What is

Geotechnical Engineering

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Geotechnical engineering is the science that explains mechanics of soil and rock and its applications to the development of human kind. It includes, without being limited to, the analysis, design and construction of foundations, slopes, retaining structures, embankments, roadways, tunnels, levees, wharves, landfills and other systems that are made of or are supported by soil or rock.

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Everything you see around you is supported by soil or rock. Geotechnical engineers are responsible for that. Anything that is not supported by soil or rock, either floats, flies or falls down.

Transportation
Deep Foundations
Landslides
Earthquake
Underground Infrastructure
Dams
Dykes & Levees
Landfills
Subsurface Characterization
Offshore
Ground Improvement
Deep Excavations
Scour & Erosion
Contaminated Site Remediation

Members Societies

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Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America
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Geotechnical Links

"What is Geotechnical Engineering" THE MOVIE

If you want to know more about geotechnical engineering, see this movie that ISSMGE has developed!

Click here to watch the video

International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
(ISSMGE)

The ISSMGE is the pre-eminent professional body representing the interests and activities of Engineers, Academics and Contractors all over the world that actively participate in geotechnical engineering. It is the only truly global organization in the geotechnical engineering field with 84 Country Member Societies and over 19,000 individual members.

GeoWorld

GeoWorld is the professional networking site for geotechnical engineers worldwide. It has thousands of geotechnical engineers as members of the network and has a number of features that allow members, companies and organizations in the geotechnical field to have an online presence, maintain a professional network, and disseminate geo-information.

Geotechnical Engineering in Wikipedia

To read more information about Geotechnical Engineering, you can also visit this Wikipedia page.

"What is Geotechnical Engineering" THE MOVIE

Credits

“This site is an initiative of the Public Relations Committee (PRC), a board level committee of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) under the leadership of Dr. Marc Ballouz.

The site was designed, developed and maintained by Argo-E, a Center for promoting innovation & excellence in practice, research and education of the broad geo-profession under the supervision and guidance of the PRC-ISSMGE.”

Dykes & Levees

Geotechnical Engineers are responsible for the design, construction and maintenance of dykes and levees that protect daily millions of people from floods and hurricanes.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC201 - Geotechnical Aspects of Dykes and Levees, Shore Protection and Land Reclamation
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Transportation

Geotechnical engineers are responsible to ensure that roads, highways and railroads are properly, designed and maintained to ensure their longevity

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC202 - Transportation Geotechnics
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Earthquake

Geotechnical engineers are responsible to protect public safety by designing civil infrastructure during earthquakes.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC203 - Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering and Associated Problems
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Underground Infrastructure

Geotechnical engineers are responsible for the design and construction of tunnels, subways, and underground facilities that are used in subways, underground highways, railroads, waterways and waste storage.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC204 - Underground Construction in Soft Ground
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Landslides

Geotechnical engineers are responsible to design excavations so that they remain stable, as well as stabilize natural slopes that may threaten public safety.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC208 - Slope Stability in Engineering Practice
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

JTC1 - Natural Slopes and Landslides
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more

Offshore

Geotechnical engineers are responsible for the stability of foundations of offshore platforms and energy facilities that are used for oil and gas extraction as well as wind power.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC209 - Offshore Geotechnics
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Dams

Geotechnical engineers are responsible for the design, construction, maintenance and monitoring of thousands of dams that are providing water storage and leisure areas to millions.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC210 - Dams and Embankments
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Ground Improvement

Geotechnical engineers use principles of physics and chemistry to modify the characteristics and properties of the subsurface so that it can support civil infrastructure that it would not be able to otherwise.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC211 - Ground Improvement
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Deep Foundations

All buildings, high-rise structures, bridges, towers, antennas, and essentially everything you see around has a foundation that is carefully designed by a geotechnical engineer to transfer the loads to the ground.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC212 - Deep Foundations
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Scour & Erosion

Soils tend to erode when subjected to natural processes, and especially in extreme weather that may involve, rainfall, snowfall, tornadoes, hurricanes and floods. Geotechnical engineers devise strategies to mitigate against scour and erosion.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC213 - Scour & Erosion
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Deep Excavations

Geotechnical engineers are responsible to ensure the stability of deep excavations, by Shoring. Such shoring systems allow the execution of deep excavations in urban areas such as the heart of Paris or New York City adjacent to existing subways, structures, or infrastructures.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC207 - Soil-Structure Interaction and Retaining Walls
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Landfills

Geotechnical engineers are involved in the design of landfills to ensure that solid waste is isolated from the environment and that public health is protected. Modern landfills are sophisticated engineered infrastructure systems that have very few similarities to waste dumps.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC215 - Environmental Geotechnics
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Contaminated Site Remediation

Geotechnical engineers are commonly engaged in the cleanup or remediation of sites that have been contaminated and represent a health to the environment. Geoenvironmental engineers use numerous techniques to remove the contaminants from the ground, many times, without even excavating the ground.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC215 - Enviromental Geotechnics
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Subsurface Characterition

Geotechnical engineers perform a variety of tests on site or the laboratory to characterize the subsurface conditions. That way, the properties of the soils and rocks are characterized, softer soils , fractured rocks, faults, caverns and sinkholes can be identified before building at the surface.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC101 - Laboratory Stress Strength Testing of Geomaterials
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC
TC102 - Ground Property Characterization from In-Situ Tests
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

TC104 - Physical Modelling in Geotechnics
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC

Lab Testing & Research

Geotechnical engineers are commonly engaged in the cleanup or remediation of sites that have been contaminated and represent a health to the environment. Geoenvironmental engineers use numerous techniques to remove the contaminants from the ground, many times, without even excavating the ground.

Relevant Technical Committees:
TC215 - Enviromental Geotechnics
Learn more about this T.C.:
ISSMGE: Click here to learn more
Geoworld Group: Join to receive updates from the TC