“...difficulties with soils are almost exclusively due, not to the soils themselves, but to the water contained in their voids. On a planet without any water there would be no need for soil mechanics” (c).
The Surrey Region will host Professor John Burland with his presentation about remedial works carried out under the commission of the Italian Prime Minister in order to stabilise the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Professor John Burland FIStructE
Professor John Burland was a member of the Italian Prime Minister’s Commission for Stabilising The Leaning Tower of Pisa which was set up in 1980 when the Tower was closed due to fears for its safety. He devised and supervised the method of stabilisation.
Professor Burland joined the Building Research Station in 1966 after a stint at Arup and a PhD at Cambridge and became Head of the Geotechnics Division in 1972 and Assistant Director in 1979. In 1980 he was appointed to the Chair of Soil Mechanics at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. He is now Emeritus Professor and Senior Research Investigator at Imperial College.