IAEG Vice-President for Europe 1998/2002
António Gomes Coelho passed away last 21st February. Graduating in Geology at the Lisbon University, he started his Engineering Geology activity as Trainee at the Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC) in Portugal, in 1972. He followed a bright research career at LNEC, where he attained the degree of Specialist (PhD level) in Engineering Geology (1980) submitting the thesis “Engineering Geological Mapping of the Setubal area” and of Principal Research Officer (Full Professor level) in Geotechnics (1991) submitting the research program “Seismic Microzonation”.
He became Head of the Engineering Geology Division in 1990 and was Director of the Geotechnical Department from 1998 until his retirement from LNEC in 2002. Since then, he became Senior Consultant of COBA, Engineering and Environment Consultants, until his decease, namely in the field of seismotectonic subjects related mainly to Dams, Underground Works and Motorways.
He gave the outstanding Memorial Manuel Rocha Lecture “The problem of active faults in Civil Engineering” in 2005. He was President of the Portuguese Association of Geologists (APG), Vice President of IAEG for Europe, Vice-President of the Portuguese Geotechnical Society (SPG), member of the Portuguese Academy of Engineering, and of the Association of Engineers.
He attended more than 60 national and international Congresses and Symposia all over the world and was author of more than 50 scientific and technical papers and 90 LNEC reports. He taught some MSc courses at universities in Portugal and Brazil and he was Examiner of several PhD and MSc theses.
He was a brilliant person, very kind and intelligent, having an outstanding culture and a remarkable sense of humour. These were the main reasons why he made so many friends in Portugal and all over the world. We miss him very much.
By Ricardo Oliveira
Past President of the International
Association of Engineering Geology and the Environment (IAEG)