Dept. of Civil Engineering and Geodesy

7 Dept. of Civil Engineering and Geodesy
Secretary: Damir Medak
Vice-Secretary: Zorislav Sorić

Members

Full

Associate

Collaborating

Aničić Dražen

Androić Boris

Bašić Tomislav

| Lapaine Miljenko | Biondić Božidar | Bjegović Dubravka
| Marušić Josip | Čaušević Mehmed | Dujmović Darko
| Mihanović Ante | Marović Pavao | Đukan Petar
| Radić Jure | Medak Damir | Kovačić Davorin
| Sršen Mate | Sorić Zorislav | Marić Zvonimir

Pribičević Boško

| | | Puž Goran
| | | Szavits-Nossan Antun
| | |

Total: 21

6

6

9

Allowed: 23

6

7

10

The mission of the Croatian Academy of Engineering as an independent, non-political and non-governmental institution is the promotion of innovations and progress in the area of technical sciences by stimulating and conducting research, applying information (technical knowledge), and by disseminating research results. The aim of the Academy is to promote excellence in technical sciences in order to create further values and the well-being of the people of Croatia.

In order to achieve that aim, the Academy focuses its activities on the following areas:

1 Encouragement of research and development in technical sciences and closer co-operation between the Academy and the economy.

1 Support to Parliamentary Committees and the Government in the development of strategy on technical issues on the national level through the formulation of strategic statements and expert support.

1 Support to technical education on all levels of education from early adolescence (13 years of age) until graduation.

1 Promotion of understanding of engineering as a profession in the wider public by issuing publications, organizing lectures and speakers' platforms, as well as by organizing meetings and conferences.

Within this framework, we consider the activity of the Department of Civil Engineering and Geodesy an important segment of the Croatian Academy of Engineering. These days this Department has 18 members from almost all areas of civil engineering including geodesy, which represents a significant potential in this area of technical sciences.

Taking into account the economic and social situation in Croatia as a country in transition, we face the central question: In which direction should the members of the Department of Civil Engineering and Geodesy focus their activities so that the Academy can fulfill its set aims in the area of civil engineering?

If engineers (civil and geodetic engineers alike) are supposed to make a contribution to the reconstruction and revitalization of the economy in Croatia, then it is necessary to expect innovations not only in the strictly technical sense, but in the economic sense as well. Therefore, better co-operation is needed between technical and social areas which take into account users’ interests (in this case, the users of civil engineering products such as roads, bridges, tunnels and other road infrastructure). It is extremely important that the planning, construction and management of this infrastructure as a product should be harmonized with the interests of users, primarily regarding the economy and safety of use, as well as with human relation to the environment, in order to achieve sustainable growth.

On that basis, and bearing in mind the necessary development of Croatia which aspires to join the European Union, it is certain that a significant share of resources and efforts will have to be devoted to a more efficient development of the transport sector or, more specifically, the development of road and sea infrastructure. It enables us to recognize in particular the needs to offer expert services to the road and sea sector, as a partner in the following activities:

Providing services for road and motorway users, which are increasing in importance. Information related to the state of roads, disruptions in traffic flow and suggestions for alternative directions are already accepted as basic services for road users. Experiments with new traffic signs on roads and information displays which offer drivers valuable data on the volume of traffic and weather conditions are becoming a necessity if we intend to increase the safety of traffic flows on our roads. Thus, the central issue is to design the content and methodology of an updated database for the road infrastructure in Croatia.

Higher priority should be given to environmental issues (soil, water, air pollution; noise; vibrations), not only in terms of planning traffic schemes, but also in terms of maintaining road infrastructure. These activities imply the development of new methods of information dissemination, expert services and participation in projects which require special skills. Here it is necessary to be active in international co-operation, within and beyond the framework of Europe.

In a society which functions well, it is essential for the economy and for individual road users to have an appropriate approach to transport services and the network of roads in good condition. In that sense, road and asset management are becoming both the means and the end to meet the demands of road users for a safe, flexible and rational road system. Therefore, it is necessary to draw up a project at first to design and then implement on all levels a system of road management in Croatia.

National interest should also be the response to demands to assess the situation of the existing infrastructure for sea traffic in general and for nautical tourism in particular. This project would also consider technically appropriate and economically justified solutions which would undoubtedly point to necessary actions so that the existing sea and nautical infrastructure capacities could meet high-set goals.

We also consider that this Department of the Academy should encourage and maintain international co-operation with related institutions. This co-operation might be realized through a selective approach on the regional level or with certain countries of Central and Eastern Europe (taking part in some European technology platforms such as FEHRL, ENBRI etc.).

The establishment of a working group within the Department to deal with designing the necessary forms of education of civil and geodetic engineers and to encourage the realization of education is also something that we find very important.

Foreseeing that in the near future some activities of particular Departments within the Academy will become more dynamic, it seems sensible to anticipate the issuing of professional and scientific publications (books, reports, papers, serial publications...) which could be grouped, in terms of their contents, in several categories such as: planning and the environment; design; materials and construction; maintenance and management; use and safety. This is particularly important taking into consideration the activities related to the needs and possibilities of solving the problems of transport infrastructure in the city of Zagreb.