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Memorial Tributes: Volume 11 (2007)

Chapter: Alec W. Skempton

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Suggested Citation:"Alec W. Skempton." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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Suggested Citation:"Alec W. Skempton." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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ALEC W. SKEMPTON

1914–2001

Elected in 1976

“For leadership in the study and practice of geotechnical engineering.”


BY T. WILLIAM LAMBE


PROFESSOR ALEC W. SKEMPTON, one of the most influential British civil engineers of the 20th century and a world-renowned civil engineer, died on August 9, 2001, at the age of 87.

Alec studied civil engineering at Imperial College in London, where he developed an interest in geology and an ambition to conduct research. In 1937, he became interested in soil mechanics, the application of engineering science to geotechnical problems, when he participated in the investigation of the collapse of the embankment of the Chingford Reservoir, directed by Karl Terzaghi, the acknowledged “father” of soil mechanics.

Alec Skempton was an unusual man. An academic and scholar who considered research his first priority, he believed that firstrate research required an intimate association with practical engineering and real structures in the field. Not surprisingly, therefore, most of his research originated from problems that arose in the field, such as bearing capacity; slope stability; engineering geology; pore pressures and effective stresses in soil, rock, and concrete; and foundation engineering. His work on the fundamentals of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering are still widely used as a basis for many design methods. For example, his work on settlements is the basis for current criteria for allow-

Suggested Citation:"Alec W. Skempton." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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able settlements of structures. In addition, slopes in stiff clays are generally designed according to Alec’s methods.

Alec demonstrated a rare versatility—as scientist, engineer, historian, and musician. Through his writings and lectures, he had a major impact on geotechnical engineering around the world, and he won many awards and held many important positions—Rankine Lecturer, 1964; fellow of the Royal Society; and president of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, 1957 through 1961.

In 2000, Alec was awarded a knighthood in the New Year’s Honors List for service to engineering. He was nominated by New Civil Engineering magazine as one of the greatest civil engineers of the 20th century.

Over the years, I corresponded and had personal contact with Alec Skempton from time to time. During my leadership of the Geotechnical Division at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), I brought him to give lectures, and he proved to be the most popular lecturer I ever brought to MIT. In 1983, when I investigated the stability of a river bank at an industrial plant at Jarrow, England, I enlisted the assistance of Professor Peter Vaughan, a former student of Alec’s. When Alec heard of our investigation, he joined in purely out of interest in the problem.

Civil engineers around the world will mourn the passing of Alec Skempton.

Suggested Citation:"Alec W. Skempton." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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Suggested Citation:"Alec W. Skempton." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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Suggested Citation:"Alec W. Skempton." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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Page 281
Suggested Citation:"Alec W. Skempton." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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Page 282
Suggested Citation:"Alec W. Skempton." National Academy of Engineering. 2007. Memorial Tributes: Volume 11. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11912.
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Page 283
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This is the 11th Volume in the series Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and foreign associates. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and foreign associates, the Academy carries out the responsibilities for which it was established in 1964.

Under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering was formed as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. Members are elected on the basis of significant contributions to engineering theory and practice and to the literature of engineering or on the basis of demonstrated unusual accomplishments in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology. The National Academies share a responsibility to advise the federal government on matters of science and technology. The expertise and credibility that the National Academy of Engineering brings to that task stem directly from the abilities, interests, and achievements of our members and foreign associates, our colleagues and friends, whose special gifts we remember in this book.

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