Poison Oak, Mistakes, and Lessons
When things go wrong in geotechnicalengineering ? like ground movements andearthwork construction delays ? failureinvestigations are often performed. In a typical geotechnical project, the path is relatively...
The San Jacinto Monument: Over a Foot of Settlement, but Level
On March 6, 1836, General Santa Anna and his Mexican troops killed all those defending the Alamo Mission in San Antonio, TX. The Texans wished to be independent from Mexico and regrouped after this severe...
The Wait Is Over�DIGGS Is Here!
The roll-out of Data Interchange for Geotechnical and GeoEnvironmental Specialists (DIGGS) has started, and the Ohio DOT (ODOT) has already announced that it will be required beginning January 2018. This...
GEER Response to the Oso Landslide: Documenting Perishable Details Helps Turn Disaster into Knowledge
Two months after the disastrous March 22, 2014 landslide near Oso, Washington, GEER representatives visited the affected area to gather data. This article is based on the report generated...
Dry Dams and the Dayton Flood of 1913: The Origins of Integrated Systems Engineering Concepts
This article examines the history of integrated flood protection with particular focus on the 1913 Dayton Flood....
Ground Feature Monitoring Using Satellite Imagery: How Interferometric Stacking of SAR Can Mitigate Geo-Disasters Along Transportation Corridors
Landslides, debris flows, and other types of ground movements are among the most common hazards to humans and infrastructure. According to the United States Geological Survey, annual domestic...
Applying Scanning Technology to Tunnel Inspections: Leveraging Technology to Reduce the Public Agita
A large number of transit and vehicular tunnels in the New York Metropolitan area were inundated by the tidal surge caused by Super Storm Sandy on October 29, 2012. The storm created major...
Landslide Risk Perception: Consequences of Failure to Reconcile Contradictory Beliefs
While the basis for geotechnical safety is important, public perceptions of risk and its apparent willingness to ignore or discount hazard warnings should also be considered. Why does...
What's New in Geo? � Sustainable Biogeotechnics
Biogeotechnics will likely become part of mainstream geotechnical engineering in the future....
New Home for the Maid: Rockfalls, Talus, and the Race for a Dry Dock
The Maid of the Mist Corporation (MOTMC) has operated the iconic Maid of the Mist boats beneath Niagara Falls since the early 1900s. Traditionally, the company has provided trips from...
Small Projects are Big Deals
Geotechnical engineers work on a wide array of projects, ranging from small retaining walls or pavement projects, to construction of dams, canals, and foundations for bridges and high-rise...
The Leaning Towers of Wilmington, Delaware: Emergency Response and Retrofit of the I-495 Viaduct to Address Lateral Squeeze
On a sunny, summer afternoon last June, the project manager for AECOM's open-end bridge design contract with the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) received an...
Innovations in Geosynthetic Rolled Erosion Control Products: From Forests to Fibers
Over the last 50 years, many different types of geosynthetic rolled erosion control products (RECPs) have emerged, ranging from different structure types to different fiber types. Natural-fiber...
Geotechnical Risk Management: The Five Non-Technical Topics that are Crucial for the Successful Practice of Geotechnical Engineering
It is fair to state that the aspects of civil design and construction referred to as geotechnical engineering can be characterized as inherently risky. Geologic processes are complex,...
GeoTechTools � Your Ground Modification Website: Solutions for Improved Decision Making and Risk Mitigation
An immense web-based toolbox for the engineering and construction of earthworks is now available at
A Light in the Deep: The Future of Offshore Site Investigations
For deep-water energy developments, hazard identification and risk assessments (that is, assessing the probability of occurrence along with the consequences of failure) are more important...
Making Big Data Work for You and Your Project: A 3-D Geotechnical Model is a Smart Way to Work
Modeling the stratigraphy beneath a site and assigning soil and rock properties are important steps in geotechnical engineering. Geotechnical engineers often need to model ground conditions...
BIM in Geotechnics: The Benefits of Including Geotechnical Data in Building Information Modelling
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is becoming increasingly common around the world on building and civil engineering projects, but what are the benefits to geotechnical engineers and...
Becoming Greener with Green Sand: An Iron Castings Company Devises an Environmentally Friendly Liner System Reusing Foundry Byproduct
Metalcasting is one of the oldest methods of recycling�humans have a few millennia worth of experience with the technique�but today's industry still battles public preconceptions...
Future Geo-Business Trends
As part of its mission to identify long-term emerging issues and trends and their impact on member firms, the Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA) assembled for its biennial Crystal...
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