George M. Filz, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, a recognized leader in geotechnical engineering, has been named to the 2017 class of ASCE Distinguished Members for his outstanding contributions to deep soil mixing.
Filz is currently a professor and director of the Center for Geotechnical Practice and Research at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Through his work in research and practice, he has improved design and construction in several important areas of geotechnical engineering, including: the deep mixing method of soil improvement; geosynthetic-reinforced, column-supported embankments; vertical seepage barriers; and lined impoundments for solid waste disposal.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers relied on his expertise for stabilizing several levees in and around New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration uses his advice for infrastructure improvements at the Kennedy Space Center to support the Space Launch System that will send astronauts on missions to an asteroid and later to Mars.
Filz also co-led the noteworthy Strategic Highway Research Program SHRP2 Project R02: “Geotechnical Solutions for Soil Improvement, Rapid Embankment Construction, and Stabilization of the Pavement Working Platform.” On this project, he was responsible for synthesis of information and development of guidance for many of the ground modification and soil improvement methods and technologies incorporated into www.GeotechTools.org.
His many awards include the ASCE Middlebrooks Award, Croes Medal, Wallace Hayward Baker Award, and Geo-Institute Cross-USA Lecture. Filz also received six teaching awards at Virginia Tech.
Filz holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Oregon, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Oregon State University, and a doctorate in civil engineering from Virginia Tech.
