Faculty of Civil Engineering, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Founded in 1937

Institutes 14

Professorships 42

Students 2,140

Degree programs 17

Further information can be found here.

KIT
Important invention within the faculty

Together with the industry, the Research Institute for Steel, Wood and Stone has developed self-drilling wood screws with diameters of up to 14 mm and lengths of up to 2.0 m, which can transfer very high loads under axial stress. These enable efficient connections and reinforcements of timber components and offer attractive solutions in terms of fast assembly and prefabrication.

Outstanding current project example

Researchers at the Faculty are investigating ways of extending the service life of the Enguri Dam in Georgia (at 271.5 m, the highest arch dam in the world), which covers 40% of Georgia's energy needs. As part of the DAMAST project funded by the German government, they want to work with partners from Georgia and Armenia to find out which natural risks endanger the dam and how efficient operation can be ensured in the long term.

Historical first picture

One of the biggest changes to the landscape took place from 1817 with the Rhine correction based on plans by the geometer and civil engineer Johann Gottfried Tulla. The main objectives were land reclamation for agriculture, flood protection and the containment of malaria. Tulla was one of the founding fathers of the Baden School of Engineering, which later became the Polytechnic School and then the University of Karlsruhe.


Important personality


Almut Arneth, Professor of Plant-Atmosphere Interactions at the KIT Faculty BGU, was awarded the DFG's Leibniz Prize (the most important national research prize) in 2022 for her outstanding research on the interactions between land ecosystems and climate change. Among other things, she contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Climate Change and Land Systems. In 2024, she was awarded the Order of Merit of the State of Baden-Württemberg for her outstanding achievements.