About the future of geotechnical engineering: a view from South America

FRANCISCA, FRANCO M.

Toronto

Conferencia; 14th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering; 2011

International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering

What is going to be the geotechnical engineering role in future generations? What challenges Geotechnical Engineers will have in the next 50 years? What are the current and future needs of societies in developing countries in relation to unsolved problems related with Geotechnical Engineering? These and similar questions triggered the author´s thoughts associated to where geotechnical engineering is going to in terms of research, education, design, and practice fields. This paper summarizes the author feelings enriched by significant interactions and discussions with graduate students and colleagues; there is no intention to make an apology of the future, instead, the purpose is to trigger discussions between geotechnical engineers with focus on the relevance and role of our profession in a changing world.