Celebrating Excellence in Geotechnical Engineering: 2024 SAICE Geotechnical Division Awards

The 2024 SAICE Geotechnical Division Awards brought together the geotechnical community to celebrate innovation, academic excellence, and distinguished service. This year’s awards honoured exceptional contributions to geotechnical engineering in South Africa, recognising achievements across multiple categories.

Barry van Wyk Award

This prestigious award is presented annually to the author of the best final-year dissertation on a geotechnical topic at a South African university.

Nominations:

• Lizelle Smit – University of Pretoria
• Luke Taylor – University of Pretoria
• Chazz Seegers – University of Cape Town
• Philip Schoeman – University of Pretoria

Adjudicated by Dr Talia Burke (SU) and Dr Laxmee Sobhee-Beetul (CPUT), the award was won by Chazz Seegers from the University of Cape Town for his dissertation:
“An investigation into the effects of virgin polypropylene geotextile thickness on the geotextile/geomembrane interface.”

Chazz Seegers

J.E. Jennings Award

The J.E. Jennings Award, named in honour of the late Professor J.E. Jennings, is presented to a Geotechnical Division member for a meritorious publication.

Commendations:

• Y. Narainsamy, S.W. Jacobsz, R.A. Murison, and N.J. Vermeulen:
  “Uniqueness of the Normal Consolidation Line for Gold Tailings”
• C.W.W. Ng, P.A. Crous, and S.W. Jacobsz:
  “Centrifuge and Numerical Modeling of Liquefied Flow and Nonliquefied Slide Failures of Tailings Dams”

2024 Winners:

• T.A.V. Gaspar, S.W. Jacobsz, G. Smit, and A.S. Osman for their paper:
  “Centrifuge modelling of piled foundations in swelling clays.”

This paper exemplifies groundbreaking research that advances geotechnical understanding and practice.

[from left to right: A.S. Osman, G. Smit, S.W. Jacobsz, T.A.V Gaspar]

Distinguished Service Award

The Distinguished Service Award, instituted in 2022, honours an individual who has made a significant contribution to the geotechnical engineering industry in South Africa.

Adjudicated by Ron Tluczek, Prof. Denis Kalumba, Kelvin Legge, Dr Nico Vermeulen, and Prof. S.W. Jacobsz, the 2024 award was presented to Heather Davis for her outstanding service and dedication to the profession.

Heather’s commitment has left a lasting impact on the geotechnical community, and this recognition is well-deserved.

The SAICE Geotechnical Division extends its heartfelt congratulations to all nominees, commendations, and winners. These awards not only celebrate individual achievements but also reflect the collaborative spirit and innovation driving geotechnical engineering in South Africa.

Here’s to continued excellence and progress in the field!