The lecture followed the Section’s Annual General Meeting on Monday 27 January 2025, at which Roger Venables took over as President from Chris Foster.
Tunnel collapses are usually catastrophic, with serious consequences. Professor Lord Mair explained the key role played by geotechnics, and how tunnel collapses are generally caused either by ground instability at the tunnel face during construction or by failure of the lining under ground forces. He showed historical and recent examples and drew out the lessons learned.
Speaker
Lord Mair is the Founding Head of the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction at Cambridge University and Emeritus Sir Kirby Laing Professor of Civil Engineering. After 27 years in industry he became Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at Cambridge in 1998, and was Master of Jesus College from 2001 to 2011. He was President of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2017–18 and has sat in the House of Lords as an independent crossbencher since 2015. He is the Section’s Patron.
This lecture was recorded: see Event Recordings.
See the photographs from the AGM and lecture in the Gallery.