PODCAST: Improving Waterways and Coasts with Geosynthetics
Waterway health and coastal resiliency are some of the most highly debated topics in infrastructure, as work or lack of addressing an issue in one locality can greatly impact another further down the river or coast. This complicates permitting and finalizing solutions. Joe Little of Little Environments PLLC spent some years working in Australia, where geosynthetics have frequently been deployed in... »
PODCAST: Creating Strong Environmental Programs
Infrastructure projects often shape our futures for the better, but they can also be tremendous sources of pollution—especially without proper attention to erosion and sediment control—and lead to poor relations with a community for a project’s stakeholders. How do we improve these relationships? How do we create strong environmental programs on construction sites? How do we give communities a sen... »
PODCAST: Proper Drainage and Venting of Geosynthetic Barrier Systems
The field of geosynthetics has seen a strong increase geomembrane performance debate. The topics have looked roundly at performance in exposed environments, in buried service conditions (e.g., landfill lining), from installation perspectives, and much more. The Berlin 2 think-tank gathering in 2014 on HDPE geomembranes, Queen’s University’s barrier studies, and the Geosynthetic Institute’s ever-gr... »
PODCAST: Bob Mackey on the State of Geosynthetics Education
A few years ago, the International Geosynthetics Society revived its Educate the Educators program. The initiative was developed in the early 1990s to help educate engineers, regulators, and academics about geosynthetic materials, which were flourishing in field use. More than 20 years later, the field of geosynthetics had grown enormously—but how to engineer with these materials had not become st... »
PODCAST: Perspectives on Puncture Protection for Landfill Lining Systems
The field of geosynthetics has often been defined by how these materials improve the performance and economics of a particular site or application. One of the ways that geosynthetics achieve such goals is through rigorous testing to ensure proper selection of a material. However, engineering approaches are often driven by a market’s level of infrastructure development and regulatory readiness. Thi... »
PODCAST: Zornberg on Differing MSE Design Frameworks
Mechanically stabilized earth walls have been the subject of the most read stories on Geosynthetica this year and a few of the most read stories in 2016 as well. This past spring, some of that field interest in MSE design became the focus of a unique meeting at the Geotechnical Frontiers 2017 conference. There, the ASCE Geo-Institute Technical Committee on Geosynthetics brought together leading MS... »