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Geotechnical News •June 2015
WASTE GEOTECHNICS
Morgenstern, N.,R., 2010. Improv-
ing the Safety of Mine Waste
Impoundments. Tailings and
Mine Waste 2010. Proceedings
14th International Conference on
Tailings and Mine Waste, pp 3-10,
CRC Press/Balkema, The Nether-
lands.
Shaw, S. and Robertson, A.G. 2015. A
Risk Assessment of ARD Predic-
tion and Control. Proceedings of
the 10th International Conference
on Acid Rock Drainage. Santiago,
Chile. 21-24 April.
G. Ward Wilson
Department of Civil &
Environmental, University of
Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Professor (Geotechnical &
Geoenvironmental), 780-492-2534,
Andrew MacG. Robertson
Robertson GeoConsultants Inc.,
Vancouver, Canada
President and Senior Engineer,
778-331-5060,
Nguyen Truong Tien
1950 – 2014
It is with sadness that I received word
of the passing of Dr. Nguyen Truong
Tien on October 16, 2014. Dr. Tien
was a leader in bringing advances
in Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical
Engineering to the country of Viet-
nam.
Dr. Tien started his engineering stud-
ies in Construction Engineering at
Polytechnic University in Havanna,
Cuba in 1967. He spent 9 years in
Cuba going on to obtain a Master’s
degree through a cooperative graduate
program with the University of British
Columbia. In 1976 Tien accepted a
position at the Institute of Building
Science and Technology (IBST), a
position that he held until 1995. In
1985 Tien was invited to undertake
further graduate studies at Chalmers
University in Sweden. He completed
his doctoral thesis in soil mechanics
within 2 years.
In 1991 he established a foundation
engineering and construction com-
pany known as COFEC. The company
became known as a design consulting
firm with a reputation for outstand-
ing engineering skills. COFEC also
became the means of training many
young engineers who went on to
pursue masters and doctorate degrees
in countries such as Canada, Sweden,
Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singa-
pore and the United States. Through
his unique networking capabilities
he brought many benefits to the
construction industry in Vietnam.
He viewed technical conferences as
being extremely useful to the develop-
ment of Vietnam, thus becoming the
chairperson of conferences that invited
scientists and engineers to present
technical information.
In 1997, Dr. Tien was appointed to
the Ministry of Construction as the
general director of the Technical
Development Company referred to
as TDC. Between 2002 and 2010 Dr.
Tien worked for the General Construc-
tion Company of Hanoi, then retiring
from active engineering practice. Sub-
sequently, he became a prolific writer
describing his philosophical view for
the Vietnamese people.
It was during my first trip to Vietnam
in 1993 that Dr. Tien and I began to
formulate a CIDA (Canadian Interna-
tional Development Agency), proposal
for technology exchange between
Canada and Vietnam. The proposal
was funded by CIDA and led to almost
10 years of close cooperation and
technology transfer between Canada
and Vietnam. It was also during my
first visit to Vietnam that Dr. Tien pro-
posed the formation of the Vietnamese
Geotechnical Society and the publica-
tion of the Vietnamese Geotechnical
Journal. These two initiatives are
examples of the unique abilities of Dr.
Tien to “birth” visions for technologi-
cal advancement and bring them to
fruition.
Many challenges were associated with
practicing geotechnical engineering
in a country with so few financial
resources. In the years following my
first visit to Vietnam I made visits on
an almost annual basis. During those
years I developed a close friendship
with Dr. Tien and his family. It was
Dr. Tien who introduced me to the
Vietnamese culture with its warm
hospitality and unique way of making
a person feel welcomed.
Dr. Tien had a vision for the devel-
opment of geotechnical, civil and
environmental engineering in Viet-
nam. He shared his visions with me
and I always wished there was more
that I could do to bring his visions to
fruition. I sent used engineering books
to Vietnam and he showed immense
gratitude and appreciation for my
miniscule efforts. Many of his visions
for the importance of geotechnical
engineering will live on into the next
generation. One of the highlights that
I will always remember from my col-
laborative program with Vietnam is
the trip of a Vietnamese delegation to
Canada in the late 1990s.
I will forever be grateful for all the
kindness that Dr. Tien showed to me
over the years.
Delwyn G. Fredlund
IN MEMORIAM
