The British Geotechnical Association is a learned 'Associated Society' of the
Institution of Civil Engineers
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...
,
[ICE Associated Societies newsletter, Spring/Summer 2011 (Accessed: 19 July 2013)] based in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, England, and a registered UK charity (No. 284131). It provides a focal point for organisations and individuals interested in
geotechnical engineering
Geotechnical engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. It uses the principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics for the solution of its respective engineering problems. It a ...
.
Activities include annual lectures (notably the
Rankine Lecture
The Rankine lecture is an annual lecture organised by the British Geotechnical Association named after William John Macquorn Rankine, an early contributor to the theory of soil mechanics.
This should not be confused with the biennial BGA Géote ...
named after
William Rankine, an early contributor to the theory of soil mechanics, and the
Géotechnique Lecture
The Géotechnique lecture is an biennial lecture on the topic of soil mechanics, organised by the British Geotechnical Association named after its major scientific journal Géotechnique.
This should not be confused with the annual BGA Rankine L ...
), monthly meetings, an annual conference, and a magazine: ''Ground Engineering''.
The BGA is the UK member of the
International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) and the
International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM).
History
Before 1948, the ICE had a committee on
soil mechanics
Soil mechanics is a branch of soil physics and applied mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It differs from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture of fluids (usually air and wa ...
and
foundations and a British national committee of the then International Society of Soil Mechanics & Foundation Engineering (ISSMFE). In October 1948, the ICE's council decided to form a British national society of the ISSMFE. It was established as an unincorporated association, the British Geotechnical Society, in early 1949, and held its first formal meeting, chaired by
W.K. Wallace, in October 1949.
During 1949 ICE also took on responsibility for publishing the journal ''Geotechnique''.
It became a registered charity in 1981, and became the BGA in June 2000.
BGA Trustees' Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2012
(Retrieved: 19 July 2013)
See also
* Rankine Lecture
The Rankine lecture is an annual lecture organised by the British Geotechnical Association named after William John Macquorn Rankine, an early contributor to the theory of soil mechanics.
This should not be confused with the biennial BGA Géote ...
* Géotechnique Lecture
The Géotechnique lecture is an biennial lecture on the topic of soil mechanics, organised by the British Geotechnical Association named after its major scientific journal Géotechnique.
This should not be confused with the annual BGA Rankine L ...
References
External links
BGA Official Website
Professional associations based in the United Kingdom
1949 establishments in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 1949
Geotechnical organizations
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