Geotechnical News • September 2015
15
CANADIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY NEWS
Dr. Nicholas Sitar.
scripts published in technical journals,
conference proceedings and books –
an impressive and rare feat for many
scholars. An inspiring educator for
over 50 years, Dr. Morgenstern has
transformed geotechnical engineering
as it is taught and practiced in Canada
and abroad.
Through his leadership and reputa-
tion as an international authority on
geotechnical engineering, he estab-
lished one of the leading geotechnical
schools in North America, attracting
top specialists and talented graduate
students from around the world. This
award was in recognition of his excep-
tional contributions and outstanding
productivity in education, research
and consulting that have profoundly
influenced geotechnical engineering
practice worldwide, and in recognition
of his service to the civil engineering
community in Canada and internation-
ally through numerous committees and
task forces that have assisted govern-
ment and professional societies at all
levels. Dr. Morgenstern was presented
his Honorary Fellowship on June 18
in Calgary by Kim Sturgess, CAE past
president.
Canadian Foundation for
Geotechnique News
Cross Canada Lecture Tour
Twice a year, the Canadian Founda-
tion for Geotechnique (CFG) funds the
Cross Canada Lecture Tour. The tour
is sponsored each time by the gener-
ous donations of corporate sponsors
from within our membership. The
spring CCLT was sponsored by
KGS
Group, Tetra Tech EBA, Geo-Slope
International
, and
Thurber
Engineering.
The Canadian Geotechnical
Society Spring Cross Canada
Lecture Tour
May 4 – 14, 2015
The spring CCLT was graciously
performed by
Dr. Nicholas Sitar
from the University of California at
Berkeley. Dr. Sitar, Ph.D., P.Eng., is
the Edward G. Cahill and John R.
Cahill Professor of Civil and Environ-
mental Engineering at the University
of California at Berkeley. He received
his B.A.Sc. in Geological Engineer-
ing from the University of Windsor
in 1973, his M.S. in Hydrogeology
in 1975 and his Ph.D. in Geotechni-
cal Engineering in 1979, both from
Stanford University. He taught in the
Geological Engineering Program at
UBC from 1979 to 1981, then joined
the faculty in Geotechnical Engineer-
ing at UC Berkeley in 1981. Most
recently he served as the Director of
the University of California Earth-
quake Engineering Research Center
from 2002 to 2008.
Dr. Sitar’s professional and research
interests include engineering geology,
geotechnical earthquake engineering,
rock mechanics, groundwater model-
ing, groundwater remediation and the
application of numerical and stochas-
tic methods to engineering analysis.
He is the author and co-author of over
170 publications in geotechnical engi-
neering, engineering geology, ground-
water and groundwater remediation.
His particular interests in geotechnical
earthquake engineering include seis-
mic slope stability, seismic response of
retaining structures and mechanically
stabilized walls, and the performance
of improved ground. In engineering
geology he has concentrated on the
influence of the depositional envi-
ronment on the properties of coarse
sediments, debris flow initiation, and
modeling of jointed rock masses.
The intensive schedule of 13 lectures
in two weeks included 7 locations in
Eastern Canada in the first week and 6
lectures in Western Canada in the fol-
lowing week, as shown below.
Dr. Sitar made available three different
topics to the local organizing commit-
tee for each venue where he presented.
The three topics that were available
are listed below.
Monday May 4
Halifax (lunch), Fredericton (dinner)
Tuesday May 5
Montreal (dinner)
Wednesday May 6
Quebec (dinner)
Thursday May 7
Ottawa (lunch) Toronto (dinner)
Friday May 8
Kingston (lunch)
Monday May 11
Winnipeg (lunch)
Tuesday May 12
Edmonton (lunch), Calgary (dinner)
Wednesday May 13
Victoria (lunch)
Thursday May 1`4
Prince George (lunch)
Wednesday May 14
Vancouver (dinner)
