2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

CASE STUDY: Integration of Python programming in a civil engineering laboratory course

This case study showcases an example assignment from a required laboratory course, about the behavior of materials, for third-year civil and mechanical engineering students. The assignment represents our objective of redesigning course assignments to more meaningfully integrate computation, in this case coding in Python, into the civil engineering curriculum. This effort is a component of a department-wide effort to emphasize computing in the civil engineering curriculum inspired by the recognition of the growing importance of computing literacy in engineering practice.

The re-designed assignments were first introduced to a pilot group of volunteer students in Fall 2023, with full implementation for all students following in Spring 2024. For this case study, we selected one of the early laboratory assignments, which aims to explore similarities and differences in the behavior of structural materials under bending, torsion, compression, and tension. Students are guided to analyze and interpret their laboratory measurement data using Python within the Google Colab environment. The efficacy of the first full-class implementation is evaluated through observations, student submissions and student feedback.

Authors

Prof. John S Popovics P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3363-140X University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

John Popovics is a Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Drexel University and his Ph.D. in Engineering Science and Mechanic
Yiming Niu
Dr. Sotiria Koloutsou-Vakakis http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7658-6517 University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign [biography]

Dr. Sotiria Koloutsou-Vakakis holds a Diploma in Surveying Engineering (National Technical University of Athens, Greece), a M.A. in Geography (University of California, Los Angeles), and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Engineering (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign). She is a Senior Lecturer and Research Scientist in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her main interests are in air quality, environmental policy, and supporting student learning and professional preparation.
Karthik Pattaje
Prof. Jacob Henschen University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [biography]

Professor Henschen completed his B.S., M.S., and PhD. at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2007, 2009, and 2018 respectively. He was an Assistant Professor at Valparaiso University until he moved to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a Teaching Assistant Professor in June 2020. He serves as the co-chair for the Teaching Methods and Education Materials Committee at ACI and the co-chair of the Committee on Faculty Development at ASCE.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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