Compaction, can it be Intelligent?

David Airey

The Australian Geomechanics Society (AGS) Sydney Chapter is proud to honour the award of Life Membership to Professor David Airey, recognising a distinguished career that has profoundly shaped geotechnical research, education, and practice in Australia and beyond. His contributions have advanced the profession’s understanding of soil behaviour and continue to influence both academic and industry developments. To mark this occasion, the Chapter will host an in person technical session focusing on the modern interpretation of soil compaction and the evolution of QA/QC methodologies.

Despite the long standing reliance on Proctor testing, contemporary soil mechanics highlights key limitations that call for more rigorous, mechanistic approaches. Drawing on targeted experimental programmes, the presentation will explore the fundamentals of compaction behaviour, the challenges associated with stiffness based verification, and the performance of alternative methods for cohesionless soils.

Engineers Australia will record the event to support broader knowledge sharing across the profession.

Complimentary registration for AGS members

The registration form includes a question asking whether you are a member of AGS. If you select “Yes,” you will receive a free registration

About the speaker

David Airey Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney

David is a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney with a passion for geotechnical engineering. He is a dedicated teacher, having taught soil mechanics at Sydney University for 32 years and is Deputy Chair of ISSMGE committee TC306, on geotechnical engineering education. He has interest in all aspects of experimental geomechanics and has published on a wide range of topics in geotechnical engineering. Current projects include: performance of solar farm foundations in reactive soils, characterisation of submarine landslides, optimising excavation operations, liquefaction of ship cargoes, screw pile foundations and ground improvement. He is a member of Australian Standards committees responsible for laboratory testing of soils and pile design and analysis.

Engineers Australia members participating in AGS technical sessions can record attendance on their personal CPD logs. Members should refer to Engineers Australia CPD policy for details on CPD types, requirements and auditing guidelines.