This book comprises the proceedings of the international conference Shaking the Foundations of Geo-engineering Education (NUI Galway, Ireland, 4-6 July 2012), a major initiative of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) Technical Committee (TC306) on Geo-engineering Education. SFGE 2012 has been carefully crafted to showcase a diversity of effective and engaging approaches to geo-engineering education while raising awareness of how crucial this effort is to the future development of the engineering profession.
The five keynote papers were chosen to prompt delegates to debate geo-engineering education issues in the context of best practice in engineering education. A further 36 high quality peer-reviewed papers present valuable insights and experiences in the following key areas:
? What topics should be taught in geo-engineering courses?
? The use of case histories in geo-engineering
? Laboratory work and fieldwork in geo-engineering
? Computing and technology in geo-engineering
? Research on geo-engineering education and teaching experiences
? Student-centred learning in geo-engineering
Shaking the Foundations of Geo-engineering Education is an essential reference for university lecturers, academics and professionals involved in the education and training of geo-engineers. Readers of this text are guaranteed to discover many new inspirational ideas and techniques to "shake the foundations" of their teaching
"?this book should be seen as a source of reference information and a reminder of what can be done - the difficult bits can be tackled when needed. Each chapter ends with a collection of problems for the reader to solve. Many of these ask for the derivation of equations that have been merely stated in the preceding text. The book ends with a collection of potted biographies of some 82 scientists and engineers who have in some way contributed to the analysis or modelling of geomaterials. Some are still living - others come from across the past 400 years. The author suggests that it is inspiring to learn a little of the human and social context within which developments in applied mechanics have taken place."
-Canadian Geotechnical Journal, August 2013
"This book is strongly recommended for its wide-ranging discussion on all aspects of geotechnical engineering education."
- David Muir Wood, University of Dundee, in: Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 2013, 50(8): 906, 10.1139/cgj-2013-0222
