This branch of civil engineering is concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. Undergraduate and graduate courses in geotechni cal engineering emphasize the design and analysis of building foundations, dams, and natural slopes, waterfront and offshore structures, tunnels, as well as various types of machine foundations under different soil, rock, or groundwater conditions. In addition, courses are offered in geosynthetics engineering and waste disposal facilities. Geotechnology for soil and groundwater remediation is also included in the curriculum. Research projects in geotechnical engineering include: computer applications for control of static and dynamic laboratory tests with automatic data acquisition and reduction, development of new cyclic testing devices to simulate field conditions, studies of static and dynamic soil structure interaction as well as static and dynamic constitutive laws for soils. Research projects in geoenvironmental engineering include: nondestructive testing to evaluate geomembranes, analysis of cracking of compacted clay liners, and analysis of thermal behavior of landfi lls.

Faculty Advisors:

Jaewon Jang, Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology
(313) 577-3854
jaewon.jang@wayne.edu