Evento

2019 Robert G. Hennes Lecture/April Seattle ASCE Geotech Meeting

ABSTRACT

The lecture will briefly review several U.S. waste fill stability failures that occurred during the timeframe of the early 1980s to mid-1990s, that being the period during which modern landfill engineering materials and design approaches first emerged in response to governmental regulations, and the lessons learned during that period. Notwithstanding those lessons, waste fill failures continue to occur. Several failures from the current decade are reviewed and it is concluded that 20 to 30 years after the earlier timeframe, facility owners and the geotechnical practitioners designing those facilities are re-learning the earlier lessons, while at the same time there are new lessons to learn related to evolving waste streams and operating practices at many U.S. facilities. The lecture will conclude with an evaluation of the current state of practice for U.S. landfill design, construction, and operation, and several recommendations to improve the practice.

BIOSKETCH

Dr. Rudolph Bonaparte is Board Chairman at Geosyntec Consultants, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia. He previously served as President and CEO for 20 years, building the firm to 1,200 employees in more than 60 offices in six countries. He is also a Professor of the Practice in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Bonaparte received his B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1977 from the University of Texas at Austin, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil (Geotechnical) Engineering in 1978 and 1981, respectively, from the University of California, Berkeley. His practice focus is in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering. He is the author of more than 70 peer-reviewed technical papers and several book chapters on these topics. He is the recipient of the ASCE OPAL Lifetime Achievement Award in Design, the ASCE Terzaghi Lecture Award and James R. Croes Medal, and the Georgia ACEC Lifetime Achievement in Engineering Award. He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2007.