The WA Chapter congratulates the recipients of the 2019 AGS Awards at WA universities. These awards are presented annually to two engineering students from different State universities who produce the best combination of thesis and seminar on a geotechnical topic. This year’s 2019 AGS Awards were presented to Samantha McClurg from Curtin University and Marco Trimboli from the UWA.
Samantha’s final year thesis, titled “Influence of Using Seawater in MICP on the Erodibility of Bio-Cemented Slope Profiles”, investigated using MICP (microbiologically-induced calcium carbonate precipitation) as a method of coastal erosion mitigation. Marco conducted a research project on the “Effects of Soil-Structure Interaction on the Differential Settlements of Multi-Storey Structures”. As part of this project, he helped develop a technique for predicting the differential settlement of a structure over staged construction. Following her studies, Samantha commenced a Graduate Engineer position with Main Roads WA where she is currently exercising her interest in geotechnical and pavement engineering while working on the new Manning Road Southbound On-Ramp project. Marco is currently working as a Graduate Structural Engineer at Worley and hopes to combine his interests in both structural and geotechnical engineering in his future work. Congratulations to these award recipients!