Day in, day out, we live, live, build, work, walk, drive on and over soil, but few are aware of the special properties soil has as a building material.

To change this, KIVI Geotechnics and Deltares are awarding a prize for the best publication of the past year in the field of geoengineering, the Keverling Buisman Prize. The prize has three categories:

  • Geo-engineering for a wide audience (popular scientific articles in Dutch national newspapers and the popular press),

  • Young talent best graduates at TUs .

  • Young talent best graduates at HBO institutions.

The jury has nominated the following for the 2019 Keverling Buisman Prizes (for publications in the period 1 September 2017 - 1 September 2019):

Geo-engineering for a wide audience

  • Cobouw - Ad Tissink with 'Sinking caissons of sea lock IJmuiden'

  • NRC - Lucette Mascini with 'Dry summers cause piles to rot faster'

  • NRC - Sam de Voogt with 'Who pays if your house subsides?'

Young talent TU

  • Antonios Mavritsakis - Evaluation of Inverse Analysis Methods with Numerical Simulation of Slope Excavation

  • Inge de Wolff - The Observational Method

  • Pascale Lamens - Pile installation in submerged sandy slopes: Assessing liquefaction-induced instability

Young talent HBO

  • Mark Struik -Foundation restoration plan location 40 Schiedam

  • Thijmen Plomp - A parametric design for crane emplacements

  • Willem van Trierum - MV-Piles, the formation of the grout body

The winners will be announced at the Geotechnical Engineering Day to be held at the Chassé Theatre in Breda on 5 November 2019. The prize winners will be awarded a cheque of
€750 and a statuette .

Prof. Ir. A.S. Keverling Buisman
Keverling Buisman is considered the founder of soil mechanics in the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Laboratory for Soil Mechanics in Delft (now Deltares) in 1934 (exactly 75 years ago in 2009). Keverling Buisman co-developed the first Dutch cell tests, the CPT and the Begemann drilling. Already at the first Congress of International Soil Mechanics (then SMFE, now ISSMGE) in 1936, Prof Ir Keverling Buisman made an important contribution to publications. His 1940 book "Grondmechanica" occupies an important place in the history of Dutch soil mechanics.