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Geotechnical News • December 2014
www.geotechnicalnews.com
CANADIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY NEWS
standard practice for dams and other
critical public infrastructure.
Dr. Byrne has co-authored over 160
journal and conference papers, has
made numerous invited presentations,
served on international code com-
mittees, and chaired task forces. For
several years he has held a NSERC
Strategic Grant examining “Earth-
quake induced damage mitigation
from soil liquefaction”. His work has
been acknowledged: he is a Fellow of
the Engineering Institute of Canada
(EIC), has received the Vancouver
Geotechnical Society Award, the Geof-
fery Meyerhoff Award, the Gzowski
Medal for best paper (CSCE), the
Julian C. Smith award (EIC) “for
achievement in the development of
Canada”, has given the R.M. Hardy
Keynote Address and more.
As a mentor, Dr. Byrne was always
approachable and freely shared his
ideas and time, both with his students
and practicing engineers. His enthu-
siasm for his work was obvious; he
would gladly spend hours talking
about his latest ideas and develop-
ments, and would openly share his
latest programs.
As a consultant, Dr. Byrne has been in
demand for many years as a specialist
consultant and reviewer on major proj-
ects. These have included dams for BC
Hydro, Hydro Quebec, US Corps of
Engineers; seismic upgrades for major
Bridges in Greater Vancouver, soil
cover for oil-sands tailings, numeri-
cal modelling for seismic upgrade of
the Bart Tunnel in San Francisco, and
the design of numerous tailings dam
facilities around the world.
I should acknowledge Dr. Michael
Beaty, another of Peter’s former
students, in helping to formulate
this introduction. In closing I quote
Michael; “One of Dr. Byrne’s great
strengths is his ability to identify the
key aspects of a problem, and develop
engineering solutions that are practical
and effective because they efficiently
focus on the critical mechanisms. He
has impressed many with this singular
skill.” This skill and the willingness to
share his ideas and work are key attri-
butes that accentuate Dr. Byrne within
our profession.
And again, I thank you for allowing
me to introduce Dr. Peter Michael
Byrne as the 2014 Legget medal
recipient.
2014 R.F. Legget Medal Award Acceptance Speech
Dr. Peter M. Byrne
Thank you Ernie for that introduction.
Mr. President, fellow engineers, ladies
and gentlemen:
I am profoundly humbled to have been
recognized and nominated by my col-
leagues for the prestigious R.F. Legget
Medal, and I am sincerely grateful to
the Canadian Geotechnical Society
for choosing me as its 2014 recipient.
Considering the list of previous medal
winners, it is truly an honour to be in
the company of so many outstand-
ing individuals, and to be considered
worthy of such recognition.
Among previous winners of this medal
is my friend and colleague, Dr. W.D.
Liam Finn, who was instrumental
in my decision to join the Faculty
of Applied Science at the Univer-
sity of British Columbia. When I
had completed my Ph.D. degree, he
approached me to join the Department
as an Assistant Professor. That deci-
sion very much shaped my career, and
I remain forever grateful to him.
In 1959, after graduating in Civil
Engineering from the University Col-
lege Dublin, Ireland, I began my engi-
neering career as a Structural Engineer
for George Wimpey in London, UK. A
year later, in 1960, I came to Canada
and was hired as a Soils and Hydrau-
lics Engineer for CBA Engineering, in
Vancouver.
I worked for CBA for 3 years on two
major projects: construction of the
original Port Mann Bridge across the
Fraser River, and the Hugh Keen-
leyside Dam on the Columbia River.
From time to time when various
Peter Byrne.