Categories: General
      Date: May  5, 2009
     Title: 12th Annual Sowers Symposium: A Continuing Tribute

The 12th Annual Sowers Symposium was a tremendous success this year, as experts from both academia and industry presented timely lectures in the area of geotechnical engineering.  Speakers included Craig H. Benson, Robert Bachus, William F. Brumund, and Thomas D. O'Rourke. (For a complete listing of speakers and presentations, please refer to the listing at the bottom of the page).  The Symposium also included awards, student presentations, as well as a reception and dinner.  More than 200 individuals attended this informative and notable event named in honor of CEE Emeritus Professor George F. Sowers.  Our thanks goes out to ASCE, the CEE geosystems faculty, Mike Turner, Carol Maddox, and the numerous sponsors and contributors of this annual partnership between practice and academia.

For 50 years, Professor Sowers served a unique and dual role as a faculty member at the Georgia Institute of Technology and as a senior consultant at MACTEC Inc. (formerly Law Engineering). A civil engineer and geologist, his worldwide consulting tackled substantial civil projects in the United States and Europe, large earth and rock fill dam construction in Asia, and deep permafrost conditions in northern Greenland. A master of anecdotes, his vivid recollection of case studies and his elegant approach to engineering captivated students and professionals alike. Professor Sowers was accomplished at all levels of his profession. He was active in numerous organizations at the local, national and international level, including the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (ISSMFE), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the U.S. Committee on Large Dams, the Seismological Society of America, and the Association of Engineering Geologists. He was the author and coauthor of eight books, more than 140 technical papers, and the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Georgia Tech "Teacher of the Year" award (1971), the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers "Engineer of the Year" award (1973), the Herschel Prize from the Boston Society of Civil Engineers (1976), the Middlebrooks Award (1977 and 1994), the ASCE Martin Kapp Lecture (1985), the ASCE Brooks Award (1990), the ASCE "Forensic Engineer of the Year" award (1994), and the Terzaghi Award (1995). Professor Sowers was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1994.

Speakers from the 12th Annual Sowers Symposium

State of the Art
"Hydrologic Performance for Final Covers for Waste Containment"
Craig H. Benson, Ph.D., P.E.
University of Washington

State of the Practice
"Where are the Giants?"
Robert Bachus, Ph.D., P.E.
Geosyntec Consultants

Sowers Tribute
William F. Brumund, Ph.D., P.E.
Principal
Golder Associates, Inc.

Sowers Lecture
"Geohazards and Large Geographically Distributed Systems"
Thomas D. O'Rourke, Ph.D., P.E.
Cornell University

{cms_selflink page="12th-annual-sowers-symposium" text="PHOTOS FROM THE 12TH ANNUAL SOWERS SYMPOSIUM"}