Geotechnical News • June 2019
21
COMPUTING IN GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
From the GS Board
CLS
: What is the biggest shortcoming
in Engineering Geology?
DMC
: Let me start with an analogy.
When there is an unexplained death, a
post-mortem is legally required to find
out the cause of death. So every time
somebody dies, it’s a learning opportu-
nity for the medical profession. When
we have large ground movements,
we should carry out careful post-
mortems, such as was conducted for
the Mount Polley incident in central
British Columbia in 2014. After the
Frank Slide in 1903, two geologists
from the Geological Survey of Canada
were sent to investigate the site
under instructions from the Canadian
Department of Mines. Their report is
still interesting and valuable.
CLS
: How important do you think
it is to have a graduate degree in the
geotechnical field?
DMC
: A successful professional
career is quite possible without a grad-
uate degree. The success depends on
the professional’s career path, projects
the professional gets involved with,
and the level and quality of supervi-
sion and mentorship the professional
receives. Of those who do graduate
studies, some carry straight on from
their undergraduate to their graduate
studies, such as myself, and others
pursue graduate studies after working
for a while.
CLS: Closer to home, what do you
think has been the most significant
accomplishment of the UofA Geo-
technical Group over the past few
decades?
DMC: I’m sure each member of the
Geotechnical Group would have
a different answer. However, one
accomplishment that I think unites us
all is the training of many geotechni-
cal professionals that have gone on
to very successful careers in industry,
academia and government, both in
Canada and around the world. Many
have become leaders in their fields.
CLS: Do you have any advice for
young professionals?
DMC: Karl Popper’s advice from his
book Science: Conjectures and Refuta-
tions, was “Learn what people are
discussing nowadays in science. Find
out where difficulties arise, and take
an interest in disagreements. These
are the questions you should take
up.“ This advice directed my early
work and it still seems relevant today.
Geotechnical professionals can find
discussions in and around our techni-
cal societies. They should join those
societies and join in the discussions.
The natural world is an important par-
ticipant in discussions about ground
movements. I’ve tried, with mixed
success, to avoid commenting on a site
that I haven’t seen. If your opinion of
a site is sought, ask to visit it. From
the answer you get, at the least, you’ll
find out something about how your
opinion will be valued.
CLS
: David, thank you for your time
and your insights.
Yiwen Zhang and Lijun Deng
c/o Department of Civil &
Environmental Engineering,
University of Alberta
6-261 Donadeo Innovation Centre
for Engineering
9211 - 116 Street NW
Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9
Women in Canadian Geotechnique
Part 3 of 3
Andrea Lougheed
This is a contribution from the CGS Heritage Committee. Andrea Lougheed (BGC Engineering Inc.) is a member of this
committee and its Task Force on Women in Canadian Geotechnique.
Introduction to Part 3 of the
Series
Twelve ‘Women in Canadian Geotech-
nique’ were featured during the 71
st
Canadian Geotechnical Conference
in Edmonton (GeoEdmonton 2018)
where posters detailing their careers
were displayed and a portion of the
Heritage Luncheon was devoted to
them. Parts 1 and 2 of this series were
published in the September 2018 and
March 2019 issues of Geotechnical
News and profiled eight of the women:
Sue Aitken, Gail Atkinson, Anna
Lankford Burwash, Heather Cross,
Glynnis Horel, Suzanne Lacasse,
Gretchen Minning
and
Danielle
Left to right: Yiwen Zhang, David
Cruden and Lijun Deng.
