Welcome to Delaware Valley Geo-Institute!


Coming Soon: February 2025 Webinar
DVGI will double its co-hosted February technical content by co-sponsoring a webinar with the Metropolitan (New York City) Geo-Institute on Thursday, February 27th. The webinar will feature a presentation by DVGI webmaster Michael Bennett, P.E., of Gannett Fleming TranSystems on “Building Ruth’s House: The Geotechnical History of the 1923 and 2009 Yankee Stadiums.” The construction of Yankee Stadium in the early 1920s was a masterclass in geotechnical ingenuity. The park’s South Bronx site had chaotic subsurface conditions, but the Yankees had at their disposal one of the best of the USA’s early geotech firms – Spencer, White & Prentis. The company built mammoth spread footings for the stadium that were jacked downward into the underlying soft soils as construction progressed. The Bronx Bombers opened their new park in 1923 with the team’s first World Series title. Nearly a century later, when the Yankees needed a new home, geotechnical engineers used state-of-the-art subsurface exploration and foundation design and construction techniques to bring a new and improved Yankee Stadium to fruition.

Register for the event here; it is FREE!


Coming Soon: February 2025 Dinner Meeting
DVGI will continue its 2024-25 meeting schedule on Tuesday, February 18th, by co-hosting a dinner meeting with the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI), one of DVGI’s peer technical groups within the Philadelphia Chapter of ASCE. The event will be at the Valley Forge Casino and will feature a presentation by Sitotaw Fantaye, P.E., of Mueser Rutledge on “The Design and Construction of a Challenging Cofferdam for a Large Pump Station and Outfall Structure in Charleston, SC.” The project involved the engineering of a 50-foot cofferdam for a pump station in the swampy western regions of Berkeley County. Challenges included the proposed station site being wedged into the median of a major highway, brackish water conditions, and severe and lasting floods in the region.

About the Speaker: Sitotaw Fantaye, P.E., is licensed in a dozen states and is a Principal at Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers, where he is celebrating his 20th anniversary this year. Mr. Fantaye is a structural engineer specializing in the design and analysis of shallow and deep foundations, underpinning, platforms, waterfront structures, piers, floodwalls, wharves, and support of excavation systems. His expertise includes slurry walls, secant pile walls, soldier pile Tremie concrete walls, soil mix walls, drilled shafts, temporary shoring, cofferdams, and trestles. Mr. Fantaye has authored or co-authored a dozen conference, journal, and magazine papers.

Register for the event here. Meeting attendees – download your PDH certificate below.

DVGI PDH Cert. Feb. 2025 Mtg.Download


Recap: January 2025 Dinner Meeting
DVGI resumed its 2024-25 meeting schedule on Tuesday, January 21st as Glenn Santulli, P.E., of GRL Engineers gave a dinner presentation on “Load Test Drilled Displacement Piles in Difficult Conditions: The Jane Hotel Project, Manhattan, NY.” Glenn delivered an excellent talk on the geotechnical and logistical challenges involved in the dynamic testing of helical piles installed for an elevator shaft recently added to the Jane. The presentation and dinner, topped off with pound cake, were enjoyed by all.

Glenn Santulli, P.E., of GRL Engineers commands the room’s attention as he reviews the difficulties of dynamic pile testing in a low-overhead setting.

DVGI Receives 2024 Best Chapter Award from ASCE Geo-Institute
During ASCE’s GeoCongress 2024, held February 25th to 28th in Vancouver, BC, DVGI was honored to receive the ASCE Geo-Institute’s 2023 Best Chapter Award. With the award, the Geo-Institute recognized DVGI’s accomplishments for its members and community. DVGI thanks the many volunteers whose dedicated service led to its selection out of the many deserving local Geo-Institute chapters.

DVGI members attending GeoCongress, including several present and former board members, accept the ASCE Geo-Institute’s 2023 Best Chapter Award from G-I President Jie Han, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, at GeoCongress 2024 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.