PROGRAM AREAS
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING The Geotechnical Engineering Russell Green and Adrian Marek have been awarded a grant Program had another successful year Rodriguez-Marek are working on a from the Dept. of Defense’s Strategic in its research, teaching, and service USGS-sponsored project to develop Environmental Research & Development missions, despite the continuing a liquefaction triggering evaluation Program to improve portable free challenges from COVID-19. On the procedure for subduction zone fall penetrometer data analysis for research side, faculty activity is earthquakes, and Russell Green and unexploded ordinances classification illustrated by multiple active grants, Jim Mitchell are working on a similar and increase understanding between with funding from several institutions project to develop a liquefaction geotechnical seabed properties and including the National Science triggering evaluation procedure for benthic biogenic processes. Nina Stark Foundation (NSF), the Department induced seismicity. is also participating with a team of of Defense, the U.S. Army Corps of Adrian Rodriguez-Marek led students in the multi-agency, multiEngineers, and the United States a project funded by the Nuclear investigator During Nearshore Event Geological Survey (USGS), among Regulatory Commission tasked with Experiment (Dunex). others. Some examples include: establishing criteria for the conduct of Joe Dove continued to be heavily Sherif Abdelaziz leads a national site response analyses for commercial involved in undergraduate teaching effort to strengthen earth structures nuclear power plants in the U.S. Dr. activities and serves the department against natural hazards and climate Rodriguez-Marek is also working with as the Director of Curriculum and change using eco-friendly biopolymers Pacific Gas & Electric on a project Assessment. His research over this past as part of a project funded by the U.S. that uses machine learning to inform year included studies to improve the Army Corps of Engineers. Recently, he predictions of site response to engineering properties of soils and the was awarded three grants from three earthquake ground motions. future of big data.. different U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tom Brandon along with alumni Contributions of the Geotechnical Laboratories: The Geotechnical and Dan VandenBerge, Bernardo Faculty have been acknowledged Structural Lab (GSL), The Environmental Castellanos, Rick Valentine, and John through awards, various keynote Lab (EL), and the Cold Regions Rice are finishing the NAVFAC manual lectures, and invited lectures. Nina Research and Engineering Lab (CRREL). 7.01 (Soil Mechanics). This is the first Stark presented a TechTalk at the ASCE The GSL grants aim to use biopolymers time that this legacy document has Convention; and Adrian Rodriguezto improve performance of the national been overhauled in 35 years, and it has Marek gave a keynote lecture at the earthen dams and levees including been a three-year effort. Work will be International Conference on Recent reducing the surface and internal starting on the next NAVFAC manual Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake erosions of such critical infrastructure. in succession (7.02 – Foundations Engineering. The EL grant focuses on lab-scale and Earth Structures) which is also Our graduate students enhanced demonstration of using biopolymers for expected to be a multi-year effort. their professional development by military applications. The CRREL grant Nina Stark and Adrian Rodriguezattending the annual ASCE Central aims to develop a framework Pennsylvania Geotechnical to detect properties of frozen Conference. The Duncan Endowment grounds using remote sensing for Graduate Student Travel provides techniques. financial support to help make this Alba Yerro Colom is possible. More information about the working on a project funded endowment and ways to contribute by NSF in collaboration with can be found at cee.vt.edu/duncanRussell Green and Eileen endowment. Please send your email Martin for the exploration of address to Rachel Atwell (raesquivel@ an interdisciplinary approach vt.edu) if you would like to be added to evaluating the liquefaction to our alumni listserv to receive hazard of challenging soil sites. invitations to events and for other She is leading the Anura3D program information. MPM Research Community VT’s Center for Geotechnical for the development of openPractice and Research (CGPR) source software for modeling continues to have impacts on of large deformations and professional practice and our soil-water-structure interaction program. Liz Smith and Reem Jaber collect geotechnical and geoacoustic problems. seabed data in the York River
2021 VIA REPORT • 11
