This year, I had the distinct honor and pleasure of being selected as the 21st Jennings lecturer. The Jennings lecture is the annual honorary lecture series of the Geotechnical Engineering Division of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE). Every year, one geotechnical engineer is invited to give the Jennings lecture in major cities in the county.

My lecture, based on the request of the Geotechnical Division, was on the Fundamentals of dynamic properties of soils and testing, a topic that has become more important to the local practitioners due to the needs of the tailings industry and the nuclear industry, as well as due to projects of South African professionals in other places in Africa with higher seismic risk. I had the pleasure of giving lectures in three places: At the University of Pretoria in Johannesburg on October 15, in Durban on October 16, and at the University of Cape Town in Cape Town on October 17.

Although I was truly honored to be invited, I must admit that I had not realized what an amazing social, cultural, and personal growth opportunity this was. During the ten days that I was in South Africa, my hosts in each city showed me some of the beauty and uniqueness of South Africa, that I do not think I would have been able to experience otherwise.  I had the opportunity to go on a safari in Hoedspruit, located next to Kruger National Park, with Dr. Andre Archer, John Pavlakis, Trevor Green, and their families. This was a great personal experience; seeing wild animals in their natural habitat was a truly unique experience. I have not done this before, and after this, I do not think I can go to the zoo again.

While in Johannesburg, I also had the opportunity to visit the offices of Jones and Wagener, a leading geotechnical firm in the area, interact with local professionals, hear about their projects, and participate in stimulating technical discussions. I also had the distinct pleasure of seeing the research work at the University of Pretoria. I particularly want to recognize Prof. SW Jacobsz, who arranged for me to meet with many of his students and showed me the mobile laboratory testing facility that serves the tailings community, a truly unique facility that he has developed.  Next, I spent one day in Durban; I am grateful to Mr. Bazi Dukhan for showing me projects and beautiful places around town and for hosting a wonderful dinner after my lecture where I had the opportunity to interact with him, his wife, Prof. Phil Everitt and his wife as well as colleagues. I then flew to Cape Town, where I had the privilege of being hosted by Prof. Peter Day and his wonderful wife Tinky. I know Dr. Day from our volunteer efforts within ISSMGE. He and Tinky are an amazing couple, and I consider it a privilege that they spent time with me to show me the beauty of Cape Town. Following my lecture at the University of Cape Town, I also had the opportunity to interact with friends and colleagues such as Professor Denis Kalumba from the University of Cape Town and Professor Charles MacRobert from Stellenbosch University, as well as Frans van der Merwe of Franki. I also had the amazing opportunity of experiencing wineries such as Klein Konstantia, which dates back to 1685, the Cape of Good Hope, the truly amazing Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, and also several drives where I could experience the geologic, cultural, and natural beauties of the broader Cape Town area.

I am truly indebted to my hosts for the time they invested in me, and I particularly want to thank Dr. Andre Archer and Dr. Peter Day, who coordinated all the details of my trip. It is a distinct honor that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I decided to write this post to memorialize this wonderful experience and encourage anyone considering visiting this southern corner of our planet to do so.

The complete set of photos from my trip is available in the photo album 21st Jennings Lecturer.

Thank you South African Geotechnical Division of SAICE for the hospitality!

Categories

Liquefaction Engineering, Site Response Analysis

Keywords

Jennings lecture, South Africa

Location

Gallery