ASCE Metropolitan Section Technical Lecture presented by Langan

ABOUT LANGAN LECTURE:

The Langan Lecture was established with the ASCE Metropolitan Section Geotechnical Group in 2014 to promote developments and advances in the fields of geotechnical and foundation engineering and to explore technologies developed within our industry to meet the urban geotechnical, foundation, and construction challenges.

Registration: ASCE MET members please use promo code "ASCE" to waive registration fee. $20 fee for non-members.

LECTURE SUMMARY

The impact of Prof. J. Michael Duncan on the geotechnical profession defies simple quantification: 20+ major research projects, 60+ consulting projects, 40+ named honors and awards, and 200+ technical publications. Yet most impressive of all, he authored or coauthored more than 120 geotechnical engineering manuals. The first half of this presentation will explore a snapshot of Dr. Duncan’s major research projects and engineering manuals. The breadth of his work will be emphasized, highlighting many important technical contributions that remain relevant to daily practice. Spanning from lab testing to shear strength and from retaining walls to reliability, this overview will illustrate that there are very few aspects of geotechnical engineering on which Dr. Duncan did not leave his mark. The second half of the presentation will illustrate the depth of his influence through the lessons learned by personal experience with Dr. Duncan related to three projects. The first highlighted project is Lessons Learned from Dam Failures (CGPR #62). Examining a few brief case histories from this report, the lessons of clarity and brevity in written work will be emphasized. Next, the shear strength considerations for a large hydropower consulting project will be explored. This project teaches us to think critically about geotechnical data, know the limitations of our methods, and not to be afraid to seek out additional information. Thirdly, geotechnical evaluations of the 2016 Sparmos Dam failure will be described along with ongoing research into rapid drawdown analysis made possible by Dr. Duncan’s generosity. This project emphasizes that we must never stop learning as engineers and that we must always remember our soil mechanics.

THE SPEAKER:

Dr. Dan VandenBerge has 23 years of experience in geotechnical consulting and academia. After obtaining a BS and MS from Michigan Tech, he started his career at EDP Consultants in the Cleveland, OH area. From there, he moved to Virginia Tech in 2010 to work on his PhD. Dan is a professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering at Tennessee Tech, where he has been leading the geotechnical program area since 2015. He teaches courses in geotechnical engineering, foundation engineering, slope stability, seepage, advanced soil mechanics, and probabilistic methods in civil engineering. Dan's research interests include soil shear strength and consolidation, slope stability and seepage analysis, probabilistic design, and engineering education. He has published more than 60 technical publications on these topics. Of particular note, he has recently helped to lead revisions to the NAVFAC DM 7.1 and DM 7.2 manuals, as well as the forthcoming update and expansion of the DM 7.3 volume.

Event venue & nearby stays

General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of The City of New York, 20 West 44th Street, New York, United States

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