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Geotechnical News • December 2014
23
CANADIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY NEWS
Falls, Hardy Associates and AMEC in
Edmonton, and with Klohn Crippen,
SRK-Robertson and Jacques Whitford
in Vancouver. He worked as a Senior
Geotechnical Engineer, Principal Geo-
technical Engineer, Corporate Geo-
technical Engineer and Manager of
Engineering for these consulting firms.
He consulted on numerous projects
associated with oil refineries and pet-
rochemical plants, pipelines, dams and
tailings impoundments and industrial
plants and a number of geoenviron-
mental projects. In addition to Canada,
Victor also worked in the US, Bangla-
desh, Ethiopia and St. Kitts.
He is the author or co-author of over
30 professional papers and presenta-
tions.
Victor joined the CGS in 1965. His
position of Secretary General is just
the culmination of a long list of CGS
professional service work that Victor
has been involved with over the years:
Executive Member of both the Geo-
technical Society of Edmonton (1975-
1982) and the Vancouver Geotechnical
Society (1993-1996). Victor served
as President and is a Life Member of
both of these regional societies.
• CGS Directorship for Northern Al-
berta (1983-1985) and for British
Columbia (1997-1999).
• Member of seven conference orga-
nizing committees between 1965
and 2005.
• Author of Chapter 4 “Site Inves-
tigation” of the Canadian Foun-
dation Engineering Manual (3
rd
Edition, 1992).
Victor was elected a
Fellow of the
Engineering Institute of Canada
in 1999, received the A.G. Stermac
Award in 2000 and was awarded the
EIC’s Canadian Pacific Railway
Engineering Medal
in 2006 for his
leadership and service to the CGS.
As Secretary General he worked
closely with CGS Presidents
Peter
Wu, Michel Aubertin, Bryan Watts
and
Richard Bathurst
, and closely
with CGS Administrators
Sarah
Watson, Wayne Gibson
and
Lisa
McJunkin.
When asked for a few thoughts about
Victor,
Michel Aubertin
responded:
“I am pleased to acknowledge the
important role that Victor Sowa has
played in the Canadian Geotechnical
Society since he became Secretary
General. Vic started in that position
shortly before I became President-
Elect in 2008 and made a tremendous
effort to master the various tasks and
responsibilities of the Secretary Gen-
eral in a short period of time. With me
as the new President in 2009, and with
many new members on the Execu-
tive Committee and Board of Direc-
tors, Vic worked very hard to make
sure that everything ran smoothly. I
personally benefitted from his dedica-
tion, support and collaboration. Over
the years, Vic has continued to help all
volunteers that devote their time and
energy for the benefit of the CGS.
I have also gotten to know Vic better
over the years and found him to be a
nice man to work with. I would like
to thank Vic and wish him the best of
success with his upcoming projects.”
Bryan Watts
responded:
“My association with Vic started
with Hardy and Associates in 1975
when Vic was my supervisor for the
construction of the starter dams at
Syncrude. To this day, his paper on the
foundation conditions at a portion of
the starter dam over highly compress-
ible peat and silty clay is one of the
best technical papers ever written on
foundation soils in the oil sands. My
next encounter with Vic was during
his tenure at Klohn Crippen in the
late 1980s and early 1990s. I sought
his advice many times because of his
experience on a wide variety of proj-
ects in our industry.
During my tenure as President, Vic
worked tirelessly… at first to educate
me about the workings of the CGS,
then to coach me on the manuals, pro-
cedures, and all of the other stuff that
Presidents don’t really grasp. Without
Vic, many of us would have had a
much more difficult time performing
our duties in the CGS. He has always
worked behind the scenes to improve
our profession.
So, to Vic, many thanks, and enjoy
your retirement, finally!”
Richard Bathurst
responded:
“Vic has been the ‘Wizard of Oz’
behind the CGS stage for the last eight
years. As Secretary General, he has
provided four Presidents and Boards
of Directors with outstanding guid-
ance on the day-to-day affairs of the
Society, and wisdom on matters of
policy. The volume of CGS busi-
ness that passes through the office
of the Secretary General is difficult
to appreciate unless one has had the
experience of being President. Vic has
performed each task with the welfare
of our Society and each CGS member
in mind. For this dedication we can all
be grateful.
I wish Vic the best for the future and
salute him for a job well done.”
Lisa McJunkin
responded:
“Having worked closely with Vic
since 2009, I have come to appreciate
his keen eye for detail. This has helped
keep the CGS on track during his term
as Secretary General. He leaves the
Society in good shape to take on new
challenges in the ever-changing and
evolving engineering community. Vic-
tor, you will be missed!”
Victor, all of us in the CGS family
thank you for your efforts and wish
you all the best in your retirement.
Submitted by Doug VanDine
CGS President Elect 2015/2016
Heritage Committee
New Publication
The CGS Heritage Committee would
like to let you know about the Edmon-
ton Geological Society’s newest
publication
John Allan: The Found-
ing of Alberta’s Energy Industries
by
Willem Langenberg
and
Dave
Cruden
.