Events

Speaker: Robert B. Gilbert, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin

Title of Seminar: “Oso, Washington, March 2014 - The Deadliest Landslide in U.S. History”

Abstract: The Oso, Washington landslide occurred on Saturday, March 22 2014. The landslide occurred on a clear, sunny day following a three-week period with relatively high levels of rainfall locally. The landslide initiated within an approximately 200-m-high hillslope comprised of glacial and colluvial deposits. It transitioned to a catastrophic debris flow that rapidly inundated a neighborhood of approximately 35 single-family residences, taking 43 lives. It is the deadliest landslide event in the history of the United States. This presentation will describe what was learned from field reconnaissance and forensic analyses, and it will highlight what can be done to better manage this type of risk in the future.

Biography: Dr. Gilbert is the Brunswick-Abernathy Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He joined the faculty in 1993. He also practiced with Golder Associates Inc. as a geotechnical engineer from 1988 to 1993. His technical focus is the assessment, evaluation and management of risk for civil engineering systems. Recent activities include analyzing the performance of offshore platforms and pipelines in Gulf of Mexico hurricanes; managing flooding risks for levees in Texas, California, Washington and Louisiana; and performing a review of design and construction for the new Bay Bridge in San Francisco. Dr. Gilbert has been awarded the Norman Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers and an Outstanding Civilian Service Medal from the United States Army Corps of Engineers. He serves on the Board of Governors for the Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers.