NEWS 2014

Posted October 2, 2014 (Updated November 12, 2014)

Event: November 25, 2014

GSE/CGS Cross Canada Lecture Tour: Dr. Ryan Phillips, P.Eng. - Pipeline-soil interaction: Flowing hot and cold

Location: Winspear Room, Faculty Club, University of Alberta (11435 Saskatchewan Drive)

Time: 5:30pm Registration, 6:00pm Dinner, 6:30pm Presentation

Cost: $30 Members, $40 Non-members, $10 Students (The event is full)

Confirm Attendance (By November 21)

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Guidelines for the assessment of new and existing natural gas and liquid hydrocarbon pipelines subjected to potential ground displacements have recently been improved. The bases for changes in pipe-soil interaction recommendations will be presented including rate effects in clay, oblique loading and backfilled trench effects. Two Canadian pipeline design considerations will also be presented for a cold gas pipeline in permafrost and a hot bitumen pipeline...more>>

Posted October 2, 2014

Event: November 6, 2014

GSE: Tim Keegan, Ph.D., P.Eng. and Matthieu Sturzenegger, Ph.D. P.Geo., Klohn Crippen Berger - Construction of a composite barrier wall/rock shed structure at mile 109.43 of CNR's Ashcroft Subdivision and LiDAR and discrete fracture network modeling for rockslide characterization and analysis

Location: Saskatchewan Room, Faculty Club, University of Alberta (11435 Saskatchewan Drive)

Time: 5:30pm Registration, 6:00pm Dinner, 6:30pm Presentation

Cost: $30 Members, $40 Non-members, $10 Students (Payment Options)

Confirm Attendance (By noon on November 4)

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On November 25th, 2012 a 53,000 m3 rockslide buried the Canadian National Railway (CNR) track at Mile 109.4, Ashcroft Subdivision, near Boston Bar, causing a 4-day service disruption on their main east-west railway connection. The rock landslide resulted in the collapse of a 21 m long concrete rock shed originally designed to protect the railway from debris raveling out of a gully above the track. The landslide rupture surface is composed of vertical release fractures and exposed day-lighting discontinuities. A number of rock and debris landslide hazard types are identified in the post-landslide slope. The magnitudes, frequencies, and seasonal occurrences estimated for these hazards posed a significant short and long term risk management challenge for construction of the track protection structure. The presentations focus on lessons learned during ground hazard assessment, design and construction of a new 80 m long track protection structure...more>>

Posted September 2, 2014

Event: September 16, 2014

GSE: Annual Fall Wine & Cheese Event

Location: Papachase Room, Faculty Club, University of Alberta (11435 Saskatchewan Drive)

Time: 5:30pm Registration and Reception, 6:00pm Presentations

Cost: $10 Members/Non-members, $5 Students
(Student cost includes membership for the year)

The 2014/2015 season will begin with the traditional Annual Wine and Cheese event. Come out and connect with students and colleagues in the local geotechnical community.

There will be two presentations from current or past U of A students: Alma Ornés (recent M.Sc. Graduate) on "Effects of vugs on the strength and stiffness of carbonate samples under uniaxial compression" and Elena Zabolotnii (current M.Sc. student) and "Notes on Long Term Stability in Regina Clay Embankments"...more>>

Posted April 9, 2014

Event: May 22 - 23, 2014

Vancouver Geotechnical Society: Short Course by Prof. Malcolm Bolton, Cambridge University - A Fresh Perspective on Soil Mechanics with Applications to Geotechnical Design

Location: Coast Coal Harbour Hotel, Vancouver

Registration is limited to 100 people and must be submitted by May 16, 2014.

Posted April 9, 2014

Event: June 15-18, 2014

Canadian Geotechnical Society: GeoHazards 6

Location: Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario

Posted August 26, 2013 (Updated May 14, 2014)

Event: May 15, 2014

GSE 2014 AGM: Dr. Dennis Becker, PhD FEIC PEng, Golder Associates - Lessons Learned To Date

Location: Faculty Club, University of Alberta (11435 Saskatchewan Drive)

Time: 5:30pm registration, 6:00pm dinner, 6:30pm presentation

Cost: $40 Members, $45 Non-Members, $15 Students

Agenda for the 2014 AGM (PDF)

Experiences from successes, failures, and the insight gained from the interactions with colleagues on projects and in the technical community interpret into meaningful lessons learned. The presentation shares lessons learned to date by the presenter through his personal experiences over 35 years in his professional career. The recognition of uncertainty, risk management, technical expertise and effective communications are essential components in the geotechnical industry and business...more>>

Posted September 11, 2013 (Updated April 22, 2014)

Event: May 9, 2014

GSE/CGS Cross Canada Lecture: Dr. Jim Graham, PhD DSc FEIC PEng, Professor Emeritus, University of Manitoba - Natural Processes and Strength Degradation

Location: Faculty Club, University of Alberta

Time: 11:45am Registration, 12:15pm Lunch, 12:30pm Presentation

Cost: $30 Members, $40 Non-Members, $10 Students - Event is sold out!

Many engineering designs are based on laboratory tests using so-called ‘undisturbed’ samples of clay from the field. There is a common tendency to test only intact specimens and to discard specimens that appear disturbed, fissured or otherwise weaker. It is known, however, that natural processes such as wetting-drying, freezing-thawing, desiccation, heating-cooling, and alterations in chemistry can affect the structure of clays and significantly change their compressibilities, hydraulic conductivities and strengths...more>>

Posted March 25, 2014

Event: May 6, 2014

Integrated Road Research Facility (IRRF): First Annual Research Symposium

Location: The Solarium, Engineering Teaching and Learning Complex, University of Alberta, Edmonton

Join the Integrated Road Research Facility (IRRF) at its first annual research symposium to learn more about its one-of-a-kind facilities and become acquainted with its researchers’ innovative work. This one-day event includes an introduction to the IRRF, and overview of its many research projects, and a keynote speech by the knowledgeable Dr. Ralph Haas, an expert in the field of pavement engineering.

Follow the link above or contact Lauren Wozny at teh IRRF office for more information: 780-492-5106.

Posted April 22, 2014

Event: April 26, 2014

EGS: Annual General Meeting and Pub Night with Dr. Inga Moeck - Geothermal Plays: Lessons from Petroleum Geology

Location: Strathcona Community Hall (10139 - 87 Avenue)

Time: 7:00pm

The evening will include light refreshments, toonie bar, summary of the Society's activities, financial report, plans for the coming year, nomination and election of a new executive, and will feature guest speaker Dr. Inga Moeck (Campus Alberta Innovation Chair - Enhanced Geothermal Systems, University of Alberta) with a presentation titled "Geothermal Plays: Lessons from Petroleum Geology".

Posted March 5, 2014

Event: April 24 - 25, 2014

APEGA: Summit PD Course - Well Integrity and Shale Gas Development: Geomechanics, Geochemistry and Hydrogeology

Location: Shaw Conference Centre and Westin Hotel, Edmonton

A two-day course for professional geoscientists and engineers addressing wellbore integrity stressing the application of geomechanics, geochemistry and hydrogeology to issues concerning hydraulic fracture stimulation, gas seepage during production and following abandonment, aquifer protection and groundwater contamination.

Posted March 18, 2014

Event: April 8, 2014

GSE/U of A: 12th Annual Applied Geotechnical Engineering Design Contest: Reinforced Soil Wall

Location: L2, NREF, University of Alberta

Time: 4:30pm Construction (L2-110); 5:30pm Testing (L2-020)

Cost: Free

Walls will be constructed using only 5 sheets of Newsprint, 2 sheets of 15 cm x 30 cm geotextile, a box of 100 paper clips, and 20 popsicle sticks. The students have 1 hour to construct the wall. Prizes will be awarded for the Strongest Wall, the Best Prediction of Wall Strength, and for the Most Innovative Design.

Posted August 26, 2013 (Updated April 4, 2014)

Event: April 3 and 4, 2014

GSE: 2014 Symposium - Landslides - Assessment, Characterization, and Risk (Selected Topics)

Location: Edmonton Petroleum Club

Time: 8:00 to 5:00pm (both days)

Cost: $500 Members, $600 Non-Members, $200 Students

Click here for full details.

The 2014 Symposium will feature two days of world-class lecturers presenting keynote addresses on a variety of topics related to landslides: Dr. Derek Cornforth, Dr. Norbert Morgenstern, Dr. Suzanne Lacasse, Dr. Doug Stead, Dr. Serge Leroueil, Dr. Scott Anderson, Dr. David Cruden, Dr. Scott Burns, Dr. Delwyn Fredlund, and Dr. Richard Goodman.

Dr. Burns keynote address on the Oso landslide (pdf)

Posted December 22, 2013

Event: March 17 - 27, 2014

U of A: (con)centricity - 3rd Annual Engineering Art Show

Location: University of Alberta

The 3rd Annual Engineering Art Show is presently accepting expressions of interest until January 6, 2014. For more information, visit the (con)centricity website.

Posted September 11, 2013 (Updated March 10, 2014)

Event: March 19, 2014

GSE: Don Proudfoot, M.Eng., P.Eng., Thurber Engineering Ltd. - Stabilization of the Hwy. 726 Landslide in the Eureka River Valley near Worsley, Alberta

Location: Room #Y240 - Nexen Theatre, Petro-Canada Centre, NAIT

Time: 11:45am Registration, 12:00pm Lunch, 12:15pm Presentation

Cost: $10 Members, $15 Non-Members, $5 Students

Highway 726 is the main access route to the Hamlet of Worsely, located in northwestern Alberta. The portion of the highway that crosses the Eureka River valley, using a side-hill alignment, had been affected by ongoing landslide activity, which had reached the point where stabilization measures were required to keep the highway open. This presentation describes the conditions leading to the landslide event and options considered to deal with it. Further detail is given about the selected option consisting of reconstructing the highway using EPS light-weight fill, combined with supporting the edge of the roadway with a tied-back CIP concrete pile wall. A second cantilevered concrete wall was constructed lower down the slope near the Eureka River to prevent soil loss from the upper wall. Slope inclinometers were installed inside some of the piles and load cells were attached to some of the ground anchors to monitor wall deflections and anchor loads over time. The landslide stabilization measures were constructed over the 2012 and 2013 construction seasons.

Posted September 11, 2013

Event: February 20, 2014

GSE/CSCE: Joint Presentation - Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway: Link to the Arctic Ocean

Location: Faculty Club, University of Alberta

Time: 5:30pm - 8:30pm

Cost: $25 Members, $35 Non-Members, $12 Student Members, $17 Student Non-Members

Posted August 26, 2013 (Updated January 8, 2014)

Event: January 23, 2014

GSE: Angela Küpper, Ph.D, P.Eng., BGC Engineering - Travers Dam Rehabilitation Program

Location: Saskatchewan Room, Faculty Club, University of Alberta

Time: 11:45am Registration, 12:00pm Lunch, 12:30pm Presentation

Cost: $30 Members, $40 Non-Members, $10 Students