The Evolution of Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Practice in North America: 1954-1994

This paper traces the evolution of geotechnical earthquake engineering practice in North America from 1954 to 1994. The development of the state-of-the-art has been shaped strongly by four areas of practice: assessment of seismic hazard, estimation of liquefaction potential, seismic response analysis of earth structures and seismic safety evaluation and remediation of existing dams with potentially liquefiable zones. Evolution of practice in each of these areas will be traced and the current state-of-the-art evaluated. Present capabilities in practice will be illustrated by examples from the areas of seismic response of dams, liquefaction potential and seismic safety evaluation and remediation of potentially liquefiable embankment dams.