Technical Resources

Civil engineers have always given priority to the safety of the facilities they design and help construct.

A comprehensive suite of geotechnical laboratory tests was undertaken on samples of recycled crushed glass produced in Victoria, Australia.

Geotechnical laboratories have traditionally tracked laboratory samples with hand-written labeling systems and recorded test data in hand-written records.

The products of the Information Age give geotechnical engineers powerful tools to perform their work.

In the author’s opinion the geoengineering profession faces a major decision point: Will it continue towards becoming a craft, functioning at the call of others in a highly commoditized service or will it upgrade its services to produce higher value to clients and command the respect due to true professionals?

The microcomputer has provided the largest single step forward in geotechnical testing since the development of reliable equipment for strength and compressibility testing.

Measurements are essential to geotechnical practice. This paper examines the current state of geotechnical measurements in terms of the advances that have been made and the retreats that have accompanied these advances.