The Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department at UMass Lowell is committed to student-friendly, quality teaching. Civil engineers plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain facilities and systems that serve the basic needs of society. These include buildings, bridges, tunnels, roadways, railways, airports, harbors, dams, pipelines, water and waste water systems. Civil engineers focus their problem-solving capabilities on making our communities better places to live. Civil engineers are frequently involved in city planning and in managing the use of natural resources. They face the challenges of meeting society's needs while protecting the environment. Civil engineering is an umbrella field comprised of a number of related specialties.