In this and future issues of CGS-Geotechnical Info Net, the 2017 CGS award recipients are being featured. In this issue, Dr. Erik Eberhardt, winner of the 2017 Thomas Roy Award of the CGS’s Engineering Geology Division, is highlighted. Established in 1982, this award recognizes an individual for their excellence in the field of engineering geology, or to a group of individuals for a paper that makes a significant contribution to the advancement of engineering geology in Canada. Erik’s citation reads:
“The body of work for University of British Columbia Director of Geological Engineering, Erik Eberhardt, hardly needs introduction. His work on the recognition, prediction and mitigation of complex rock engineering problems, unexpected rock mass responses and failures remains at the top of the Geological Engineering field. With a proven track record of academic and professional achievement with an emphasis on risk assessment, Dr Eberhardt remains one of the most important leaders in Geological Engineering in Canada and internationally.
His leadership in this field is also distinguished by his many contributions as a researcher, practitioner and teacher with respect to both surface and underground rock engineering problems. These topics include rock slope failures in the form of massive rockslides, as well as engineered rock slopes associated with open pit mine slopes. Other significant research areas of Dr. Eberhardt’s includes tunnelling, underground mining, petroleum geomechanics and nuclear waste disposal.
Previously recognized as the 2013 recipient of the John A. Franklin Award, the Canadian Geotechnical Society is now doubly honoured to award Professor Erik Eberhardt with the 2017 Thomas Roy Award for excellence in Geological Engineering.”