History
The origins of the D-BAUG department date back to the founding of the Zurich Polytechnikum in the autumn of 1855. At the time, Switzerland urgently needed well-educated engineers – among other things for major infrastructural works.
From 1855, the Polytechnikum’s first Professor of Civil Engineering, Prof Carl Culmann taught all the main subjects of his day: steel construction, bridge building, railway construction, road building and hydraulic engineering. In road building and hydraulics he was soon joined by Professor of Topography and Geodesy, Johannes Wild.
Reorganisation
In 1908, thorough reorganisation of the courses of study resulted in the introduction of standard curriculums for all subjects. In the same year, ETH Zurich was granted the right to award doctorates. This paved the way for it to become an academic research institution. In 1911, the Polytechnikum was renamed the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule – the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Personalities
Since the foundation years, prominent figures have taught and researched in Departments II (Civil Engineering) and VIII (Cultural Technology and Surveying) at the Polytechnikum or ETH Zurich. With their work, they have influenced technical advances throughout the world and many generations of ETH graduates.
Below are some of the professors who worked at D-BAUG or its predecessor institutions:
The following eminent experts were graduates of D-BAUG or its predecessor institutions:
Many civil engineering and geodesy professors and the first female professor were prominent members of the academic self-administration staff:
The current Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (D-BAUG) was created in October 1999 by a merger of two departments, Construction and Environment (D-BAUM) and Geodetic Sciences (D-GEOD). Departments II (Civil Engineering) and VIII (Cultural Technology and Surveying), which were responsible for teaching, were combined and integrated into the Department.