In this episode of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I talk to Christina Tipp, PG, CEG, a professional geologist, and Jason Island, P.E., QSP/D, a senior civil engineer, both from SHN, about the crossover between geological engineering and civil engineering, and how and when you need to get geological engineers involved in your civil engineering projects.
Engineering Quotes:
Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Jason and Christina:
- What is geological engineering and what do geological engineers do?
- Why is it important for engineers to have a good understanding of the different disciplines involved in a civil engineering project?
- Tell us about some of the civil engineering projects you have worked on in the past where you needed to get geological engineering involved on the civil engineering project?
- How do civil engineers know when to involve a geological engineer in their projects?
- Tell us about a civil engineering project that you both have worked on together that had a geological component to it?
- What advice can you give engineers considering pursuing a career in geological engineering?
Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About Geological Engineering:
- Geological engineers identify and try to solve problems involving soil, rock, and groundwater, as well as design structures in and below the ground, using the principles of earth science to determine what’s out there and how it will affect planned projects.
- Every project has multiple disciplines that contribute to the design and the implementation of the project. The more engineers can understand how all of those disciplines tie together for a successful project, the better the project is going to go.
- Geological or geotechnical engineers are involved in almost every civil engineering project as it is important to know what the site conditions are before embarking on any design process. Foundations, retaining walls, cut slopes, infrastructure, and underground work all require a geotechnical report. Most engineers will reach out to geological or geotechnical engineers because they are told that they need a soil report or that they need a geological engineer to investigate the sites.
- For engineers considering pursuing a career in geological engineering, know that there are so many jobs for geological engineers out there with a vast variety of projects to work on. If there is a webinar or networking event on geological engineering, be sure to sign up for it so you can get a better feel of what to expect.
- The first license you can get with your bachelor’s in geology is a professional geologist license. With a few more years and working under higher-level geologists, you can also obtain a certified engineering geologist license.
More details in this episode…
About the Guests:
Christina Tipp, PG, CEG
Christina is an engineering geologist with 14 years of experience in engineering geologic consulting and geotechnical engineering. She successfully performs geologic studies to evaluate geologic risk, including investigations for active fault lines and slope instabilities. Christina is skilled in a multitude of subsurface exploration techniques, as well as geologic mapping, review of LIDAR and aerial photography, project and site research, and preparation of geologic reports. Her subsurface exploration experience includes fault trenching investigations in earthquake hazard zones, mapping active fault lines, soil and rock profiling exposed in test pit excavations, logging exploratory geotechnical borings to assess liquefiable sediment in bay environments and rock coring rocky hillsides, explorations inactive landslides, hiking into sites where helicopters lowered the drill rig into sensitive environments, installation of slope inclinometers and monitoring wells, and being lowered down large diameter borings into a deep-seated landslide.
Jason Island, P.E., QSP/D
Jason lives and works in Fort Bragg, a small town on the Northern California Coast. He has over 20 years of experience as a civil engineer and most recently obtained the role of Regional Principal at SHN for their offices in Willits and Fort Bragg. Jason grew up in Anderson Valley, less than an hour away, and returned 15 years ago to the area with his family. He had the opportunity to work on private development projects, municipal infrastructure, and a wide variety of community development-related work in small communities. Jason is often involved in projects from concept to project closeout, and has some involvement in every phase of the project from grant procurement to environmental permitting, design, and construction. In the past several years, he led the construction management team for a new WWTP project in Fort Bragg, completed a new boat launch facility for the Noyo Harbor District, and continues to serve as the city engineer for Point Arena, a small coastal town an hour south of where he lives.
Sources/References:
SHN
Connect with Christina Tipp, PG, CEG
More about Jason Island, P.E., QSP/D
Books Mentioned in this Episode:
Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America
Ms. Adventure: My Wild Explorations in Science, Lava, and Life
Please leave your comments or questions in the section below on geological engineering.
