The research in geotechnical engineering is concerned with the engineering behaviour of geotechnical materials and masses such as soil, and rock, and emphasizes theoretical, experimental, and case record studies. The knowledge gained is applied to civil engineering design of geotechnical structures, development and refinement of design codes, and to environmental considerations related to the contamination of ground by various wastes.

Research in the area of geotechnical engineering include experimental, numerical, analytical and in-situ investigations in the general areas of Geotechnical and Foundation Engineering, Soil Mechanics, and Soil Dynamics. Current research activities focus on slope stability, soil liquefaction, earthquake ground motion amplification, seismic hazard analysis, earth and rockfill dams, mine tailings dams, advanced numerical techniques, swelling properties of clays, buried pipelines, soil-structure interaction, advanced laboratory testing, unsaturated soil mechanics, geo-environmental engineering including detection techniques for pollution plume, use of urban and mine waste, and the use of geosynthetics in pavements and other geotechnical structures.

Faculty in Geotechnical Engineering