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Geotechnical News • December 2013
25
CANADIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY NEWS
that most of the papers presented will
deal with soil mechanics. In keeping,
however, with the liaison with allied
fields that has always characterized
Canadian soil mechanics work, papers
dealing with associated subjects such
as engineering geology, pedology,
muskeg, hydrology, and the mechan-
ics of snow and ice will always be
welcomed by the Editorial Board.”
Leggett also expressed the goal that
both Canadian and “suitable contri-
butions from other countries will be
accepted”. In 2012, the articles and the
international experts contributing them
remain aligned with those initial goals.
As I prepared for the 50
th
year, I
looked once again through the first
four issues. They present clear
evidence of the early roots of the
Journal’s excellent history of contribu-
tions to unsaturated soil mechanics.
Dyregrov and Hardy
discuss “the
formidable engineering problem in the
design of satisfactory foundations for
building” associated with swelling of
the Lake Agassiz clay deposits, and
Hamilton’s
article
Volume changes in
undisturbed clay profiles in Western
Canada
described the distribution and
characteristics of shrinking and swell-
ing materials more generally. Another
contribution was Meyerhof’s highly
cited article
Some recent research on
the bearing capacity of foundations,
summarizing his bearing capacity
equations.
We continue to reinforce the Jour-
nal’s practical focus reflective of the
objectives laid out in 1963. While the
Journal does publish articles involv-
ing computational or bench-scale
laboratory work, articles must be
directed either towards the solution
of a practical problem and include spe-
cific guidance on the implications for
geo-engineering practice, or it must
focus on one of geotechnical materials
of special interest to the Journal such
as unsaturated soils, Leda clays or
frozen ground. The Journal rarely pub-
lishes new theoretical work without
a practical component. High quality
theoretical contributions are routinely
declined with encouragement, to
resubmit to one of the excellent jour-
nals that do publish theoretical studies.
During the past 50 years, geotechni-
cal engineering has become a mature
discipline, and I believe that the depth
and breadth of the contributions to the
theory and practice of geo-engineering
published in the Journal during its
history are an extraordinary legacy
of great benefit to present day read-
ers, authors, as well as society and the
environment. It is a credit to the out-
standing contributions made by past
authors, reviewers, editorial boards
and the publishers. The current board
remains committed to working with
the international community, Canadian
Science Publishing and the Canadian
Geotechnical Society to maintain and
enhance this legacy.
Submitted by Ian D. Moore
Editor of the Canadian Geotechnical
Journal
Members in the News
Jit Sharma Named Educator of
the Year
The Canadian Geotechnical Society
extends its congratulations to
Pro-
fessor Jit Sharma
, who has been
selected to receive the 2013 Educator
of the Year Award by the Saskatoon
Engineering Society. The new Chair
of Civil Engineering at the Las-
sonde School of Engineering at York
University, Professor Sharma previ-
ously taught at the Civil Engineering
and Geological Engineering at the
University of Saskatchewan. Profes-
sor Sharma was a member of the CGS
Board from 2006 to 2009 as the
Chair
of the Soil Mechanics and Founda-
tion Division
and is also an Associate
Editor of the
Canadian Geotechnical
Journal
.
In Memoriam
Michael Bleakney - 1956 – 2013
On the morning of Wednesday,
September 18, 2013, the geotechnical
engineering community in Ottawa and
Canada lost a valued and respected
member,
Michael Bleakney,
P.Eng.
Michael was one of the victims of
the tragic bus/train accident that took
his life and those of five other indi-
viduals. The CGS wishes to extend its
sympathies to his family, friends and
co-workers.
Submitted by Dr. Mamadou Fall
Director of the Ottawa Geotechni-
cal Group
The Society publishes obituaries of
members and former members on its
Heritage Archives pages at
http://www.
cgs.ca/lives-lived.php?lang=en.
If you
wish to write an obituary, please con-
tact the President or Secretary General
of the Society before beginning.
Editor
Don Lewycky, P.Eng.
Director of Engineering Services,
City of Edmonton
11004 – 190 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5S 0G9
Tel.: 780-496-6773
Fax: 780-944-7653
Email: don.lewycky@edmonton.ca
Jit Sharma