CalGeo at UCLA - Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering

We of the CalGeo Student Chapter at UCLA have a simple goal, to build lasting connections between the academic and industrial faces in the field of Geotechnical Earthquake engineering. We present opportunities for students to interact with professionals of the field, those men and women who belong to the California Geoprofessionals Association.

Geotechnical Engineering is the ground level facet of Civil Engineering. Before buildings go up, geotechnical engineers are responsible for investigating sites of proposed construction. We examine soils, rocks and fault distribution, and determine their engineering properties including the soils' responses to seismic stresses.

Our UCLA student chapter has grown significantly since it was founded in 2008. The chapter organized multiple events during the 2009-10 academic year. These included: a field trip to see Cone Penetration Testing, participation in a Mechanically Stabilized Earth Wall competition with the Geo-Institute and ASCE at UCLA, as well as a venture north to San Francisco to take a tour of the new Bay Bridge.

In November of 2009 the UCLA chapter of CalGeo invited students at California State Fullerton to join us on a field trip. The destination was the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation site (NEES), located under the intersection of the 405 and 105 freeways. Forty students from their respective colleges partook this excellent opportunity. Within the seemingly short span of two hours, students were exposed to an array of field related operations and equipment. Dived into four stations, students were given up-close demonstrations with: a cone penetration testing truck, the examination of soil behavior behind freeway abutments during earthquakes, a truck-mounted drill demonstration, and the final station was in depth analysis of SPT samples. Students gave two thumbs way up.

We will also have speakers come in and talk about what they do in the industry to allow students to learn and get to know industry professionals. These friendships can become valuble assets for finding internships and eventually jobs in the geoprofessional field. This year we also plan to participate in one big geotechnical engineering competition. This consists of the construction of a reinforced soil wall. The goal is to build a wall that will sustain a specific vertical and horizontal load with the least amount of reinforcement possible. This will take place at the end of Winter Quarter and we will start preparing towards the end of Fall.

If you want to be a part of the only geotechnical earthquake engineering group at UCLA, then contact us at calgeobruins@gmail.com and we can put you onto the mailing list or just provide you with more information about the club. You'll get a chance to see what geotechnical earthquake engineering is all about.