PEOPLE, PROJECTS AND EQUIPMENT George K. Burke: Intellect, Curiosity and Practicality Combined George Burke has a unique position in the deep foundations world, that of evaluating new technologies. Just as important, he shares his findings with others in the industry. As senior vice president, Engineering, for Hayward Baker (HB), he leads an interlocking communications chain with the firm in the U.S. and globally. The esteem of his peers for his broad knowledge speaks volumes. While Burke is often associated with jet grouting, the breadth of his experience is not limited to one subset of grouting technology, says Scott Kieffer, professor at the University Graz, Austria, and at the Colorado School of Mines. Kieffer says that Burke’s expertise covers the entire spectrum of grouting technology, and his “practical experience is unparalleled.” George Filz of Virginia Tech cites the example of Burke’s work with him on an investigation of oil-bentonite wall technology, using prefabricated vertical drains for preloading deltaic soils, a tech- nology that saved millions for a client. Knowledge Sharing Burke says that “every other year his firm holds its Project Manager’s Conference, a very big part of the firm’s cross communication between offices.” The event includes many competitive presentations integral to knowledge sharing. The most recent conference was HB’s 13th, he says, noting that the first had 23 attendees, and the last had 225 (including guests from Japan and Keller offices around the world). Burke organized all except the first two, with assistance from his staff, he adds. Burke describes his mission as seeking out any new technology that could “bring value” to his employer. He sat on parent company Keller’s worldwide technology committee for 15 years, where he was the U.S. representative. The group meets twice a year and looks at new techniques from the point of view of risk and worth to the firm, then devises strategies. “New technology has to fit your market,” he says, “there are loads of interesting new technologies, but you have to have perspective as to whether the technology brings value to the firm. Many consultants know a technology well, but don’t always know the value to a project or a company.” Donald Bruce, a Ph.D. geotechnical consultant, emphasizes Burke’s prag- matism. Sometimes, says Bruce, “we geo- technical engineers are so enthusiastic about a new technology that we try to shoe horn new methods in where they don’t belong.” Burke, he says, is aware of a technology’s limitations, and is an excellent risk manager. Working in the Field Burke thinks construction engineers are well-suited to evaluate new technologies, because “those working in the field are more well-rounded, and better understand costs and risks.” His own career began in the field, working for Stone & Webster after receiving his B.S. from Drexel University. It took him five years to get that degree, sometimes going to classes at night. (He also played soccer for the university for four years while earning that degree.) When he joined Stone & Webster, the company had 6,000 employees at its Cherry Hill, N.J. office alone, and many more elsewhere. Burke worked nine years for the firm, traveling to power plants, and taking his wife and two young daughters with him on jobs in places such as Florida and Louisiana. Burke developed a “passion for con- struction,” he says, working in the firm’s training program, which rotated people around engineering specialties. When he decided that geotechnical engineering was what he wanted, he took graduate courses for nine years, also at Drexel, to get his Master’s degree. Burke was a very busy man and also a prescient one. The power industry went “south,” he says, and he was first to leave the firm. This led him to Hayward Baker where he first turned down a job offer, then decided to join the firm in 1985, one year after the firm was acquired by GKN-Keller (now Keller) of the U.K. Hayward Baker was much smaller than Stone & Webster, with only 75 people, and “you could see your way ahead,” says Burke, and there were opportunities for him in the $15 million firm. They were looking for growth, and so was he. HB assigned him to a “special project” division with George Grisham, (now an executive at Keller). Grisham looks back at the younger Burke, recalling him as “a prac- tical hands-on constructor, adding that Burke actually spends time with the field personnel, the ones who do the work.” Grisham, like others, notes Burke’s focus on “communicating his expertise through- out the firm, from the Ph.D.s to those who work with a shovel.” Soon after Burke joined HB, he says, “jet grouting entered his life.” He immersed himself in the technology and championed it throughout the firm. HB had a growing Soilcrete division and a Keller sister company that had been doing jet grouting for 5-10 years in Europe. “Nobody else was doing it in the U.S., except for Halliburton. “They had the machinery, so when the oil industry was down, they switched to jet grouting, then switched back, he says.” At this point, HB asked Burke if he was interested in developing new technologies. He was, and still is. He became a corporate person, he says, and as vice president, Engineering, all new technology and DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2012 • 35
