We are proud to announce Robert C. Bachus as our 2020 speaker.
The (AASHTO Manual) was published by the American Association of State Highways Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1988 and since that time has been the “go-to” reference guide regarding the standard of practice for subsurface investigations, particularly those investigations focused on the transportation community. Over the past 30 years, subsurface geotechnical conditions may not have changed dramatically, but the techniques used by transportation agencies and their consultants for geotechnical investigation and interpretation have advanced significantly, due to improvements and reliance upon technology advancements. A similar recognition was made by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) with regard to its 2002 edition of Geotechnical Engineering Circular (GEC) No. 5 regarding soil and rock properties. Geosyntec Consultants (Geosyntec) was commissioned by the National Academies to prepare the revised AASHTO Manual and authored to original GEC#5. Updates to these seminal reference documents will be highlighted and discussed during the presentation.
Dr. Bachus is a civil engineer with more than 40 years of experience, with an expertise in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering. He started his professional career as a member of the faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology where he taught for 11 years before joining Geosyntec Consultants in 1990, where he is a Senior Principal. The firm specializes in geotechnical, environmental, and water resource engineering, with >1,200 employees in its 75 offices in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. His research and project activities cover a wide range of topics, including dams and levees, landslide assessment, landfill design and performance, soil/rock properties, geosynthetics, and forensic engineering. He has worked extensively on the properties and beneficial use of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) and geotechnical data management and visualization. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Georgia Tech and Chairman of the Transportation Research Board’s Standing Committee on Soil and Rock Properties.
