Geotechnical Engineering
Fig. 1: The Boston Big Dig Project
From Wikipedia, Geotechnical engineering is concerned with the application of civil engineering technology to some aspect of the earth: geo-, meaning “earth”. The Geotechnical Engineer works to provide solutions to civil engineering tasks using materials found on and below a site. The materials are commonly referred to as soil and rock.
Geotechnical engineers' work includes many subdivisions including: Foundations, Retaining Structures, Pavements and Earthworks, and Site Investigations.
Specific Topics:
Geotechnical Engineers typically work with the following subjects:
- Deep Foundations?
- Earth Retaining Structures?
- Earth Structures?
- Seismic Engineering?
- Shallow Foundations?
- Soil Mechanics?
- Soil Properties?
- Subsurface Analysis?
Famous Geotechnical Engineers include:
- Charles Augustin de Coulomb - Derived an equation for the calculation of lateral earth pressures on retaining walls.
- William John Maquorn Rankine - Dealt with soil mechanics and the "earth pressure theory"
- Karl von Terzaghi - The father of soil mechanics.
- Alec Westley Skempton - Worked in the areas of fundamentals of effective stress, pore pressures in clays, bearing capacity, and slope stability.
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