Geotechnical
Geotechnical/Geoenvironmental Engineering discipline studies the properties and engineering behavior of all types of soil and rock, using field sampling as well as laboratory and field testing to find and/or improve geotechnical applications for the benefit of all of civilization.
Geotechnical/Geoenvironmental engineering includes the analysis and design of foundation systems, slope stability, seepage control, earthdams and water resource structures, earthwork operations, fluid flow through porous media, and earthquake motions & response of foundations & embankments. Geotechnical engineers use their knowledge to analyze and design structures & foundations while hybrid geoenvironmental engineers specialize in finding solutions to environmental problems.
GEOTECHNICAL FACULTY
- Sandra Houston, Professor
- Chris Lawrence, Lecturer
- Edward Kavazanjian, Associate Professor (Specialty Area Coordinator)
- Claudia Zapata, Assistant Professor
GEOTECHNICAL COURSES
Undergraduate Geotechnical Courses
- CEE 351 Geotechnical Engineering
- CEE 452 Foundations
- CEE 550 Soil Behavior
- CEE 551 Advanced Geotechnical Testing
- CEE 553 Advanced Soil Mechanics
- CEE 554 Shear Strength and Slope Stability
- CEE 555 Advanced Foundations and Earth Structures
- CEE 556 Earth Dams and Seepage
- CEE 557 Geoenvironmental Engineering
- CEE 559 Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering
- CEE 598 Foundations*
- CEE 598 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
*CEE 452 may be taken as CEE 598 for graduate credit if you have not taken an undergraduate Foundation Engineering course.
GEOTECHNICAL PROGRAM GRADUATE MANUAL
The General Requirements for the Graduate Programs are available in the main page.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
If the applicant does not have an undergraduate degree in civil engineering, the following deficiencies constitute the minimum requirement. Additional requirements may be placed based upon the applicant's background.
- Sufficient courses in Mathematics including but not limited to Calculus, Differential Equations
- CEE211 Engineering Mechanics: Statics and Dynamics.
- CEE213 Introduction to Deformable Solids or equivalent.
- CEE351 Geotechnical Engineering or equivalent.
The graduate geotechnical courses taught in CEE and some of the recommended courses outside the geotechnical area that may be included in a Master's or post-Master's POS are listed below. Other graduate level courses may be included in a POS with the approval of the student's Graduate Supervisory Committee (GSC).
Graduate Geotechnical Courses
- CEE 550 Soil Behavior
- CEE 551 Advanced Geotechnical Testing
- CEE 553 Advanced Soil Mechanics
- CEE 554 Shear Strength and Slope Stability
- CEE 555 Advanced Foundations and Earth Structures
- CEE 557 Geoenvironmental Engineering
- CEE 559 Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering
- CEE 598 Foundations*
- CEE 598 Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
*CEE 452 may be taken as CEE 598 for graduate credit if you have not taken an undergraduate Foundation Engineering course
Additional CEE Graduate Courses
- CEE 515 Design and Behavior of Portland Cement Concrete Mixtures
- CEE 521 Stress Analysis
- CEE 526 Finite Elements for Engineers
- CEE 532 Developing Software for Engineering Applications
- CEE 536 Structural Dynamics
- CEE 537 Advanced Finite Element Analysis
- CEE 540 Groundwater Hydrology
- CEE 541 Surface Water Hydrology
- CEE 564 Contaminant Fate and Transport
- CEE 598 Structural Design
- CEE 598 Earth Systems Engineering
- CEE 598 Environmental Microbiology
Additional FSE Graduate Courses
- MAE 591 Constitutive Relations and Material Behavior
- IEE 572 Design of Engineering Experiments
- MSE 513 Polymers and Composites
- MSE 516 Mechanical Properties of Solids
The advisor, in consultation with the student, will establish a Graduate Supervisory Committee (GSC). The GSC shall be composed of a minimum of three members from the CEE tenure-track faculty with at least two being from the Geotechnical Group. The advisor shall serve as the chair of the GSC.
The Program of Study (POS) must be in accordance with Graduate College and Civil Engineering Department requirements. The candidate must complete at least 30 semester hours of approved course and research work distributed as follows:
1) at least fifteen (15) hours of Graduate Geotechnical courses
2) not more than three (3) hours of CEE590
3) 6 hours of thesis (CEE599)
The Graduate Supervisory Committee (GSC) shall consist of all tenure-track CEE faculty, including at least 2 from the Geotechnical Group. The advisor shall serve as the chair of the GSC.
The Program of Study (POS) must be in accordance with Graduate College and Civil Engineering Department requirements. The candidate must complete at least 30 semester hours of approved course work, including at least eighteen (18) hours of Graduate Geotechnical courses.
A final Comprehensive Exam will be administered by the Geotechnical Group twice per year, usually the last Friday of classes during the regular fall and spring semesters. The exam is intended to demonstrate proficiency in 6 of the 9 core class subjects. The core subject areas are Soil Behavior, Advanced Geotechnical Testing, Advanced Soil Mechanics, Shear Strength and Slope Stability, Advanced Foundations and Earth Structures, Seepage, Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering, Foundations and Unsaturated Soil Mechanics.
Students will be given 8 hours to complete the exam and are expected to spend roughly one hour per core subject area. Students will be able to select at the time of the test which 6 core class subject areas will be graded. Students will be graded in a minimum of 6 core subject areas. The exam is open book. The exam will be graded by the Geotechnical faculty and a pass/fail decision made as a collective group. A student who fails the comprehensive exam the first time may petition to retake the exam once more during the following semester.
Qualifying Examination
The purposes of the qualifying examination are to assess if the student is qualified to continue in a Geotechnical doctoral program and to detect deficiencies in the student's background that can be corrected by appropriate course work and/or individual study. With this understanding, the qualifying examination is to be taken by a student admitted to the Ph.D. program early in his or her residence, but no later than the second semester of residence. Students with an M.S. degree from ASU may be exempted from taking this exam with the unanimous approval of the Geotechnical faculty.
Dissertation and Program Committee
The Graduate Supervisory Committee (GSC) shall consist of at least three tenure track ASU faculty as follows:
1) Advisor (GSC Chair).
2) At least one additional member from the Geotechnical Group.
Additional suitably qualified members from outside of ASU may be included in the committee at the discretion of the GSC. A change in the GSC requires the change be in writing with both the current and the new advisor formally informed of the change.
Comprehensive Exam
The comprehensive exam is not necessarily the same as the qualifying exam, although the qualifying exam may count as the competency component of the comprehensive exam. The comprehensive exam shall consist of two parts:
1) An examination of the student's competency in his/her area of research.
2) A written and oral report on the student's proposed research.
The format of the comprehensive exam is established by the GSC and will include both written and oral components. At a minimum, the student will be required to present to the GSC a brief written description of the proposed research, anticipated approaches, expected results and projected research contributions. The candidate will also be required to give an oral presentation of the proposed research and to defend the research proposal to the GSC. If the student fails the exam, he/she may petition to retake the exam one more time.
If the student fails the exam, he/she may petition to retake the exam one more time.
Under construction. Please check faculty web pages.