John Burland
Encyclopedia
John Boscawen Burland CBE, DSc(Eng), FREng, FRS (born 4 March 1936) is an Emeritus Professor and Senior Research Investigator at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of Imperial College London
.
and then received a First Class Honours BSc
degree in Civil Engineering
from Witwatersrand University in 1959. Then he moved to the University of Cambridge
where he carried out research in Soil Mechanics
under the supervision of Professor Kenneth Roscoe which led to the award of a PhD
degree in 1967. His thesis title was Deformation of soft clay. He then moved to Imperial College London
where he served as Professor
of Soil Mechanics
for over 20 years and Head of the Geotechnics
Section.
from toppling over, for which he was awarded the Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Francis I by the Duke of Castro. He was also involved in ensuring that the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben were unharmed by the extension of the London Underground
Jubilee Line
.
Burland worked also on the construction of a large underground park at the Palace of Westminster
and the stabilising of the Metropolitan Cathedral
of Mexico City
. His team was also involved in the extension of the Jubilee Line
and he has advised on many geotechnical aspects of that project, including ensuring the stability of the Big Ben Clock Tower
.
He is very well known for his work on Critical state soil mechanics
and the development of the Modified Cam Clay constitutive model for reconstituted clays.
has been greatly acknowledged and he was invited to deliver the 30th Rankine Lecture
of the British Geotechnical Association titled On the compressibility and shear strength of natural clays. Moreover, he was awarded the Institution of Structural Engineers
Gold Medal in 1997.
Imperial College Civil & Environmental Engineering
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London is located in the Skempton Building at the South Kensington Campus in London. It is one of the 9 main academic departments of the Faculty of Engineering. The current Head of the Department is Professor David A...
.
Early education
John Burland attended Parktown Boys' High SchoolParktown Boys' High School
Parktown Boys' High School is a public high school for boys in Parktown, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Parktown Boys' is well known for its emphasis on holistic education and in 2009 was rated as one of the top performing state schools in South Africa, and in the top ten schools in...
and then received a First Class Honours BSc
BSC
BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...
degree in Civil Engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
from Witwatersrand University in 1959. Then he moved to the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
where he carried out research in Soil Mechanics
Soil mechanics
Soil mechanics is a branch of engineering mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It differs from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture of fluids and particles but soil may also contain organic solids, liquids, and gasses and other...
under the supervision of Professor Kenneth Roscoe which led to the award of a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
degree in 1967. His thesis title was Deformation of soft clay. He then moved to Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
where he served as Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Soil Mechanics
Soil mechanics
Soil mechanics is a branch of engineering mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It differs from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture of fluids and particles but soil may also contain organic solids, liquids, and gasses and other...
for over 20 years and Head of the Geotechnics
Geotechnics
Geotechnics is the application of scientific methods and engineering principles to the acquisition, interpretation, and use of knowledge of materials of the Earth's crust and earth materials for the solution of engineering problems...
Section.
Achievements
Burland is best known as the engineer who prevented the Leaning Tower of PisaLeaning Tower of Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa or simply the Tower of Pisa is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa...
from toppling over, for which he was awarded the Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Francis I by the Duke of Castro. He was also involved in ensuring that the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben were unharmed by the extension of the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
Jubilee Line
Jubilee Line
The Jubilee line is a line on the London Underground , in the United Kingdom. It was built in two major sections—initially to Charing Cross, in central London, and later extended, in 1999, to Stratford, in east London. The later stations are larger and have special safety features, both aspects...
.
Burland worked also on the construction of a large underground park at the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
and the stabilising of the Metropolitan Cathedral
Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary of Mexico City is the largest and oldest cathedral in the Americas and seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico. It is situated atop the former Aztec sacred precinct near the Templo Mayor on the northern side of the Plaza de la...
of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. His team was also involved in the extension of the Jubilee Line
Jubilee Line
The Jubilee line is a line on the London Underground , in the United Kingdom. It was built in two major sections—initially to Charing Cross, in central London, and later extended, in 1999, to Stratford, in east London. The later stations are larger and have special safety features, both aspects...
and he has advised on many geotechnical aspects of that project, including ensuring the stability of the Big Ben Clock Tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
.
He is very well known for his work on Critical state soil mechanics
Critical state soil mechanics
Critical State Soil Mechanics is the area of Soil Mechanics that encompasses the conceptual models that represent the mechanical behavior of saturated remolded soils based on the Critical State concept.-Formulation:...
and the development of the Modified Cam Clay constitutive model for reconstituted clays.
Awards
His contribution to Soil MechanicsSoil mechanics
Soil mechanics is a branch of engineering mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It differs from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture of fluids and particles but soil may also contain organic solids, liquids, and gasses and other...
has been greatly acknowledged and he was invited to deliver the 30th Rankine Lecture
Rankine Lecture
The Rankine Lecture is hosted in March each year by the British Geotechnical Association. It is widely viewed as the most prestigious of the invited lectures in Geotechnics.The lecture commemorates W. J. M...
of the British Geotechnical Association titled On the compressibility and shear strength of natural clays. Moreover, he was awarded the Institution of Structural Engineers
Institution of Structural Engineers
The Institution of Structural Engineers is a professional body for structural engineering based in the United Kingdom. It has 27,000 members in 105 countries. The Institution provides professional accreditation for structural engineers...
Gold Medal in 1997.
External links
- John Burland CBE FREng Ingenia, Issue 23, Jun 2005