News
Foundation Drilling Group Recognizes Doctoral Student
Catherine McGillivray, a fourth-year year Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech Savannah, was awarded a $3,000 scholarship from the Association of Drilled Shaft Contractors (ADSC). One of only 12 students chosen to receive the scholarship, the award includes travel expenses to attend the ADSC annual meeting in Palm Springs, Calif., in February 2008. There, McGillivray will publicly accept the award at a special ceremony during the President’s Luncheon.
Advised by Dr. David Frost in the Geosystems Engineering Graduate Research Program, McGillivray investigates soil-structure interfaces to better understand the behavior and friction reduction that occurs when lubrication is applied. The use of bentonite slurry as a lubricant is an essential component in tunneling and deep foundations, because it facilitates construction operations and in the case of tunneling, minimizes the need for intermediate jacking stations and most importantly reduces overall jacking forces.
“Since underlying mechanisms at the pipe-soil interface are not fully understood, advancements in this area will improve tunneling operations reducing cost and risk,” says McGillivray.
ADSC, the International Association of Foundation Drilling, is a non-profit international trade association headquartered in Dallas. Scholarships such as McGillivray’s are provided by the ADSC Industry Advancement Fund to advance the state-of-the-art in foundation drilling and anchored earth retention industries.
McGillivray is originally from Lexington, Ky. and completed her undergraduate and master’s studies at the University of Kentucky.