19th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
4:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Room 121, Purdue University
Foundation Performance of Millennium Tower in San Francisco, California
Professor Jonathan P. Stewart
University of California, Los Angeles
18th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
November 3, 2023
GEO-Alchemy: Biogeotechnical Carbonate Precipitation for Hazard Mitigation and Ground Improvement
Professor Edward Kavazanjian, Jr.
Arizona State University
17th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
November 1, 2019
3D experimental geomechanics at the grain scale: what for?
Professor Cino Viggiani
University of Grenoble Alpes
16th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
October 30, 2018
Geotechnical engineering challenges for offshore renewable energy
Professor Guy T. Houlsby
Oxford University
15th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
October 20, 2017
Seismic response of an embankment on loose saturated sand treated with soil-cement panels: Centrifuge Tests and Numerical Analyses
Professor Ross W. Boulanger
University of California, Davis
14th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
November 4, 2016
Geotechnics and Energy
Professor Richard Jardine
Imperial College, London
13th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
September 23, 2015
Soil Mechanics and the Observational Method: Foundation Challenges at the Zelazny Most Tailings Storage Facility
Professor Emeritus Michele Jamiolkowski
Technical University of Torino, Studio Geotecnico Italiano
(Informal Lecture)
The Behavior of the Leaning Tower of Pisa 15 Years After the End of Stabilization Works
September 24, 2015
12th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
October 1, 2014
Evolution of Offshore Geotechnical Engineering
Dr. James D. Murff
Cold Regions Engineering: The 50th Anniversary of the Purdue Permafrost Conference (1963-2013) and Remembrance of C. W. Lovell
November 15, 2013
To commemorate the 50 years since the First International Conference, the organizing committee would like to invite you to attend the Cold Regions Engineering: The 50th Anniversary of the Purdue Permafrost Conference (1963-2013) and Remembrance of C. W. Lovell on Friday, November 15, 2013 at the Bowen Laboratory, Purdue University.
Conference Announcement
Conference Program
11th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
October 17, 2012
Geotechnical Stability Analysis
Prof. Scott Sloan, Laureate Professor
ARC Center of Excellence in Geotechnical Science and Engineering
University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
10th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
October 20, 2011
Theory and Practice of Near-Surface Geothermal Geotechnics (Energy Foundations and Other Thermo-Active Ground-Source Systems)
Prof. Heinz Brandl
Vienna University of Technology, Austria
Panel Discussion – Engineering Alternative Energy Solutions
Special Lecture "Retaining Structures and Highways/Railways along Sliding Slopes", 10:30 am, October 20 in ARMS 1103. Prof. Brandl presented this lecture at the Prof. E. DeBeer 100-Year Anniversary Lecture at Ghent State University in Belgium earlier this month.
9th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
April 14, 2011
Geohazards and Large Geographically Distributed Systems
Thomas D. O'Rourke
Thomas R. Briggs Professor of Engineering
8th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
October 26, 2009
Paradigm Shifts that Facilitate the Practice of Unsaturated Soil Mechanics
Dr. Delwyn G. Fredlund
7th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
October 21, 2008
Using Numerical Analysis in Geotechnical Engineering Practice
Prof. David Potts
Symposium - The Role of Numerical Analysis in Interdisciplinary Engineering Research
6th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
September 21, 2007
Long-Term Performance of Contaminant Barrier Systems
R. Kerry Rowe
5th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
October 5, 2006
Geotechnics: The Past, The Present, and Future Challenges and Opportunities
James K. Mitchell
4th C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
October 31, 2005
Geotechnical Research in Aid of the Decision-maker
Malcolm Bolton
3rd C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
February 1, 2005
Pile Behavior – Consequences of Geological and Construction Imperfections
Harry Poulos
2nd C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
April 18, 2004
Performance of Piles as Evaluated by Three-Layer Model
Kenji Ishihara
1st C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
May 12, 2003
Science and Empiricism in Pile Foundation Design
Mark Randolph
About C.W. Lovell
Professor Emeritus C. William Lovell's (1922-2013) career of teaching, research, consulting and practice extended over a period of 45 years. His research interests were broad and varied including: soft rocks (shales), compaction and compacted properties, soil fabric and pore size distribution, slope stability and erosion, cold weather problems, pavements, and uses of waste materials in geotechnical engineering. He supervised almost fifty theses.
Prof. Lovell was an active individual who served Purdue and the community in numerous ways. The establishment of this Distinguished Lecture is one such effort.
About the C.W. Lovell Distinguished Lecture
Beginning in 2003, the C W Lovell Distinguished Lecture series was established through the generosity of Prof. Lovell, who expressed an interest in creating a lecture series at Purdue that will have staying power—one in which a track record of scholarship is clearly established. Thus, each year, the Geotechnical group at Purdue has invited lecturers to Purdue with outstanding accomplishments in Geotechnical engineering research. The lecture series creates an excellent opportunity for our graduate students to meet some of the most important names in Geotechnical engineering in person at Purdue.
