Welcome to Delaware Valley Geo-Institute!

_

Coming Soon: May 2025 Dinner Meeting
DVGI will close out its 2024-25 meeting calendar on a particularly strong note on Tuesday, May 20th as Prof. Richard Bathurst, PhD, P.Eng., of the Royal Military College of Canada, the ASCE Geo-Institute’s 2024-2025 Cross-USA Lecturer, will present “From measurement to LRFD calibration of MSE walls.” Mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls constructed with steel and geosynthetic reinforcing elements are now well-established technologies. Prof. Bathurst will describe how measurements taken from instrumented full-scale field and laboratory walls have been collected and interpreted to quantify the accuracy of current analytical equations for reinforcement loads in MSE walls under operational (in-service) conditions, as well as to construct databases for the resistance side in internal limit state design equations. He will also explain how these measured data have been used to calibrate limit state design equations in the AASHTO load and resistance factor design (LRFD) framework for tensile strength and pullout failure modes. From these data, a simple closed-form solution for calculating the resistance factor for a particular prescribed load factor may easily be implemented in a spreadsheet, bypassing the need for Monte Carlo simulation and giving practicing design engineers more confidence in their use of these factors. Registration, along with further information, is here; sign up by Thursday, May 15th!

Coming Soon: DVGI Annual Summer Golf Outing
DVGI’s annual Golf Outing will be on Thursday, June 19th at Kimberton Golf Club in Phoenixville. Teams of four DVGI members will compete in a scramble format for prizes such as best score, closest shot to the pin, and longest drive. Best of all, funds netted from the event will be used to support DVGI’s lineup of annual student scholarships of GZA as the ASCE Philadelphia Section’s 2024 Geotechnical Engineer of the Year. Registration is open here; sign up by June 13th!

Recap: 2025 Annual Philadelphia ASCE Multi-Technical Dinner Meeting
DVGI continued its 2024-25 meeting schedule at Philadelphia ASCE’s annual Multi-Technical Dinner Meeting on Thursday, April 10th at The Inn at Swarthmore. Following dinner and remarks from several local ASCE student chapters, the geotechnical breakout session featured Richard Bird, P.E., of AECOM in St. Louis, MO, who presented on “Construction Dewatering: Controlling Groundwater for Excavations and Maintenance.” Richard’s presentation included a general overview of some common dewatering techniques. a discussion of their pros and cons, and numerous case histories from his 60-plus (and counting) year career. A good time was had by all.

Richard Bird, P.E., reviews a case history of dewatering a cofferdam near St. Louis while DVGI attendees eagerly take in his insights.

Recap: DVGI Annual Student Night & March 2025 Dinner Meeting
DVGI celebrated its annual Student Night on Tuesday, March 25th at Villanova University. After a student poster session (and happy hour!) and a delicious dinner, the evening’s program got started as DVGI recognized Ernie Hanna, P.E., of GZA as the ASCE Philadelphia Section’s 2024 Geotechnical Engineer of the Year. Ernie packed his short, sweet acceptance remarks with kernels of wisdom from his 40+ years as a geo-professional. DVGI congratulates Ernie on his well-deserved recognition and wishes him the best as he eases into his recently-announced retirement.

Ernie Hanna, P.E., shares lessons learned from a long, fulfilling career as DVGI attendees listen and learn from his sterling example.

Next, three student speakers presented capably on their research. Reza Jebeli, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Delaware, discussed his work on the impact of pore water salinity on clays’ stability and shear strength. Avinash Pandey, E.I.T., an M.S. student at Rowan University, reviewed his research on the potential use of LiDAR to evaluate frost heave in frigid climates. Finally, Catherine Sengstock, an M.S. student at Widener University, outlined her investigation into developing low-carbon cementitious materials using industrial byproducts. DVGI congratulates the student speakers and appreciates their ongoing contributions to the geotechnical profession.

Catherine Sengstock commands the Student Night crowd’s attention as she reviews the slag production process.

Finally, the evening closed with the presentation of DVGI’s student scholarships. Winners included: Sarah Burghardt, Villanova University; Mohamad El Ahmad, Villanova University; Nasraldeen Hassan, Widener University; Jocelin Mayorga, Widener University; Maria McNicholas, Drexel University; Avinash Pandey, Rowan University; and Juan Zamora, Drexel University. DVGI congratulates these student winners and is proud to support them in their academic endeavors.

Smiles abound as DVGI’s Student Night scholarship recipients collect their hard-earned awards.

DVGI thanks its sponsors, its student speakers and poster presenters, and its 2024 Geotechnical Engineer of the Year for making this year’s Student Night such a terrific event. We’re already looking forward to the next one!