page