From the KIVI Geotechnical Department, we are organising a symposium on Thursday 25 April 2024 at TU Delft from 12.00 to 17.00 in honour of Prof.dr.ir. Arnold Verruijt who was first Professor of General Mechanics from 1975 to 1980 and Professor of Geotechnics at TU Delft between 1980 and 2002. Prof Verruijt stood for a connection between practice and theory in geotechnical engineering. He contributed greatly to the prominence of the field, he was far ahead of his time in digitisation with the open sharing of software he wrote, and was a popular teacher with students at TU Delft. Moreover, Professor Verruijt was an important advisor to the government during the extremely high water in 1995 along the river Waal.

These aspects are also reflected in the lectures of the symposium's speakers. We offer a varied programme with lunch beforehand and with lectures by several experienced colleagues who worked under Professor Verruijt. But in the spirit of Prof Verruijt, we will also let the new generation of graduates and PhD students of the Department of Geo-Engineering have their say, and conclude with a convivial drink to catch up. From 12.00h, we will start with a joint lunch. We hope this will also inspire new generations of students to study Geotechnical Engineering.

The programme is as follows:

12:00 - 12:15 Walking in

12:15 - 13:00 Lunch

13.00 Speeches

  • Welcome by Bas Vos, Chairman Kivi Geotechnical Engineering
  • Welcome by Prof. Michael Hicks, TU Delft section Geo Engineering
  • André Koelewijn (Deltares): "Pearl farm Verruijt"
  • Michael Hicks: "Overview of the present-day Geo-Engineering section"

14:30 - 15:00 coffee & drinks break

15.00 Speeches (2)

  • Niels Walrave (Fugro): "Foundations for the future: from soil to success"
  • Inge de Wolf (TU Delft), on climate change, dykes and geotechnical engineering
  • Final words by Bas Vos, Chairman Kivi Geotechniek

16:00 - 17:30 Get-together with drinks

Registration for the symposium is possible until Friday 19 April at the latest. We look forward to seeing you on the 25th!