Awards

New Zealand Geotechnical Society Student Awards

The New Zealand Geotechnical Society wishes to recognise and encourage student participation in the fields of rock mechanics, soil mechanics, and engineering geology. It has therefore agreed to present two merit awards, each to the value of $1000, together with a suitably inscribed certificate, which shall be known as the “New Zealand Geotechnical Society Student Prize”.

The award shall be made to the bona-fide full time student of a recognised tertiary institute in New Zealand who makes the adjudged best presentation on any aspect or topic in the field of geomechanics to the designated local group meeting in either Auckland or Christchurch. The award is open to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, but the same student is not eligible for more than one award.

Students are required to present an 800 word or one A4 page typed synopsis and will be invited to present their topic verbally at a local group meeting specially designated for that purpose. The local group convener shall be responsible for the format and timing of the meeting, but students should normally be required to speak for 15 minutes followed by 5 minutes of questions.

The prize shall be awarded to the student who is judged to have made the best presentation in terms of clarity, and who is considered to have dealt with questions most competently. The composition of the judging panel is a matter for the local group convener but should exclude supervising university staff. The judges’ decision shall be final.

The awards will be based on the following criteria:

• Structure 20%
• Clarity of Explanation 20%
• Time 10%
• Visual Presentation Clarity 20%
• Content 10%
• Written Abstract 10%
• Question Handling 10%

2011

• Saskia de Vilder: “An Engineering Geological Investigation of the Tutira Landslide Dam, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand.”
• Sam Harris: “A Site Specific Warning System for Rainfall‐Induced Landslides.”

2010

• Xiaoyang Qi: “Numerical and experimental investigation of foundation material and geometrical non-linearity”. (Northern Region)
• Malcolm Hicks:“Surface Waves and Wind Power: Geotechnical investigations of wind turbine foundations using Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW)”. (Southern Region)
• Rob Hunter: “Mechanisms causing internal erosion in filters for embankment farms”. (Southern Region)
• Kim Rait:“Fragmentation in Rock Avalanches”. (Southern Region)

2009

• Algie T:“Incorporating Soil Yielding into Earthquake Shallow Foundation Design”. (Northern Region)
• Arefi J: “Ground Response Evaluation for Enhanced Seismic Hazard Assessment”. (Southern Region)
• Fitzmaurice M: “Collapse Mechanisms of Chimney Caving”. (Southern Region)

2008

• Arthurs J: “Variations in index and shear strength parameters of sensitive soils in the Tauranga Harbour Area”. (Northern Region)
• Wyatt J: “The Sensitivity of some Weathered Pyroclastic Material in the Tauranga Region”. (Northern Region)
• Haskell J: “Assessment of the Performance of Pile Foundations in Liquefying Soils”. (Southern Region)

2005

• Roelant Dewerse: “Load Deformation Modelling of a Soft- Rock Highwall”. (Northern Region)
• Callum Streeter: “Liquefaction at the Blundell Barrage – Wairarapa” (Southern Region)

2003

• Hamish White: “Integration and Interpretation of seismic and geotechnical data for a block cave mine (Northern Region)
• (Southern Region) – Not awarded

2002

• Andrew Holland: “Spatial Variation in an Auckland Residual Soil”. (Northern Region)
• Caroline Francois: “Design and Implementation of a dense strong-motion accelerograph array for the Alpine Fault” (Southern Region)

2001

• Blackstock, H: “Hazard Mapping in Hamilton”. (Northern Region)
• Howard, M: ” Holocene Surface- rupturing Earthquakes along the Porters Pass Fault.” (Southern Region)

2000

• Gunn, W: “Assessment of Mass Movement Mechanisms in the Thames-Waiomu Region, Coromandel Peninsula”. (Northern Region)
• (Southern Region): Not awarded

1999

• Bennetts J: “Measurement of the Effectiveness of Stabilisation Techniques for Reducing Sediment Generation from Urban Subdivisions”. (Northern Region)
• (Southern Region): Not awarded

1998

• Wise D: “An Investigation of the Wairoa North Fault, South Auckland.” (Northern Region)
• Harrison J “Filtration of Port Hills Loess for Retaining Wall Situations” (Southern Region)

1997

• Bassett P: “Influence of Weathering and Hydrothermal Alteration of Engineering Characteristics of Eastern Coromandel Rocks.” (Northern Region)
• (Southern Region): Not awarded

1996

• Chambers A: “Seismic Response of Drilled Shaft Foundations” (Southern Region)