Seminar Series

Geotechnical Engineering & Geomechanics

The Geotechnical Engineering and Geomechanics group frequently holds public seminars from visiting researchers and practitioners. If you are interested in giving a seminar, please contact one of the faculty.

The Geotechnical Engineering and Geomechanics faculty also organize the annual Jack Hilf Lecture. Hilf was a world-famous dam engineer with the US Bureau of Reclamation, and was the first PhD graduate from the GEG program. The Hilf lecture is one of the main annual geotechnical events in ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥. There have been more than 20 lectures to date by prominent geotechnical engineering leaders.

  • 2023 Ronaldo I. Borja, Stanford University, Bridging nanoindentation and triaxial creep tests on a shale
  • 2022 Ross Boulanger, University of California, Davis, Nonlinear Viscoplastic Modeling of the Feijão Dam 1 Failure
  • ​2019 Rudolph Bonaparte, Geosyntec Consultants, Inc., Geotechnical Stability of Waste Fills – Lessons Learned and Continuing Challenges
  • 2018 Guy Houlsby, University of Oxford, New design methods for very large laterally loaded piles
  • 2017 Richard Finno, Northwestern University, Failures of geo-structures: can they be prevented?
  • 2016 Steven Kramer, University of Washington, Past, Present, and Future Developments in Liquefaction Hazard Analysis
  • 2015 Malcom Bolton, University of Cambridge, Performance-Based Design in Geotechnics
  • 2014 Kenneth H. Stokoe II, University of Texas Austin, Effectiveness of Inhibiting Liquefaction Triggering by Shallow Ground
  • 2013 Kenneth Been, Golder Associates Ltd. (Halifax, Canada), Design of Mine Tailings for Liquefaction: Making Paste Tailings Work
  • 2012 Nicholas Sitar, University of California Berkeley, Seismically Induced Lateral Earth Pressures: If not Mononobe-Okabe, then what?
  • 2011 Tom O'Rourke, Cornell University, Geohazards and Large Geographically Distributed Systems
  • 2010 Raymond J. Krizek, Northwestern University, Civil Engineering Challenges of Tomorrow
  • 2009 Stephen G. Wright, University of Texas Austin, Soil Strength and Slope Stability
  • 2008 Suzanne LaCasse, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (Oslo), The Role of the Geotechnical Engineer in Supplying Future Energy Needs
  • 2007 Frank Townsend, University of Florida Gainesville, Dams and Levees: Design 101
  • 2006 William Marcuson III, Director emeritus at ERDC (Vicksburg, MS), Seismic Design and Analysis of Embankment Dams: The State of Practice
  • 2005 Clyde Baker, STS Consultants, Illinois Simple Soil Structure Interaction Concepts in Innovative Foundation
  • 2004 Gonzalo Castro, Geotechnical Engineers Inc. (Winchester, MA), Seismic Stability of Tailings Dams
  • 2003 Jorj Osterberg, Northwestern University, Geotechnical Engineers, Wake Up! - The Soil Exploration Process Needs Drastic Change
  • 2002 Robert M. Koerner, Drexel University, Leachate Recycling Leading to Bioreactor Landfills
  • 2001 John Christian, Emeritus, Stone & Webster Inc. (Boston, MA), How Reliable is Geotechnical Engineering?
  • 2000 Ralph B. Peck, RB Peck (Albuquerque, NM), The Wets vs. the Drys: Earth Dams and Soil Mechanics
  • 1999 J.P. Giroud, Geosyntec Consultants Inc., Lessons Learned from Failures Associated with Geosynthetics
  • 1998 G. Wayne Clough, Georgia Tech, Constructing the Muni Metro Tunnel in San Francisco in Difficult Soil Conditions
  • 1997 J. Michael Duncan, Virginia Tech, A Case of Large Settlements in the Olympic Village
  • 1996 Richard Goodman, University of California Berkeley, Challenges posed by Melange geological formation in engineering
  • 1995 Don Deere, Don Deere & Associates (Gainesville, Florida), Geotechnical Engineering in Hydroelectric Projects
  • 1994 Michael Jamiolkowski, Politecnico di Torino (Italy) The Leaning Tower of Pisa
  • 1993 Glenn Tarbox, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Innovation, The Spirit of Engineering