Inspiring Interest in Geotechnics

This presentation describes insights gleaned from teaching a course exploring how machines and organisms interact with earth materials.  Originally intended for postgraduates only, the course has evolved to accommodate students at all levels and to fulfill multiple purposes.  These include (1) providing a gateway for students considering civil engineering, (2) providing an early and engaging introduction to the subdiscipline of geotechnics, (3) connecting problems in terramechanics (defined broadly as the field dealing with the interaction between moving parts and earth materials) to other areas of geotechnics, and (4) assessing future directions for research and development.  Course activities include class discussions, student presentations on self-selected topics, invited lectures from industry partners, and prediction contests for “hands-on” laboratory demonstrations completed using the six-axis robotic arm and soil test beds available in the Soil-Machine Interaction Laboratory (SMI Lab) at Northwestern University.  The course exposes students to general-purpose analysis tools, such as dimensional analysis and cavity expansion theory, and to advanced experimental setups as a way of attracting sustained interest from talented students. Experiences, assessments, and potential enhancements are discussed in detail.

This presentation was given as the Bright Spark Lecture at IS-Cambridge (10th International Symposium on Geotechnical Aspects of Underground Construction in Soft Ground) at the University of Cambridge on June 27, 2022.

If you find use for any of this, this presentation is citable via figshare, and I would appreciate the nod.

Here in alphabetical order are a few other relevant references mentioned in the presentation:

• Hambleton, J. P., Stanier, S. A., White, D. J., & Sloan, S. W. (2014). Modelling ploughing and cutting processes in soils. Australian Geomechanics, 49(4), 147-156.
• Hooke, R. L. (2000). On the history of humans as geomorphic agents. Geology, 28(9), 843-846.
• Jin, Z., Tang, J., Umbanhowar, P. B., & Hambleton, J. (2019). Preparation of sand beds using fluidization. https://doi.org/10.31224/osf.io/u78t9 
• Lawson, W. D. (2008). Soil Sampling at Sword Beach–Luc-Sur-Mer, France, 1943: How Geotechnical Engineering Influenced the D-Day Invasion and Directed the Course of Modern History.  Proc. 6th International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering, Arlington, August 11-16.
• Mizielińska, A., & Mizielińska, D. (2016). Under Earth. Candlewick Press.
• Yu, H. S. (2000). Cavity expansion methods in geomechanics. Kluwer Academic Publishers.