Dr. J. Carlos Santamarina is the G. Wayne Clough Chair at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech. A globally recognized leader in geotechnical engineering, Dr. Santamarina has made significant contributions to fundamental and applied research in geomechanics, with wide-ranging applications in energy, mining, and environmental engineering.
He received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1987 and has held faculty positions at NYU-Polytechnic, the University of Waterloo, Georgia Tech, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. His pioneering research integrates innovative experimental and numerical methods to study sediments, fractured rocks, and complex fluids.
Dr. Santamarina has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed journal papers, two technical books, eight book chapters, and three National Research Council reports. His work has been cited over 31,000 times, with an h-index of 89 and i10-index of 268 (as of January 2025). His publications have appeared in top-tier journals, including Science, PNAS, Nature Communications, Reviews of Geophysics, and Energy Policy.
An inspiring educator and mentor, Dr. Santamarina has guided nearly 70 Ph.D. students—46 of whom now hold academic positions at leading universities around the world—as well as 24 postdoctoral researchers, 22 master’s students, and numerous undergraduate researchers. His influence on the next generation of geotechnical engineers is unmatched.
Dr. Santamarina’s accolades include the G-I’s prestigious Terzaghi Lecture, the Casagrande Lecture at the Pan-American Conference, the BGA Touring Lecture in the UK, the Bishop Lecture in Australia, and the ISSMGE Honour Lecture on Energy Geotechnics.
With a deep curiosity and passion for advancing the field, Dr. Santamarina continues to inspire students, researchers, and professionals worldwide.
Potential Lecture Topics
- Energy Geotechnology: The Evolving Role of Geotechnical Engineers in the Energy Transition
- Soil Properties and Processes: From Particles to Practice
- Fractured Rocks: Properties, Processes and Engineering Implications
- Multiphase Fluids in Geomaterials: From Unsaturated Soils to Energy Geotechnology
- Beneath the Waves: Insights into Offshore Geotechnics
- Geophysics in Geotechnical Engineering: Renewed Opportunities through Multiphysics Subsurface Characterization
- Modernizing the Assessment of Geotechnical Properties: Concepts and Trends in the Information Age
- Engineering Education and Creativity: Cultivating the Next Generation of Innovative Problem Solvers