The New Zealand
Geotechnical Society
has the following awards and prizes:

• NZGS
  Geomechanics Award
• NZGS Geomechanics
  Lecture
• NZGSStudent Awards
• Young Geotechnical
  Professionals
  Conference Awards
• Life Membership

To see a list of
previous award winners click here

Information about NZGS awards

New Zealand Geotechnical Society Geomechanics Award

Is awarded every three years and shall be presented at the Society's Annual General Meeting. The award shall be made to the Society member or members producing the adjudged "best" published paper during the three years ending 31 July preceding the date of the Award, in any publication at the discretion of the Management Committee. The winning paper will be that considered to be distinguished in its contribution to the development of geotechnics in New Zealand.

All Society members who are authors of any paper published within the previous three years shall be eligible, provided that at least one author is a member and a member nominates the paper in writing during the year of the award.

The award shall be a sum of money to be determined by the Management Committee for the purchase of books, plus a certificate.

New Zealand Geotechnical Society Geomechanics Lecture

The NZ Geomechanics Lecture is the premier award of the New Zealand Geomechanics Society. It is presented by a person prominent in Geomechanics who can, in the presentation, contribute a statement of significance and value relevant to New Zealand. The lecture is to be presented at intervals of up to four years at a minimum of three venues in New Zealand and is promoted to attract as wide an audience as possible. Following its presentation, the lecture is to be published.

The Society will present the lecturer with a certificate commemorating the event as a record of the honour conferred on the lecturer. The lecturer will also be given a gratuity.

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New Zealand Geotechnical Society Student Awards

The New Zealand Geotechnical Society wishes to recognise and encourage student participation in the fields of rock mechanics, soil mechanics, and engineering geology. It has therefore agreed to present two merit awards, each to the value of $500, together with a suitably inscribed certificate, which shall be known as the "New Zealand Geotechnical Society Student Prize".

The award shall be made to the bona-fide full time student of a recognised tertiary institute in New Zealand who makes the adjudged best presentation on any aspect or topic in the field of geomechanics to the designated local group meeting in either Auckland or Christchurch. The award is open to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, but the same student is not eligible for more than one award.

Students are required to present an 800 word or one A4 page typed synopsis and will be invited to present their topic verbally at a local group meeting specially designated for that purpose. The local group convener shall be responsible for the format and timing of the meeting, but students should normally be required to speak for 20 minutes followed by 5 minutes of questions.

The prize shall be awarded to the student who is judged to have made the best presentation in terms of clarity, and who is considered to have dealt with questions most competently. The composition of the judging panel is a matter for the local group convener but should exclude supervising university staff. The judges' decision shall be final.

The awards will be based on the following criteria:-
Structure 20%
Clarity of Explanation 20%
Time 10%
Visual Presentation Clarity 20%
Content 10%
Written Abstract 10%
Question Handling 10%

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Young Geotechnical Professionals Conference Awards.

The Earthquake Commission Research Foundation and the NZ Geotechnical Society have awards available for New Zealanders attending the Young Geotechnical Professionals Conference.

Criteria for the awards are: -

Applications for the award are to be in writing stating

• Qualifications and dates awarded
• Brief outline of experience
• Number of years experience
• Brief outline of what you hope to gain from the conference
• Abstract of your paper

Judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

A written report on return from the conference is required detailing what the participant got out of it and whether it met their expectations. Award winners are expected to present their paper at a local branch meeting in the year of the award.

Value of the awards shall depend on the location of the conference and financial pool available to support attendees.

Winners of the 2006 awards were :-

• Lucy Coe
• Roseanne Coulter
• Beverley Curley
• Clint Every 
• Andrew Kennedy
• M J Packard
• Sarah Stapleton
• Steve Temple

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New Zealand Geotechnical Society Young Geotechnical Professionals Fellowship

General

This fellowship is awarded to the author of the best paper by a New Zealand representative at each Australia-New Zealand Young Geotechnical Professionals conference.  The recipient must be a member of the New Zealand Geotechnical Society and be below the age of 35 at the time of presenting the paper at the conference.

Selection

A judging committee consisting of 2 members of the conference organising committee (as selected by the Convenor of the conference) and 2 senior geotechnical professionals (as selected by the NZGS Management Committee) in attendance at the conference will judge the award.

Presentation

The award should be announced at the closing ceremony of the conference, or where this is not possible, the announcement will be made in the New Zealand Geomechanics News.  Presentation of a framed certificate will be made at a convenient location by the NZGS Chairman or his/her representative.

Value of Award

The value of this award is up to a value of NZ$4,000 to be used only for the reimbursement of expenses incurred in attending the next International Young Geotechnical Professional’s conference following the award.  Reimbursement of expenses will be by way of presenting receipts to the NZ Geotechnical Society Treasurer.

This Fellowship will first be awarded in 2008.

Life Membership

Life membership is included as part of the Society's rules. (Rule 3.4).

It states: -

Life membership may be conferred as an honour for service to the Society on any person, whether or not he or she is a current member. Nominations shall be submitted to the management committee for consideration and the name of any prospective Life Member circulated to members not less than fourteen days prior to the General Meeting at which such election is to take place.

A majority vote of the membership is required to confer life membership.

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NZ GEOMECHANICS AWARD

The NZ Geomechanics Award is bestowed on the author(s) of papers that are distinguished in their contribution to the development of geotechnics in New Zealand.

1986 Hegan B D & Millar P J "Investigations in Soft Rock Terrain"
1988 Larkin T J & Plested M "Development of Foundation Investigation   Techniques"
1992 Yetton M D "Subsurface Erosion and Seepage in Banks Peninsula Loess"
1996 Ramsey G "Ewen Bridge Replacement-Foundation Construction"
1999 Wesley L D " Some Lessons from Geotechnical Engineering in Volcanic Soils"
2002 Prebble W M "Hazardous Terrain - An Engineering Geological Perspective."  
2006 Read, S A L "Rock mass defect patterns and the Hoek-Brown failure criterion"

NZ GEOMECHANICS LECTURE

The NZ Geomechanics Lecture was established to honour individuals who have made a notable contribution to New Zealand Geomechanics.

FIRST 1974 Ridley J W 
The Economics and Correct Use of Natural Materials

SECOND 1975 Wroth C P A 
Fresh Look at Damage Caused to Buildings by Settlement

THIRD 1979 Northey R D 
The Acceptability of Geotechnical Risk

FOURTH 1984 Taylor P W 
Geotechnical Engineering: Education and Practice in New Zealand

FIFTH 1987 Oborn L E 
Thoughts on the Evolution of Engineering Geology in New Zealand

SIXTH 1990 Taylor D K 
The Use and Misuse of Geotechnology in Civil Engineering

SEVENTH 1992 Martin G R 
Geomechanics - The Art and the Science

EIGHTH 1994 Berrill J B 
Seismic Liquefaction of Cohesionless Sands

NINTH 1996 Pender M J 
Aspects of Geotechnical Behaviour of Some New Zealand Materials

TENTH 1999 Sinclair T J E 
Geotechnical Analysis - Fundamentals to Fractals

ELEVENTH 2001 Prebble W
Hazardous Terrain - an engineering geological perspective.

TWELETH 2004 Wesley L
Geotechnical Engineering in and out of the Ivory Tower.

THIRTEENTH 2007 Toan D V
A Geomechanics View on Heavy Duty Pavements.

STUDENT AWARD

1996 
Chambers A: "Seismic Response of Drilled Shaft Foundations" (Southern Region)

1997
 Bassett P: "Influence of Weathering and Hydrothermal Alteration of Engineering Characteristics of Eastern Coromandel Rocks." (Northern Region)
(Southern Region) Not awarded

1998
 Wise D: "An Investigation of the Wairoa North Fault, South Auckland." (Northern Region)
Harrison J "Filtration of Port Hills Loess for Retaining Wall Situations" (Southern Region)

1999  
Bennetts J: "Measurement of the Effectiveness of Stabilisation Techniques for Reducing Sediment Generation from Urban Subdivisions". (Northern Region)
(Southern Region) Not awarded

2000 
Gunn, W: "Assessment of Mass Movement Mechanisms in the Thames-Waiomu Region, Coromandel Peninsula". (Northern Region)
(Southern Region) Not awarded

2001
Howard, M: " Holocene Surface- rupturing Earthquakes along the Porters Pass Fault." (Southern Region) 
Blackstock, H: "Hazard Mapping in Hamilton"    

2002
Caroline Francois: "Design and Implementation of a dense strong-motion accelerograph array for the Alpine Fault" (Southern Region)
Andrew Holland: "Spatial Variation in an Auckland Residual Soil". (Northern Region) 

2003
(Southern Region) - Not awarded
Hamish White: "Integration and Interpretation of seismic and geotechnical data for a block cave mine (Northern Region)

2005
Roelant Dewerse: "Load Deformation Modelling of a Soft- Rock Highwall". (Northern Region)
Callum Streeter: "Liquefaction at the Blundell Barrage - Wairarapa" (Southern Region)

LIFE MEMBERS

The honour of life membership is made to recipients in recognition of their significant contributions to the affairs of the Society over many years.