Geological Engineering in the News
May 7, 2012: A research team lead by Professors Jim Tinjum and Dante Fratta receives an NSF REU Site award
The National Science Foundation awards a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site to GLE professors Jim Tinjum and Dante Fratta.
This REU site will engage undergraduate students into Energy Geotechnics-related research during the summer and also during academic year.
The 10-week long summer projects will start on June 14, 2012 and applications are sought now and until May 24, 201. For more information, please visit
this link.
April 24, 2012: Cara Sandlass wins the Bryson Reid Scholarship
The Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison awarded the Reid Bryson Scholarship to
GLE student Cara Sandlass. This scholarship rewards exemplary students whose research mirrors the innovative and interdisciplinary
studies of Professor Bryson, involving either fundamental climate and meteorological processes or topics that connect climate, people,
and the environment. A full descripttion of the scholarship can be found at this
link.
April 24, 2012: Professor Fratta receives the Benjamin Smith Reynolds Award for Excellence in Teaching
Geological Engineering congratulates Associate Professor Dante Fratta on being awarded the Benjamin Smith Reynolds Award for Excellence in Teaching.
The College of Engineering presents this award to the faculty member who contributes most to the instruction of engineering students. For more
information please follow this link.
February 9, 2012: Professor and Geological Engineering Chair Craig H. Benson is named to the National Academy of Engineering
Geological Engineering congratulates Professor Craig H. Benson on being elected to the 2012 Class of the National Academy of Engineering!
Professor Craig H. Benson is also Wisconsin Distinguished Professor, Director of Sustainability Research and Education, and Chair of the Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Craig was awarded this distinction for improvements in design, construction, and monitoring of
earthen liners and covers for municipal hazardous and radioactive waste landfills.
The announcement can be found at the National Academy of
Engineering webpage.
January 5, 2012: Cole Christiansen receives a Shell Undergraduate Research grant
GLE undergraduate student Cole Christiansen received funding to pursue an undergraduate research project uner the supervision of Ms. Sabrina Bradshaw and Prof. Craig Benson.
November 1, 2011: Hagen is profiled in the College of Engineering website
Geological Engineering MS student Erica J. Hagen is profiled profiled in the College of Engineering website for her work on bluff stability along the Great Lakes.
April 25, 2011: PhD student Jongwan Eun receives AEG Student Paper Award
The AEG North Central Section announced that Jongwan Eun is the 1st place winner of the 2011 Student Paper Contest. The award committee thought his thesis was well constructed and well researched, and his paper was well written.
March 3, 2011: GLE Professor Jim Tinjum is profiled in Wisconsin Engineer
GLE Assistant Professor Jim Tinjum and his research on wind energy are profiled in the Wisconsin Engineer
website. Pleasse click here to read the complete article
January 18, 2011: GLE students receive Shell Undergraduate Research Awards
GLE students Cole Christiansen, Megan Jehring, Missy Setz and Ross Tipton received funding to pursue undergraduate
research projects. The titles of their proposals follow:
Cole Christiansen - "Effectiveness of Bentonite as a Seal in Monitoring Wells"
Megan Jehring - "Determination of Diatom Concentration in Natural Soils and Sediments"
Missy Setz - "Using Lithium Bromide for Bentonite Exchange Complex Determination"
Ross Tipton - "The Performance of Geosynthetic Clay Liners Prehydrated with Subgrade Pore Water and Permeated with
Aluminum Processing Residue"
December 20, 2010: GLE student Brown receives scholarship
Brigette Brown; GLE student from Blaine, MN; was awarded the Faculty/Staff Great People Scholarship for the year 2010-11. Please click here to read the annoucement. Congratulations, Brigette!
November 17, 2010: Geoscience and GLE Professor Feigl publishes Nature paper
An international team of researchers, including UW-Madison Kurt Feigl, analyzed geophysical changes in the long-dormant volcano leading up to its eruptions in March and April 2010. The results of this study was published in the Nov. 18 issue of the journal Nature, the reseach results suggest that magma flowing beneath the volcano may have triggered its reawakening. See full annoucement
November 8, 2010: GLE Professors C. H. Benson and T. B. Edil are profiled in the College of Engineering website
Recycled Materials Resource Center's researchers C. H. Benson and T. B. Edil are profiled in the College of Engineering website for their work in sustainable construction.
Angela Pakes Ahlman is profiled in the the UW-Madison website
GLE Alumna Angela Pakes Ahlman is profiled in the University of Wisconsin-Madison website.
September 17, 2010: Edil Rreceives Distinguished Service Award
The American Society of Civil Engineers Wisconsin Section presented Geological Engineering and Civil & Environmental Engineering Professor Tuncer Edil its Distinguished Service Award. The honor recognizes Edil's preeminence as a geotechnical engineer and educator. Among his current research interests are construction of highways over poor subgrades, use of industrial byproducts and geosynthetics in highway construction, compatibility of geosynthetic clay liners and other geosynthetics with acidic mine waste, and studies of coastal erosion/landslides, particularly along the Great Lakes shorelines.
July 22, 2010
Professor Craig H. Benson testifies in Congress on proposed coal ash regulations and how they may impact sustainable infrastructure intitiaves. A video of the event can be found in YouTube.
JUNE 15, 2010: Edil earns award of excellence
At its 16th annual conference, the Great Lakes Annual Geotechnical/Geoenvironmental Conference Steering Committee presented Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Tuncer B. Edil its outstanding geotechnical engineering educator regional award. The award recognizes Edil's creative accomplishments, outstanding and innovative contributions to research and education of generations of engineers in the field of geoengineering.
MAY 1, 2010: Benson named distinguished alumnus
The University of Texas-Austin Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering has inducted Wisconsin Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Craig Benson into its Academy of Distinguished Alumni. On campus, Benson directs the Recycled Materials Resource Center and, for more than 25 years, has conducted experimental and analytical research in geoenvironmental engineering, focusing primarily on waste containment, beneficial use of industrial byproducts, and sustainable construction. He has received numerous national awards for his research.
APRIL 29, 2010: Benson and Edil inducted to the Association of Geoprofessionals Diplomates
Geological Engineering professors Craig H. Benson and Tuncer B. Edil were inducted in February 2010 as Diplomates in the Association of Geoprofessionals (AGP) at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Geo Institute in West Palm Beach, FL. Fewer than 200 geological and geotechnical engineers in North America have been inducted as diplomates of AGP.
UW-Madison student chapter of Association of Engineering Geologists earns award
Geological Engineering's student chapter in the Association of Engineering Geologists (AEG) won the 2009 outstanding student chapter award. Paul Schlicht, BS GLE '07 and MS GLE '09 was the chapter president in 2009. Paul is currently a geological engineer at Golder Associates in Denver.
APRIL 1, 2010: New GLE design course in wind energy site design and construction
James Tinjum and James Schneider have recently announced a new design course, GLE 401, Wind Energy Site Design
and Construction, that will be offered this fall on Tuesday/Thursday from 4:45 to 6:00 PM.
The class capitalizes on Tinjum's experience in civil design and Schneider's expertise on foundation systems.
Aspects of wind energy covered are turbine basics, energy production, and turbine systems.
Wind plant design categories covered include site-analysis, electrical grid analysis, environmental design parameters,
foundation systems, and economic design parameters. Subjects on wind energy construction include site preparation,
turbine installation, site maintenance, design life, and upgrade potential.
The course includes a short course on offshore wind energy and will also include guest lectures discussing
wind energy project design, construction, and operations. Two field trips will be made to local wind energy sites.
For more information on the course and UW-Madison's involvement in the wind industry, please contact
Professor J. Tinjum at jmtinjum@wisc.edu.
MAY 18, 2009: Chris Bareither has been invited to represent the Geo-Institute of ASCE
Chris Bareither, a GLE graduate student, has been invited to represent the Geo-Institute of ASCE at the
Fourth International Young Geotechnical Engineering Conference
The conference will take place from October 2 to October 6, 2009 in Alexandria, Egypt, immediately before
the International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (17th ICSMGE 2009).
The US National Society will sponsor Bareither and two other outstanding young geotechnical engineers to attend.
Bareither was chosen due to his academic excellence, research accomplishments & evidence of leadership within the field.
AUGUST 6, 2007: GeoEngineering Alumni Yesiller receives paper award
Dr. Nazli Yesiller has received the 2005 Practical Paper Award for the paper entitled "Determination of Surface and Thickness Characteristics of Textured Geomembranes Using Image Analysis." The paper was published in the May 2005 issue of the ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal. The award selected by the ASTM Committee D-18 on Soil and Rock, the ASTM editorial staff, and the ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal editorial board recognizes an outstanding article on the practice of geotechnical engineering testing. Dr. Yesiller received her doctorate from UW-Madison in 1994 under the supervision of Prof. Craig H. Benson. She is now an independent consultant in San Luis Obispo, California.
JULY 30, 2007: Prof. Edil receives prestigious international award
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey has announced the recipients of 2007 awards on July 24, 2007. Prof. Tuncer Edil of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geological Engineering Program received the Special Science Award for "his internationally recognized outstanding research on construction technologies over soft ground and use of recycled materials as construction materials." The award will be presented in a ceremony in December, 2007 in Ankara, Turkey.
JULY 13, 2007: Benson is the new GLE program chair
After five years as the GLE chairman, Prof. Tuncer Edil stepped down last June. The new program chair is Prof. Craig H. Benson. The GLE program commends Prof. Edil for his many accomplishments as the program chair and wishes new chair Benson best of luck in continued growth of this interdisciplinary program.
JUNE 20, 2007: Alumnus Pat Fox receives paper award
Prof. Patrick Fox, Ohio State University, has received the the 2006 Practical Paper Award for the paper entitled "Large Dynamic Direct Shear Machine for Geosynthetic Clay Liners" that was published in the September 2006 issue of the ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal. The award selected by the ASTM Committee D-18 on Soil and Rock, the ASTM editorial staff, and the ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal editorial board recognizes an outstanding article on the practice of geotechnical engineering testing. Prof. Fox received his doctorate from UW-Madison in 1992 under the supervision of Prof. Tuncer B. Edil.
MAY 23, 2007: Alummuns HiKweon Lee wins award
Dr. HiKweon Lee (PhD-GLE 2005 - former PhD student of Prof. Bezalel Haimson) is announced to be the recipient of the 2007 ARMA Ph.D. Thesis in Rock Mechanics Award. The award will be given to him at the North American Rock Mechanics Symposium in Vancouver BC, which convenes on May 27-30, 2007. Dr. Lee is the last PhD student of Prof. Bezalel Haimson who has announced his retirement this summer after a long and successful career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
MAY 13, 2008: Prof. Bezalel Haimson named ARMA Fellow
Emeritus Professor Bezalel Haimson has been appointed as a Fellow in the American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA). The Fellows Program is a new initiative of ARMA to reward individuals who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in the area of rock mechanics, and have been of exceptional service to ARMA and the rock mechanics community. Professor Haimson's appointment as an inaugural member of this program makes this accomplishment particularly important.
FEBRUARY 23, 2007: Tuncer receives geotechnical education award
The United States Universities Council on Geotechnical Education and Research (USUCGER) has awarded Prof. Tuncer B. Edil the 2007 USUCGER Distinguished Service Award in recognition for his dedication, contributions, and service to the USUCGER community. USUCGER was founded in 1985 to provide advocacy for the continued development and expansion of high quality geotechnical engineering research and education by US academic institutions.
FEBRUARY 23, 2007: Benson commended for editorial service
During the 2007 ASCE GeoInstitute's National Conference, Prof. Craig H. Benson received the "Commendation for Service as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering". Prof. Benson has just stepped down as Editor-in-Chief of the leading journal in the field of geotechnical engineering.
FEBRUARY 23, 2007: Alumnus Ahmet Aydilek receives professional development award
UW-Madison alumni, Prof. Ahmet Aydilek (CEE - University of Maryland), has received the 2006 Arthur Casagrande Professional Development Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Prof. Aydilek received his doctorate from UW-Madison in 2000 under the supervision of Prof. Tuncer B. Edil. The Casagrande Award is the highest ASCE research award given to a junior researcher and was established to provide professional development opportunities for outstanding young practitioners, researchers, and teachers of geotechnical engineering.
JANUARY 15, 2007 - Kottle saves lost camper
Peter Kottke, a junior geological engi neering major at the University of Wisconsin at Madison saved a lost camper. Kottke is featured in the news after he rescued a lost camper.
MAY 2, 2006: Chang and Haimson receive Rock Mechanics Research award
Dr. John Hudson, U.K., the President of the International Society of Rock Mechanics, announced that his nomination of a paper entitled "Non-dilatant deformation and failure mechanism in two Long Valley Caldera rocks under true triaxial compression" by Dr. C. Chang (former UW-Madison PhD student and Post doc) and Prof. Bezalel Haimson (published in 2005 in the Intl. J . of Rock Mechanics) for the 2006 American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) Rock Mechanics Research award, has been successful. The award will be presented at the Annual U.S. Rock Mechanics Symposium, June 18-21, 2006.
MAY 1, 2006: Baugh receives PCA Education Foundation Fellowship
GeoEngineering graduate student Jeremy Baugh received one of the six Portland Cement Association Education Foundation Fellowship Awards in the amount of $20,000. This competitive fellowship supports a wide variety of educational activities that increase public knowledge regarding appropriate uses of cement and concrete. The title of Baugh's research project is "Investigation into the Use of Cement Kiln Dust for Reconstruction of Bituminous Roads." The project will be supervised by Professor Tuncer B. Edil.
APRIL 21, 2006: Cope receives prestigious fellowship
GeoEngineering graduate student Daniel Cope has been selected to receive a 2006 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship. Mr. Cope was selected by the Army Research Office (ARO) from nearly 3,600 applications that were received this year. The NDSEG Fellowship will cover Mr. Cope's tuition and required fees, and will provide yearly stipend for three years at any accredited U.S. college or university. This very prestigious fellowship is sponsored and funded by the Department of Defense (DoD). Its goal is to provide the United States with talented, doctorally trained individuals who will lead state of the art research projects in disciplines related to national defense. Dan Cope's research advisor is Professor Craig Benson.
MARCH 6, 2006: Fratta paper receives special commendation
The Technical Organizing Committee of GeoCongress 2006 on Geotechnical Engineering in the Information Technology Age, Atlanta, Feb 26-March 1, 2006 selected the paper "The Use of Low-Cost MEMS Accelerometers for the Near-Surface Monitoring of Geotechnical Engineering Systems," by Keith Hoffman, Richard Varuso, and Dante Fratta (GLE - UW-Madison) to receive the best paper award in the Sensing Methods and Devices Track.
MARCH 1, 2006: 2006 GeoCongress Conference — Student Competition
The 2006 GeoCongress Conference Student Competition has concluded and the winners were announced.
The UW-Madison team formed by the Geo Engineering students including Craig Schuettpelz, a GLE senior.
Other team members were Ake Sawangsuriya, Emre Biringen and Victor Damasceno.
Nineteen teams from Europe, Asia and US (including three teams from UW-Madison) participated of this
challenging event. The contest was entitled "Information Mining and Geotechnical Site Characterization Design"
and involved researching the Hurricane Katrina's time line and proposing engineering solutions for the
collapsed levee system in New Orleans.
The submitted papers were reviewed by an international panel of experts. The second placed teams received $500.
All participating students will also receive flash cards to reward their efforts. Prof. Dante Fratta (GLE
and CEE) was the advisor to the team.
FEBRUARY 17, 2006: Geological engineer named to national academy
A scientist who works at the interface of geology and engineering was elected on February 10 to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
April 14, 2004: "Carving Crazy Horse: Art and Engineering of Blasting Massive Rock Monuments,"
Presentation by Prof. Charles Dowding - Northwestern University
