A curious post reminds us that while our geotechnical eyes are constantly on the ground, sometimes the understanding we seek may come from above….

Review: On the horizontal thrust of a mass of sand (G. Darwin, 1883) By Michael Bennett, P.E., M.ASCE (A.G.E.S., Inc., King of Prussia, PA) In 1883, the British Empire stood...

Maintain and update your geotechnical seasonal soundtrack with these suggestions from member blogger James Press.

It has been well over two decades since I last wrote you, and I must apologize for neglecting this annual communique. I think I’ve been a pretty good engineer this year....

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the cubicles, Santa’s Geotech Elves wiped ice off their cuticles....

Scientific discoveries sometimes seem to come right out of the ether - sometimes literally! Meet Osborne Reynolds (of fluid mechanics fame) and learn about the surprising connections between his work on the dilatancy of granular materials and the beginnings of the science of soil mechanics.

The DIGGS data exchange standard will transform the power of your data. DIGGS DATA PROCESSING helps you transform your data into DIGGS.

It’s Career Day. Can you convince a room full of fourth graders to become geotechnical engineers in ten minutes or less?

Why to structure your data, what to do with it, and how DIGGS can help.

Transition unwieldy CSV data into DIGGS - the easy way!

The DIGGS Code Jam was the first time multiple vendors attempted to import the most comprehensive DIGGS file produced to date. Vendors were challenged to import the file and produce a variety of outputs based on the data. The results were encouraging -- and eye-opening!

Have you ever shared geotechnical data with a colleague only to hear "I can't open this file" or "The values don't make sense"? These common frustrations stem from inconsistent data formatting and structure. This validation framework tackles these issues by checking your DIGGS files at three increasingly sophisticated levels.

Foundations from History: The Twin Towers By Michael Bennett, P.E. (A.G.E.S., Inc., King of Prussia, PA) Author’s Note: This piece is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the...

Multidisciplinary resources for including social concerns in earthquake engineering research and practice

The student bloggers of NC State assemble their highlight reel!

The 1870s saw dramatic achievements in civil engineering in the U.S.. Member blogger Michael Bennett reviews an 1877 civil engineering textbook that reviews then-current advances and looks ahead to the future.

Get Ready for Geo-Congress 2024 with NC State Graduate Students! by Cassie Gann-Phillips, S.M.ASCE, and Marlee Reed, S.M.ASCE The most wonderful time of year (as a geotech professional) is upon...

Our member blogger explains himself. He was only trying to help out.

CodeType properties and code list dictionaries serve to manage controlled vocabularies and are foundational elements of the DIGGS standard. To improve both interoperability and flexibility across geotechnical data exchange, the DIGGS Team is pleased to announce updated guidelines for referencing code list dictionaries in DIGGS instances. These changes address key feedback from the 2025 DIGGS Code Jam Challenge.

What is DIGGS, and how can it improve AI for geotechs?

Featuring the B&O Railroad as a case study

What did geotechnical design and construction look like in 1923? Member blogger Michael Bennett reviews the 1923 textbook "Foundations, Abutments, and Footing." Part 3 covers Foundations and includes a case study of the 1923 Yankee Stadium.

What did geotechnical design and construction look like in 1923? What's changed since then -- and what hasn't? In this series, member blogger Michael Bennett reviews the 1923 textbook "Foundations, Abutments, and Footing" to see what the practices of a century ago might suggest for the future. Part 2: "Excavation"

Review of Foundations, abutments and footings (Hool and Kinne, Eds., 1923), Section 3: Foundations (Part B) By Michael Bennett, P.E., M.ASCE (Gannett Fleming – Audubon, PA) The second half of...

What did geotechnical design and construction look like in 1923? Member blogger Michael Bennett reviews the 1923 textbook "Foundations, Abutments, and Footing." Part 4 covers spread footings and includes a case study of the Tunkhannock Viaduct.

There's consensus on how and why the St. Francis Dam failed on March 12, 1928, but did it even meet the standard of care of the day?

What did geotechnical design and construction look like in 1923? What's changed since then -- and what hasn't? In this series, member blogger Michael Bennett reviews the 1923 textbook "Foundations, Abutments, and Footing" to see what the practices of a century ago might suggest for the future. Part 1: "Soil Investigation"

By James Press, EIT, Geotechnical Engineering Associate, Aterra Solutions Hello, Geo-Institute faithful! I’m very excited to present the first edition of a new column: More Pressing Matters . I’ll be...

"I wanted to provide some updates on “A Geotechnical Adventure” (working title) ahead of the public demo currently scheduled for beta in March (will likely need to push this back, again). "

We had several proposals for our keynote addresses for Geo-Congress. Here's one of the ones that we ended up not choosing.