GEOTECHNIC

AL
ENGINEERING

WHAT DO GEOTECH ENGINEERS DO?

Design foundations for structures
Design sub-grades for roads
Flood control
Evaluate landslides, soil erosion, and landslides.
Does it deal with soil? If so you will deal with it.

WHAT WILL MY FIRST JOB BE LIKE?

Perform field investigations under
direction of supervisor

Perform Engineering analysis

Construction observations
Assist or compile technical reports

WHAT IS IT GOING TO BE LIKE?

You may have a team of junior entry level engineers to use at
your discretion

Lead team meetings

Put together final reports to be present to clients

HOW MUCH WILL I MAKE? WHO WILL HIRE

ME?
Average Salaries
0 to 2 years 53,800
2-4 years 61,500
4 to 6 years 79,500
6 to 8 years 101,000

The military, government agencies, private firms, be a consultant.

DO I GET THE MASTERS OR NOT?

As with any degree that a person maybe seeking it is not the
ease of a degree but the amount of determination and time
that you are willing to put into yourself. However, while
researching this degree it seems that it is easier to obtain a
job with a Masters, but most jobs are like that. The more
schooling you attend and invest into yourself the more
profitable and valuable you make yourself

INTERVIEW

MAIN FOCUS IN THE FIELD

Deep foundation

Reliability of deep foundation design

New sensors for soil erosion

Categorize the concrete properties of soil

New sensor to monitor soil erosion at bridge foundations
Formula to estimate how much soil erodes at the foundations

Numerical modeling for soil

Limited resources to test soils

Create a real-scale model of soil

CLASSES AT UTA THAT FOCUS ON

GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
Soil mechanics
First fundamental course
Third year course

Shallow foundations
Individual footing and shaft footing
Senior level

Advanced foundations
Grad students

JOB OPPORTUNITIES AFTER GRADUATION

Texas DOT

Bridges and roads

Consulting firms

Trinity Infrastructure

Consulting on road projects

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADVANCED

DEGREE
Work for 1 or 2 years

Know what you want to study for Masters Degree

Geotechnical PE license requires advanced degree

Fast-track Masters takes about 1.5 years

INNOVATIONS IN PAST FEW YEARS

Using mathematical models to categorize risk for each design
Using sensors on new materials

Measure previously un-measurable variables

Smarter structures

Considering sustainability of design

Consider environmental impact down the road to analyze long-term

economics of projects.

INNOVATIONS IN THE NEXT 10- 20 YEARS

Macro-scale

Macro-scale behavior for soils

Insight into fundamental behaviors of soil

INNOVATION IN GEOTECHNICAL
ENGINEERING:
Using particle size to determine soil behavior on a

macroscopic level.
Development of a mathematic equation for Specific Surface of a
Particle

Direct link to plasticity

Makes it easier to determine erosion levels of soil in foundations of
structures.
Far-reaching impact on all aspects of design

Helps determine sustainability of projects

Long-term economic implications

PRACTICAL
APPLICATION
FOUNDATIONS

FOUNDATIONS

The basis of any structure is the foundation. Geotechnical

Engineering is essential to this process because the foundation
transmits loads from the building to the earth.

Factors that go into calculating the right foundation are

Weather in the area

Type of soil in the area
Depth needed to reach firm rock
Magnitude and locations of loads used
Cost

 Types of foundations

Shallow foundations- typically near the surface, low depth

Slab foundations- typically for small structures like houses, allows for
movement due to changing soil conditions.
Deep foundations- used for heavy loads, amount of depth depends on the soil
and the amount of penetration needed to reach stable rock.

Example: Sears Tower

Has a 100ft deep foundation set into bedrock with slabs foundations for each floor.

A skyscraper like the Sears Tower cannot be constructed in Texas.

Most of Texas lies on thick beds of soft clay.

Structures in Texas use thick rafts of concrete along with the

necessary foundation to limit costs and to make up for any lack of

depth.

The thick rafts of concrete are required to spread the loads of the
structure evenly over the weaker soil.

INNOVATIONS
EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING

LIQUEFACTION

SEISMIC WAVE STUDY

Time Domain Analysis Theory
Studies histories of acceleration, velocity, and displacement

Frequency Domain Theory

Studies frequency contents of ground motions

A Collaborative Combination Study: Time-Frequency-Amplitude

Analysis Theory
Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China
Henan University of Urban Construction, Pingdingshan, China

TESTING GROUNDS
Nearly 3000 km of road and
railways in areas known for
earthquakes

TYPES OF EARTHQUAKE SIMULATIONS

Shaking table test of site

under non uniform seismic
excitation.

Simulation test of fault slip.

Shaking table test of rock slope.

Shaking table test of retaining wall.

APPLICATIONS
YaLe Expressway
Several New Traffic Lines

SOURCES
http://engineering.tamu.edu/civil/academics/degrees/specialty/geotechnical
https://qa.linkedin.com/jobs2/view/21941596
http://thecivilengg.com/geotechnical_engineering.php
Yu, Dr. Xinbao. In-person interview. 15 Oct. 2014.
http://www.daviddarling.info/childrens_encyclopedia/structures_Chapter1.html
http://thesop.org/story/training/2008/03/19/is-your-foundation-strong-enough.php
http://www.diynetwork.com/remodeling/a-strong-foundation-different-types-of-foundations/index.html
Santamarina, J.C., Cho, G.C.: Soil behaviour: the role of particle shape. In: Proceedings of Skempton
conference, March, London pp. 114 (2004)

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/amse/2014/902690/