ASCE Metropolitan Section - Geotechnical Group

The mission of the Geotechnical Group is to provide members with opportunities to expand and share their knowledge and expertise of geotechnical engineering and geotechnical construction, particularly as it relates to the unique environment of the New York City metropolitan area. The Geotechnical Group aims to accomplish this through monthly technical lectures and annual specialty seminars. Attendees of the geotechnical lectures and seminar will receive accredited Professional Development Hours (PDHs) applied towards the Continuing Education Program of the P.E. licensing renewal. To learn about our upcoming seminars, please look at the event calendar on the right side of this page.

If you would like present one of your projects at one of our monthly lectures, or if you have any particular geotech-related topic that may be of Section members' interest, please do not hesitate to contact any of the Geotechnical Group officers. To be included on our e-mailing list for future events or if you have any question or comments, please contact Geotechnical Group Chair Paul Pizzimenti at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Tunneling and Beyond, the Sixth Annual William Barclay Parsons Technical Lecture

Dr. Gerhard Sauer (right) and Geotechnical Group Chair Terry Holman

Presented by: Gerhard Sauer, Dipl. Ing., Dr. tech., P.E.
President, Dr. G. Sauer Group, Salzburg, Austria

The Geotechnical Group’s Sixth Annual William Barclay Parsons Lecture was held at the CUNY Graduate Center Recital Hall in Manhattan on April 17, 2008 and was presented by Dr. Gerhard Sauer, a noted tunnel engineer. Dr. Sauer was introduced by Dr. George Munfakh of Parsons Brinckerhoff. The sponsor for this lecture was Allentown Shotcrete Equipment.

Amr Ragy (left) with Geotechnical Group Chair Terry Holman

Presented by: Amr Ragy, Chief Engineer and Estimator
Treviicos Corporation, Boston, MA

On March 25, 2008, the Geotechnical Group held a lecture at the CUNY Graduate Center Recital Hall in Manhattan focusing on the reconstruction of the ancient library of Alexandria, which was destroyed more than 2,000 years ago and rebuilt in the late 1990s. Amr Ragy, currently chief engineer and estimator for Treviicos Corporation and formerly senior geotechnical engineer for the Alexandria Library project, gave the lecture to the group. The sponsor for this lecture was Treviicos Corporation.

Presented by: Frank Rauche, Ph.D.
GRL Engineers, Inc.

The Geotechnical Group returned to the CUNY Recital Hall in Manhattan for its fifth lecture of 2007-2008 on February 20, 2008. The lecture introduction by Dr. Terry Holman included a brief moment of silence in memory of the recent passing of Dr. Ralph Peck, one of the founding fathers of the field of geotechnical engineering. The lecture focused on dynamic testing of deep foundations installed by non-impact methods, and included a summary of dynamic testing theory, examples of load testing on drilled and cast-in-place foundations, and a brief discussion on integrity testing.

Lessons Learned from Failed MSE Walls

Presented by: Dov Leshchinsky, Ph.D., P.E.
University of Delaware

Presented January 17, 2008

The Geotechnical Group held its 33rd Annual Martin S. Kapp Dinner Lecture at the Il Campanello Restaurant in Manhattan on January 17, 2008. The lecture took place after a buffet dinner attended by a full house of more than 100 attendees. It focused on the design and construction of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls and the lessons learned from three specific case history failures, each due to unique conditions.

Dr. Leshchinsky began the lecture by describing several MSE walls that had failed due to a build-up of water pressure behind the walls and the progressive block failures that ensued. Such shallow failures were described as common and often result in loss of fascia blocks without compromising the stability of the geo-reinforced soil.

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