Lunar Geotechnics
Emeritus Professor Mark Jaksa and Dr Brendan Scott
After a long hiatus of more than 50 years, humankind is returning to the Moon, this time with multiple players and much grander ambitions.
These ambitions include a more permanent presence, and the construction of facilities on the lunar surface. As with most infrastructure developments, consideration of the ground is an essential first step.
This presentation will explore near and medium-term lunar ambitions, the lunar environment, but more significantly, the nature of the lunar ground, or regolith as it is known. The presentation will also examine recent research and testing activities undertaken at Adelaide University to accelerate humankind’s ambitions.
Emeritus Professor Mark Jaksa School of Civil Engineering and Construction Management, Adelaide University
Mark Jaksa is Professor Emeritus of Geotechnical Engineering in the School of Civil Engineering and Construction Management at Adelaide University, where he has been for more than 40 years. Before becoming an academic, he spent 4 years practicing as a consulting geotechnical and civil engineer in Adelaide and Canberra in Australia. He has a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degree in Civil Engineering and a PhD, both from the University of Adelaide.
He has published more than 260 journal and conference papers, chapters and reports on various aspects of geotechnical engineering research and teaching. His primary areas of expertise are in the characterisation of the spatial variability of soils, probabilistic analyses, artificial intelligence, ground improvement, unsaturated soils, lunar geotechnics, and enhancing learning in geotechnical engineering. He has received several awards recognising his contributions to research, and learning and teaching in geotechnical engineering.
Mark is a former Vice-President for Australasia and Treasurer of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering and a former Chair of the Australian Geomechanics Society. He is also a past Chair of the ISSMGE’s Technical Committee, TC306, on Geo-engineering Education and a member of TC304, on Risk Assessment and Management.
Dr Brendan Scott School of Civil Engineering and Construction Management, Adelaide University
Brendan Scott is a Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering at the School of Civil Engineering and Construction Management at Adelaide University. Research interests include ground improvement (in particular impact compaction), unsaturated and expansive soils and lunar geotechnics. Member of the Australian Geomechanics Society and the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. Formerly, Manager of EngTest, the commercial arm of the School of Civil, Environmental & Mining Engineering at The University of Adelaide that conducts commercial testing, consulting and contract research. Prior to working at The University of Adelaide, 8 years of consulting engineering experience with two large international consulting firms, working on a variety of engineering projects in several Australian States in the commercial, residential and industrial sectors. Experience includes multi-storey buildings, major earthworks, slope stability, transmission towers, wind farms, environmental impact statements, railways and large-scale residential projects.
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.