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Civil Engineering 280

 Engineering Failures  |  Biographies

Welcome to the web page for resources useful for CE280 projects, compiled by Beth Brin, Reference Librarian at Albertsons Library, Boise State University. On these pages you will find basic sources of information for civil engineering biographies and engineering failures, both print and on-line.

 Books: Engineering Failures, Biographies,   |  Periodicals
Article Indexes: General and Technical, Biographical
 Web Resources: Engineering Failures, Biographies 
 Technical Reports

Reference and Other Books: Engineering Failures, Biographies

Engineering Failures
When searching the Library Catalog (Find... Books, e-Books, Media on the Library's Home Page), use a Basic Search/ Subject Keyword search with the following, or similar, subject headings. Note: to find if there is a book devoted to a specific disaster, look for the structure (Tacoma Narrows) as a subject.

Examples of Subject Headings
Building Failures
Dam Failures
Disasters – Case Studies
Disasters – Bibliography
Structural Failures
System Failures (Engineering) – Case Studies
Name of structure that failed

examples for specific failures –
Teton Dam
Tacoma Narrows

Selected Books
 Use these books to identify specific disasters. Some include information on the disaster, some include references to other material, and some include both. If there is a ref at the beginning of the call number, those books will be located on the first floor of the Library, in the reference collection. To find an article in a magazine, search one or more of the indexes listed in the Article Indexes section.

  • Herring, Susan Davis. From the Titanic to the Challenger : an annotated bibliography on technological failures of the twentieth century.
    Good for browsing a list of failures in categories from aircraft to submarines. Some categories include bridges, dams, commercial & residential structures with citations to further reading.
    TA169.5 .H47 1989
  • Ross, Steven S. Construction disasters : design failures, causes, and prevention .
    Reprinted news from the Engineering News-Record with introductions and grouped into categories.
    TA656 .R67 1984
  • Wearne, Phillip. Collapse : when buildings fall down.
    Several cases of failure are examined in a journalistic style.
    TA656 .W415 2000
  • When technology fails : significant technological disasters, accidents, and failures of the twentieth century.
    A lengthy compilation with descriptions and references to news reports for each event.
     ref TA169.5 .W44 1994

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Biographies
When searching the Library Catalog (Find... Books, e-Books, Media), use a Basic Search/ Subject Keyword search with the following, or similar, subject headings.  Note: to find if there is a book in the Library about a specific person, search Voyager with the person’s name as the subject.

Examples of Subject Headings
Civil Engineers – Biography
Civil Engineers – United States – Biography
Engineers – Biography
Last Name, First Name

examples for individuals–
Eads, James Buchanan
Brunel, Isambard Kingdom

Selected Books
These books will help identify the names of well-known civil engineers, and provide some information about each. If there is a ref at the beginning of the call number, those books will be located on the first floor of the Library, in the reference collection. To find an article in a magazine, search one or more of the indexes listed in the Article Indexes section.

  • Great engineers and pioneers in technology.
    (v. 1. From antiquity through the Industrial Revolution.)
    Covers engineering within historical periods, with biographies of key engineers.
    ref TA139 .G7 1981
  • A biographical dictionary of civil engineers in Great Britain and Ireland.
    Contains biographical information on civil engineers in Great Britain and Ireland from 1500 to1830.
    ref TA139 .B55 2002
  • McGraw-Hill modern scientists and engineers. 3 v.
    Volume 3, Field Index (pp. 375-385) includes a listing of those whose field is civil engineering; other fields of engineering are also listed. The Analytical Index (pp. 388-451) includes names and subjects.
    Q141 .M15 1980
  • Notable twentieth-century scientists. 4 v. + supplement.
    Field of Specialization Index includes Civil Engineering and Structural Engineering.
    ref Q141 .N73 1995
  • Petroski, Henry. Engineers of dreams : great bridge builders and the spanning of America.
    There are separate chapters on five well-known bridge builders.
    TG23 .P47 1995

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Periodicals
Use an article index to find an article that has been published, then use the Journals Titles database to determine if the Library has the newspaper, magazine, or journal in which that article is located, and during the appropriate time period.

Article Indexes and Databases:
General and Technical Articles, Biographical

General and Technical Article Indexes
These indexes cover newspapers, magazines and journals, some of which will have articles about specific people or engineering failures. Some cover newspapers and more general magazines, others more technical content. Search in the Journal Titles (Find... Journal Titles on the Library Home Page) to find if the newspaper, magazine or journal is available.

  • Academic Search Premier (selectively from 1975-current)
    This index covers many magazines and journals, including ASCE journals. Search for a specific person or a specific engineering failure.
     
  • Applied Science and Technology Index (1983-current)
    This index covers many technical magazines and journals. Search for a specific person or a specific engineering failure. You can also search for biographies using the “Article Type” of biography (type biography in the text box and select Article Type Phrase from the drop-down menu next to the text box), and combine that search with the discipline of interest such as “Civil Engineers” or “Environmental Engineers”. The print version is available from 1958-2000 at TA 1 .I5, with an earlier title, Industrial Arts Index, available 1913-1957, with some missing issues.
     
  • Compendex & Inspec (Compendex: 1970-current, Inspec: 1898-current)
    Best used for research articles, this index will also cover some news-related stories in some of the journals covered.
     
  • Historical Los Angeles Times  (1881-1986)
    Historical New York Times     (1851-2004)
    Search for historical newspaper articles about events or people in these two resources. This search is especially useful for topics prior to the 1970-1980 time period when many electronic indexes begin coverage. If needed, you can limit by a date range. These files are full-text searching so it is important for your search terms to be very specific. Use “quotations marks” for phrase searching or name searching.
     
  • National Newspapers (early 1990s-current)
    Use this index for articles in newspapers like the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. 
     
  • Reader’s Guide Full-Text (with RG Retrospective) (1890-current)
    Popular magazines like Time and Newsweek are indexed here, and articles back to 1890 are referenced. There is some full-text but the results will predominantly contain only information regarding where the article was published.

Biographical Indexes
 These indexes focus on sources that include information about people. The biographical information might be within a reference book, or in a magazine.

  • Biography and genealogy master index
    Use this index to search the contents of reference books for a specific person. Then search the Library Catalog (Find... Books, e-Books, Media) to determine if the Library has the book listed.
     
  • Biography index (1984-current)
    Use this index to search magazines and books for a specific person. Search in the Journals Titles database to find if the magazine is available. Search in the Library Catalog to find if the book is in the Library.  The print version is available from 1946-August 2000 at index CT214 .B5, in the reference area.

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Web Resources: Engineering Failures, Biographies

Engineering Failures

Web Resources
These websites will list selected failures, sometimes linking to articles or other textual information about the failure.

Biographies

Web Resources

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Technical Reports

The investigation of an engineering failure often results in a written report, especially if a U.S.  government agency was involved in the investigation.  There are some specialized databases for searching technical reports; most focus on government agency publications or government funded research.  Typically, newer documents have been made available online, but some technical report materials can be difficult to identify or to obtain.

Technical reports databases are listed on the Engineering Subject Guide.

Also useful is the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, a listing of government agency publications since 1976.  Some titles are online; the Boise State University Albertsons Library also has some of these government documents in print or microfiche.  If a title is not found in the Library Catalog, ask for further assistance from the Albertsons Library reference services.

Page Creator: Beth Brin, 208-426-3136 Albertsons Library, Boise State University.  
This page last modified: 02/22/08 09:50 AM
http://library.boisestate.edu/reference/subjectguides/CE280.htm

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