A highlight of the group’s research is its continued work in reliability-based design of driven piles with emphasis on regional geology; and the development of a new controlled blasting approach to understand the dynamic response of soils in-situ, at any depth, and in kind of soil. This work is critical since soils cannot be sampled in an undisturbed manner and thus their true cyclic response cannot be characterized. Their work is largely conducted with industry partners to help public agencies meet their resilience goals ahead of the rupture of the Cascadia Subduction Zone in the Pacific Northwest, an event that could produce the largest natural disaster in the history of the U.S. Praise from Colleagues Kyle Rollins, Ph.D., P.E., professor at Brigham Young University, tells us, “I have been impressed by Armin’s large-scale field testing efforts. This type of work is difficult and time consuming, but it provides critical information that designers can rely on.” “Armin is one of the most outstanding colleagues that I have,” adds Anne Lemnitzer, Ph.D., P.E., professor at the University of California, Irvine. “His experimental work is of the highest quality. For DFI, he is an enormous asset as a practice-oriented researcher. His resourcefulness and technical knowledge are invaluable in our profession. On top of that, he is a ‘regular guy’ with a great sense of humor.” The Value of DFI Involvement According to Stuedlein it seemed only natural to join DFI to learn from others and to stay current in the field. “It was only after joining that I truly became aware of the many benefits of membership,” he says. “The benefits are near endless — excellent colleagues representing the deep foundations community, ranging from contractors to engineers to academics; lasting friendships; interest in advancing the profession; a ready audience for research findings; research funding and ideas and more.” Stuedlein serves on the DFI Ground Improvement Committee, has reviewed papers for conferences and the DFI Journal, has given numerous presentations and has participated on the committee to review submissions for the Young Professor and Student Paper Competitions. He chaired the technical program for SuperPile ’19 and is delivering a keynote presentation at the DFI-PFSF Piling & Ground Improvement Conference in Australia in 2020. Advice to Young Engineers Stuedlein feels that geotechnical engineering is an extremely rewarding field where each project is different, with its own opportunity for creativity and limitless challenges, and where independent thought and experience is valued. He recommends that young engineers seek out mentors in the field, but not limit themselves to mentors in engineering alone. “Seek out the geologists on staff to understand the conditions in the natural environment, and how to set expectations in a given geologic setting, then extrapolate based on limited explorations.” He goes on to note that the successful geotechnical engineer will form good relationships with the contractors that are charged with implementing their design and will listen to their concerns 58 • DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2020 and suggestions. “Work together to bring value to the client and form the basis for trust and future success,” he advises. “And, finally, I’d ask a young engineer to consider working for or with a contractor to quickly learn what is and is not feasible, and to seek out value-engineering.” So, there you have a glimpse into the professional life of Armin Stuedlein, who still finds time to do a bit of hiking, skiing and gardening. Somehow he manages to do it all. Stuedlein on an H-beam
