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Archived Kersten Lecture Information

Prof. Miles Kersten earned his bachelor’s (1934), master’s (1936), and doctoral (1945) degrees in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota. He joined the faculty in 1945, becoming a Professor in 1953. He retired in 1978. At the 27th Annual Conference in 1979, the Kersten Lecture was established and George Sowers, Regents Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, presented the first lecture.

Prof. Kersten was instrumental in developing programs in soil mechanics and highway engineering. He was noted for his research on frost action and thermal conductivity of soils. He contributed to society and the profession in many ways, and some of his contributions are still impacting our lives today. Perhaps his greatest legacy is that of a teacher, as Prof. Kersten was responsible for advising and mentoring many successful engineers.

1. 1979  George Sowers: Geotechnical Lessons from Earth Dam Failures
2. 1980  G.A. Leonards: Stability of Slopes
3. 1981  Elio D'Appolonia: Geotechnical Knowns and Unknowns and Related Attitudes
4. 1982  James Mitchell: Soil Improvement - State of the Art
5. 1983  Roy E. Olson: Impact of Testing Errors on Engineering Design
6. 1984  Stanley D. Wilson: Performance of Embankment Dams
7. 1985  Victor Milligan: Design and Construction of Reinforced Embankments on Weak Foundations
8. 1986  James Graham: Slope Stability Analysis: Applications in Plastic Clays
9. 1987  John H. Schmertmann: CPT/DMT QC of Ground Modification at a Power Plant
10. 1988  Charles C. Ladd: Stability Evaluation During Staged Construction
11. 1989  G.C. Goble: Modern Procedures for the Design of Driven Pile Foundations
12. 1990  Jean-Louis Briaud: Applications of Pressuremeter Testing
13. 1991  Richard Handy: Measuring Lateral Pressures of Soil in-situ
14. 1992  G. Wayne Clough: Lessons Learned from 25 Years of Finite Element Analysis in Geotechnics
15. 1993  Clyde N. Baker, Jr.: Recent Developments in the Design of Deep Foundations
16. 1994  Norbert R. Morgenstern: Observations on the Collapse of Granular Materials
17. 1995  James Michael Duncan: Methods of Analysis for Slopes in Soil
18. 1996  John Dunnicliff: The Practical Use of Geotechnical Instrumentation: Some Problems and Solutions
19. 1997  Gholamreza Mesri: Aging of Soils
20. 1998  Ralph B. Peck: Geo-Engineering for Power in the Northland
21. 1999  J.P. Giroud: Lessons Learned from Failures Associated with Geosynthetics
22. 2000  Robert Koerner: Geosynthetic Reinforced Segmental Walls
23. 2001  Fred H. Kulhawy: Observations on Shortcomings in Deep Foundation Analysis and Design
24. 2002  Michele Jamiolkowski: Leaning Tower of Pisa: The End of an Odyssey
25. 2003  R.M. Barker: Background and Rationale for Load and Resistance Factor Design
26. 2004  R.E. Goodman: Karl Terzaghi and Engineering Geology
27. 2005  John Christian: What Does Reliability Analysis Add To Our Understanding of Geotechnical Engineering?
28. 2006  Jerry DiMaggio: Developments in Deep Foundation Highway Practice – The Last Quarter Century
29. 2007  Suzanne Lacasse: Assessment and Mitigation of Geohazards
30. 2008  Evert Hoek: Integration of Geotechnical and Structural Design in Tunneling
31. 2009  Raymond J. Krizek: Conversion of a Waste Slurry into an Economic Engine
32. 2010  Edward J. Cording: Impact and Control of Ground Movement in Urban Underground Construction

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