PEOPLE & COMPANIES George G. Goble, Ph.D., P.E., died on September 19, 2017, shortly before his 88th birthday. Dr. Goble was a civil/structural engineer, entrepreneur, researcher, professor and consultant. He was an active member of numerous professional societies and technical committees, including the Transportation Research Board. Goble is survived by his wife, Christine, and two children. Goble was born in 1929 in Boise, Idaho, and graduated with a B.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of Idaho in 1951. Dr. Sunil Sharma, P.E., professor at the University of Idaho, recalls a story in which when Goble arrived at the University in the fall of 1947, “he claimed that all he wanted was a civil engineering degree so he could pursue a career as a surveyor.” Dr. Sharma continued that he was glad that Goble chose a different path “that led to huge advances in the quality control of deep foundations.” He studied civil/structural engineering at the University of Washington, and studied at the University of Stuttgart for one year on a Fulbright scholarship. He later became professor and then chair of the departments of civil engineering, first, at Case Western Reserve University and then at the University of Colorado Boulder. Goble, along with Frank Rausche, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, and Garland Likins, was a co- founder of Goble Rausche Likins and Associates (GRL) and Pile Dynamics, Inc. (PDI). Through his work at GRL, PDI and Bridge Diagnostics, Frank Rausche, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, recalls that Goble “recognized early on the potential of testing technology applied to infrastructure. Many different pieces of the puzzle had to be put together: the theory, the sensor selection and packaging, the computer and software development. More difficult yet, it was necessary to convince people that the technology would work and help engineers and contractors to make a better product for the owner.” Rausche recalls of Goble, “It was his gift to instill the same enthusiasm that he had for these innovations in those people that worked with him and that he met and talked to. That was instrumental in the founding of the companies and the A Tribute to George Goble by John Wagstaff, Wagstaff Piling Pty Ltd Professor George Goble, along with Frank Rausche and Garland Likins, should be remembered as the engineer who saved millions of dollars by inventing the Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA), a great advancement in engineering. We purchased our first PDA in 1982 and became the first owner and operator in Australia. Since then, we’ve executed more than 50,000 PDA tests. If these tests had to be done the old way using static loads, projects would be delayed by years with costs exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars. Here are just a few of my personal recollections. nd I met George in 1984 at the 2 Stress Wave Conference. I remember sitting next to him during a lecture, and he was muttering that the speaker “was talking a load of rubbish; we published information on this topic years ago.” George’s face and eyes lit up when he was amused. I remember telling him a funny story at the DFI Conference in Vienna. His raucous laugh echoed around the room. On one trip to Boulder, I collected a shiny brand new PDA, which was packed up. I unwrapped and dragged it across George’s garage floor, scratched the outer case, and rubbed dirt on it. George exclaimed, “What are you doing?” I explained I was saving import duty, as it’s much less for secondhand goods than for new ones. Again, his raucous laugh could be heard for miles. On one visit to Australia, George brought along his son. We took them to Sea World where they had just opened a new roller coaster. I asked George if they would like to try it out. His reply was, “No way; I’ve been to too many forensic enquiries into structural failures as a structural consultant.” It was a good lesson for our family, as we’ve avoided roller coasters ever since. We lost a great friend, and the world has lost a great engineer. DEEP FOUNDATIONS • NOV/DEC 2017 • 125 Jim Ireland, a long-time member of Bay Shore Systems, died on July 29, 2017, after a long bat t le wi th cancer. Ireland started with the company in Benecia, Calif., then moved to Rathdrum, Idaho, and then worked as a ter- ritory sales manager in Tyler, Texas. Jim was always focused on the customer and the com- pany rather than on himself. He is survived by his wife, Cheryl. By far, Ireland’s greatest contribution to our industry was his ability to understand a problem and develop solutions to solve it. Throughout the years, Ireland turned people who had never drilled a hole before into successful drillers and, in turn, companies into successful drilling companies. During his years with the company, he was responsible for selling more drill rigs than any other sales-person in the history of Bay Shore. In his memory, Bay Shore created the “Jim Ireland Award for Excellence in Sales.” Many customers had Ireland on speed dial and when they were in a pickle they knew he would have a way to help bail them out. With his diverse experience of building rigs and drilling holes he always had a technique, product or advice that would come to the rescue – even when that meant not taking the job and letting the competition ’have’ that one Ireland had two passions outside of work: bass fishing ... and bass fishing. His infectious laugh, childish grin and, most of all, the “order desk” sign attached to his brief case at trade shows will be deeply missed.