A curious post reminds us that while our geotechnical eyes are constantly on the ground, sometimes the understanding we seek may come from above….

Review: On the horizontal thrust of a mass of sand (G. Darwin, 1883) By Michael Bennett, P.E., M.ASCE (A.G.E.S., Inc., King of Prussia, PA) In 1883, the British Empire stood...

Maintain and update your geotechnical seasonal soundtrack with these suggestions from member blogger James Press.

It has been well over two decades since I last wrote you, and I must apologize for neglecting this annual communique. I think I’ve been a pretty good engineer this year....

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the cubicles, Santa’s Geotech Elves wiped ice off their cuticles....

Scientific discoveries sometimes seem to come right out of the ether - sometimes literally! Meet Osborne Reynolds (of fluid mechanics fame) and learn about the surprising connections between his work on the dilatancy of granular materials and the beginnings of the science of soil mechanics.

It’s Career Day. Can you convince a room full of fourth graders to become geotechnical engineers in ten minutes or less?

Foundations from History: The Twin Towers By Michael Bennett, P.E. (A.G.E.S., Inc., King of Prussia, PA) Author’s Note: This piece is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the...

Multidisciplinary resources for including social concerns in earthquake engineering research and practice

The student bloggers of NC State assemble their highlight reel!

Get Ready for Geo-Congress 2024 with NC State Graduate Students! by Cassie Gann-Phillips, S.M.ASCE, and Marlee Reed, S.M.ASCE The most wonderful time of year (as a geotech professional) is upon...

Our member blogger explains himself. He was only trying to help out.

What is DIGGS, and how can it improve AI for geotechs?

What did geotechnical design and construction look like in 1923? Member blogger Michael Bennett reviews the 1923 textbook "Foundations, Abutments, and Footing." Part 3 covers Foundations and includes a case study of the 1923 Yankee Stadium.

What did geotechnical design and construction look like in 1923? What's changed since then -- and what hasn't? In this series, member blogger Michael Bennett reviews the 1923 textbook "Foundations, Abutments, and Footing" to see what the practices of a century ago might suggest for the future. Part 2: "Excavation"

Review of Foundations, abutments and footings (Hool and Kinne, Eds., 1923), Section 3: Foundations (Part B) By Michael Bennett, P.E., M.ASCE (Gannett Fleming – Audubon, PA) The second half of...

What did geotechnical design and construction look like in 1923? Member blogger Michael Bennett reviews the 1923 textbook "Foundations, Abutments, and Footing." Part 4 covers spread footings and includes a case study of the Tunkhannock Viaduct.

What did geotechnical design and construction look like in 1923? What's changed since then -- and what hasn't? In this series, member blogger Michael Bennett reviews the 1923 textbook "Foundations, Abutments, and Footing" to see what the practices of a century ago might suggest for the future. Part 1: "Soil Investigation"

By James Press, EIT, Geotechnical Engineering Associate, Aterra Solutions Hello, Geo-Institute faithful! I’m very excited to present the first edition of a new column: More Pressing Matters . I’ll be...

"I wanted to provide some updates on “A Geotechnical Adventure” (working title) ahead of the public demo currently scheduled for beta in March (will likely need to push this back, again). "

We had several proposals for our keynote addresses for Geo-Congress. Here's one of the ones that we ended up not choosing.

Review of Modern Conceptions Concerning Foundation Engineering (Terzaghi, 1925) By Michael Bennett, P.E. , M.ASCE (A.G.E.S., Inc. – King of Prussia, PA) “People spend their first 40 years trying to...

Our member blogger looks at at Charles Gregory’s seminal 1844 paper “On railway cuttings and embankments”, examining two slope failures on a London railroad cut in the winter of 1841-42.

Member blogger James Press assembles a geotechnical playlist for Summer 2024: music that speaks of frustration, desperate desire, triaxial test results, pore water pressure matches, the consolidation settlement of soils, and more.

A special guest lecturer presents his award lecture "Spooky Soil Mechanics: A More Ghoul-omb Approach"

Some projects seem scary. For us, it’s just another day on the job.

First post in our new Geotechnical History blog, and part 1 of a series on the 1889 Johnstown Flood. In this post: The why, when, and how of the construction of the dam that eventually became known as the South Fork Dam. (This post revised Feb. 16, 2023)

Part 2 of a series on the 1889 Johnstown Flood presented by our new Geotechnical History Blog. In this post: the replacement, breach, and abandonment of the Western Reservoir, and its rebuilding as the South Fork Dam.

Part 3 of a series on the 1889 Johnstown Flood presented by our new Geotechnical History Blog. In this post: the weakening of the South Fork Dam, the increasing frequency of floods in Johnstown, and an approaching storm.

The efforts to save the dam, its failure, the possible geotechnical mechanisms of the failure, and the horrific consequences.