Jack Morgan Young Geotechnical Practitioners Award (VIC)

The Jack Morgan Young Geotechnical Practitioners Award will be presented to an outstanding Victorian geotechnical practitioner under the age of 35. Applicants will be judged on their contribution to geotechnics and understanding of geotechnical issues.

About Jack Morgan

The Jack Morgan Award honours the career of one of the unsung heroes of geotechnical engineering in Melbourne. Jack Morgan graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering in 1957 and claimed an additional accolade as dux of Civil Engineering. He followed up his stellar undergraduate results with a PhD, also from the University of Melbourne.

His first job was with the Department of Works during which time, he was a senior engineer responsible for geotechnical investigation and design of major Commonwealth buildings, dams, and bridges in all states of Australia, Indonesia and New Guinea. This was at a time when analytical soil mechanics was relatively new.

In 1963, he moved to academia, taking up a position as Senior Research Fellow with The University of Melbourne.He stayed at Melbourne University full-time for 12 years, leaving in 1975 as Reader, in charge of soil mechanics. He maintains an affiliation with The University of Melbourne to which he returns as an occasional lecturer to this day.

In 1975 Jack moved into geotechnical consulting taking up a role as Principal with Golder Associates, a role that he worked in for 22 years until his retirement in 1997. He still works part time at Golder Associates as a senior consultant and mentor.

Jack pioneered work on deep basements in Melbourne, many would be familiar with his paper on basement construction in the Engineering Geology of Melbourne “Blue Book”. The Arts Centre basement is one of the earliest large soft ground basements in Melbourne, one on which Jack had a significant involvement. A number of significant learnings came from Jack’s work on this and other projects. One such example was the effect of depressurisation of the Moray Street Gravels and its effect on consolidation of the Coode Island Silt.

Jack became the Managing Director of Golder Associates from 1985 to 1991 and Chair of the Board of Directors from 1991 to 1996. Jack has had an outstanding technical career during which he has authored more than 20 papers published in international and local journals. A comment from one of Jacks colleagues who worked with him over the course of his consulting career:

Basis of the award

Nominees must be under the age of 35 as at 31 December of the year they apply, a member of the Australian Geomechanics Society, and a resident of Victoria. Nominees must also have their employers consent to apply for this award.

Selection

Applications will be reviewed and a shortlist of candidates will be selected. Shortlisted candidates will be asked to make a 20 minute presentation to a meeting of the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Geomechanics Society. The judging panel will announce the winner at the conclusion of this meeting. Non shortlisted candidates will be invited to present a poster on the evening.

Presentation

The winner will receive a trophy and cash prize of $1,500.

Past Winners