On 15th March, we attended the BGA’s 57th Rankine Lecture held at Imperial College, London. Professor Eduardo Alonso from UPC in Barcelona delivered this year’s lecture on “Triggering and Motion of Landslides.”

He explored in depth the physical phenomena and deformation mechanisms leading to fast sliding velocities, how slow creeping motion is often found in natural and man-made environments and finally, examined rainfall-induced landslides in partially saturated soils. If you missed the lecture, you can watch it on You Tube.

The Rankine Lecture is increasingly viewed as the most prestigious of IMG_20170315_201047the invited lectures in geotechnics. It commemorates WJM Rankine, Professor of Civil Engineering at Glasgow University, who was one of the first engineers in the UK to make a significant contribution to soil mechanics. He is best known for his theory for the earth pressure on retaining walls.

We had a delicious meal and it was a great opportunity to mix with our clients and colleagues within the industry. Congratulations to the winner of our raffle donation of a meal at Marco Pierre White’s Steakhouse restaurant in London.