T.H. WU DISTINGUISHED LECTURE
The T.H. Wu Distinguished Lecture is a signature event in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering (CEGE). Presented yearly, the lecture features prominent scholars and practitioners in the field of geotechnical engineering. The lecture is held in honor of the late Dr. Tien H. Wu, professor emeritus and former chair of CEGE.
The Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering extends its gratitude to Dr. John S. McCartney, who served as the 2025 T.H. Wu Distinguished Lecturer.
2025 T.H. Wu Distinguished Lecture
Thank you to all the members of the geotechnical engineering community who attended this year's lecture event.
We appreciate your support of CEGE students and programs.
Watch Prof. John S. McCartney's presentation,
ENERGY PILES IN GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
speaker bio and venue/parking info
John S. McCartney is a Professor in the Department of Structural Engineering at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), where he holds the Hal Sorenson Endowed Chair. His research interests include unsaturated soil mechanics, geosynthetics, and energy geotechnics. His research was recognized by the R.M. Quigley award from CGS in 2020, the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize in 2016, the J. James R. Croes medal from ASCE in 2012, the DFI Young Professor Award in 2012, and the NSF Faculty Early Development (CAREER) Award in 2011.
He is the vice-chair of the new ASCE Geo-Institute task force on Energy Geotechnics and is the chair of the Unsaturated Soils Committee. He is the co-Editor-in-Chief of Computers and Geotechnics and is on the editorial boards of several other geotechnical journals. He received BSCE and MSCE degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder and a PhD degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Visit Prof. McCartney's homepage.
Lecture History
2025 John S. McCartney
2024 Brady R. Cox
2023 Joseph Wartman
2022 Timothy D. Stark
2021 D. Vaughan Griffiths
2020 Jean-Louis Briaud
2019 James K. Mitchell
2018 Edward Kavazanian, Jr.
2017 Robert B. Holtz
2016 Craig H. Benson
2015 Mark G. Stewart
2014 Erik Vanmarcke
2013 Gregory B. Baecher
2012 Lewis E. (Ed) Link
2011 Fred H. Kulhawy,
2010 Lt. Gen Henry “Hank” Hatch
2006 Delwyn Fredlund
2005 Robert Koerner
2004 William Marcuson III
2003 Ellen Mosley-Thompson
2002 Hon-Yim Ko
2001 May Wheeler
2000 John T. Christanson
1998 Richard Tucker
In Memoriam
