Connecting Continents: Challenges of the Eurasia Tunnel in Istanbul
The Eurasia Tunnel, the first bored tunnel crossing of the Istanbul Strait (Bosphorus) in Istanbul, Turkey, is a site that presents many unique challenges, including very poor ground conditions, unusually...

Advances In Geosynthetic Solutions For Sustainable Landfill Design: Geosynthetics Really Do Last!
Even though geosynthetics are now a well-established discipline within geotechnical engineering, ingenuity continues to play a significant role in projects involving their use. This is because it’s possible...

Embracing Disruption
The benefits of strategically embracing technology research and development within architecture, engineering, or construction companies’ business models are varied. But at its core, doing so can enable...

The State of Soil Improvement in China: The G-I Soil Improvement Committee’s China Scan Tour
During the last four decades, China has made significant improvement in various sectors of its infrastructure, including high-speed railways, long-span and cross-sea bridges, large dams, long- and large-diameter...

Skinny 'Scrapers
Incredibly slender towers are rising around the globe into the skylines of major cities, especially New York City. Often targeted at the wealthy who are able to pay astronomical price for spectacular views,...

The Transcona Grain Elevator Failure Revisited: A Modern Perspective a Century Later
More than a century ago, a seminal event in the then world of foundation engineering took place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, when the mat-foundation-supported Transcona Grain Elevator underwent catastrophic...

Geo-Resilience By Soil Improvement: Contrasting the Performance of Two Embankments during a Megathrust Mw 7.8 Earthquake
The west coast of Ecuador forms the eastern side of the Pacific "ring of fire" along the Nazca tectonic plate boundary (Figure 1). The epicenter of the Ecuador earthquake on April 16, 2016 (Mw 7.8), was...

Landslides Driven by Extreme Events: Can We Learn More from More of Them?
Extreme events, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, or major storms, typically cause thousands of landslides in mountainous topography over the course of minutes to hours. In the last few years alone, we’ve...

Lava Tubes as Resilient Extraterrestrial Habitats: An Option For A Permanent Human Settlement Beyond Earth
The design, construction, and maintenance of safe and comfortable habitations are some of humankind’s oldest and most important activities. Millennia of experimentation and planning have led to earthly...

What Lurks Below: The Geotechnical Intrigue of Boston’s Back Bay
In 1858, the great filling of Back Bay began. Completed in about 20 years, it led to nearly 100 city blocks of iconic 4- and 5-story brick rowhouses. In the past 60 years, about 50 high-rise buildings...

Drones: An Engineering Reconnaissance Tool of Tomorrow, but Here Today!
About six years ago, I began researching geotechnical engineering applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones. My initial efforts were encouraged by most of my colleagues, but were criticized...

A Moving Mystery
Along the southeastern edge of California’s Salton Sea, there are areas that contain geothermal mud pots and mud volcanoes—Geological features that may change shape, but never location. In 2016, a large,...

Arena of Books
The new Qatar National Library features a folded design with cantilevered corners on the exterior, while inside, an enormous single space for reading or socializing offers terraces stacked with bookshelves....

Crossing the Forth
Scotland’s Queensferry Crossing spans the Firth of Forth, connecting Edinburgh and the Kingdom of Fife. Built at a cost of $1.89 billion in six and a half years, the 1.6 mi long cable-stayed bridge, with...

Designing Secret Cities
Before the U.S. government could develop the first atomic bombs in World War II, it first had to design and construct three “secret cities” at which that work would be completed. Created almost entirely...

What Lies Ahead?
How will trends in climate change, alternative energy, high-tech construction, autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and public funding affect communities, infrastructure, and the practice of civil engineering...

Restoration Through Reclamation
The people of the Netherlands have a long history of reclaiming land from the sea. In one of the lasted examples, the construction of an artificial archipelago represents a remarkable collaboration among...

Rapid Recovery
In May 2017, the California Department of Transportation had to contend with a massive landslide that closed a section of the iconic State Route 1 through central California’s scenic coastal region of...

Geotechnical Aspects Of Coastal Impacts During Hurricanes Harvey And Irma: Logistical and Technical Challenges During Reconnaissance
As designers and managers for society’s infrastructure, civil engineers, including the geotechnical community, must understand and predict the most severe expected loadings from physical or environmental...

Pumping Up Flood Defenses
Completed in April 2018, the $731-million Permanent Canal Closures and Pumps project represents the final component of the overall Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System that serves the greater...

 

 

 

 

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