[gerdesj]

I could try to dig out my college reading list (it was actually Plymouth Polytechnic - that's Plymouth, Devon, UK) but it was 30 odd years ago. Things have moved on a bit but not too much.

Do you have a general interest in Civil Engineering or a particular project in mind?

[shanusmagnus]

Digging through your stuff would be a bridge too far :) My interest was bc this is a field that I know absolutely nothing about, and so the examples you give were suggestive of an exotic world. If there was something that could sketch out that world in the manner you did, it would be mind-expanding.

I like things that give me a look into a proximate universe that I'd never otherwise pursue, e.g., if I could read a really interesting piece about botany, or modern dance, or challenges in agriculture, or the Michael Jordan of show horses, or the world's most controversial geologist ...

[gerdesj]

OK, then get your search engine out:

- "Tacoma Narrows bridge failure" - "Roman concrete" - "Millenium bridge London" - "Concrete cancer" - "Gabions" - "3,2,1 concrete mix"

The last two are useful for DIY. That lot is just concrete. Geotechnics and hydrology are also fascinating.

When I studied this stuff we had a class where we grabbed some time to use the Poly's (Polytechnic - a bit like a second tier University back in the day - UK) electron microscope. I over focussed on our sample and vapourised it! We were studying "concrete cancer" which is a bit of a problem in maritime towns because salt in the air is one of the components needed.

I went to Plymouth (Devon, UK) Poly, which is famously a sea town and so we saw a lot of conc cancer, eg the Drake Circus multi story car park.

When you're done with concrete cancer then why not investigate how a building in Florida can collapse - ie this horror: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57631698

Cheers Jon

[shanusmagnus]

Thank you for the curated journey!