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J. Michael Duncan

University Distinguished Professor Emeritus
J. Michael Duncan, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus
J. Michael Duncan, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Program Area : Geotechnical Engineering
Professional Registration : Civil Engineer - California and Virginia
jmd@vt.edu
(540) 553-5595

Areas of Interest :

Slope Stability, Shear Strength, Seepage, Finite Element Analysis of Soil-Structure Interaction

  • B.S. Civil Engineering, Georgia Tech 1959
  • M.S. Civil Engineering, Georgia Tech 1962
  • Ph.D. Civil Engineering, University of California at Berkeley 1965
  • Project Engineer,
    Delta Engineering Company, Tampa, Florida 1959-1960
  • Civil Engineer - Soils Division,
    U. S. Army Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi 1962
  • Assistant Professor to Professor of Civil Engineering,
    University of California, Berkeley 1965-1984
  • Research Engineer (on sabbatical from UC Berkeley),
    Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Oslo, Norway 1971-1972
  • W. Thomas Rice Professor of Civil Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1984-1987
  • University Distinguished Professor, Virginia Tech, since 1987
  • Geotechnical Engineering Consultant since 1965
  • Geotechnical Hero Award, Geo-Institute of ASCE, 2010
  • ASCE OPAL (Outstanding Projects and Leaders) Award for lifetime achievement in education, 2009
  • ADSC Honorary Technical Affiliate, 2009
  • Japanese Geotechnical Society Foreign Honorary Member, 2008
  • H. Bolton Seed Medal from ASCE, 2008
  • Dean's Award for Service, Virginia Tech College of Engineering, in recognition of contributions to the investigation of floodwall and levee failures in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, 2007
  • Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Department of the Army, for the investigation of floodwall and levee failures in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, 2007
  • Los Angeles Section of ASCE, Kenneth L. Lee Lecture Award, 2004
  • Seattle Section of ASCE, Stanley Wilson Memorial Lecture Award, 2003
  • Karl Terzaghi Award, ASCE, 2003
  • Thomas Middlebrooks Award, ASCE, 2003
  • Alumni Teaching Excellence Award, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2002
  • Metropolitan New York Section of ASCE, Meuser-Rutledge Lecturer, 2000
  • Honorary Member of ASCE, 1999
  • Pletta Award - Outstanding Engineering Educator in Virginia, VSPE, 1994
  • Georgia Tech Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni, 1994
  • Stephen D. Bechtel Pipeline Engineering Award, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1993
  • ASCE State-of-the-Art of Civil Engineering Award, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1991
  • Terzaghi Lecturer, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1991
  • Laurits Bjerrum Memorial Lecturer, Norwegian Geotechnical Society, 1991
  • Arthur M. Wellington Prize, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1989
  • Member of the National Academy of Engineering, 1985
  • Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1980
  • George Westinghouse Award, American Society for Engineering Education, 1979
  • Walter L. Huber Research Prize, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1973
  • Collingwood Prize, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1972
  • Earth Pressures and Foundation Structures
  • Foundation Engineering I
  • Seepage and Earth Structures
  • Introduction to the Construction Engineering & Management Profession
  • Experimental and analytical investigations of piles and abutments of integral bridges
  • Review of computer programs for analysis of deep foundations
  • Geotechnical engineering in Piedmont residual soils
  • Investigation of shear strength for pseudo-static analyses of repaired landslides
  • Comparison of computer programs for analysis of reinforced slopes
  • Quality control for ground improvement
  • "Findings of Case Histories on the Long-Term Performance of seepage Barriers in Dams," (J. D. Rice and J. Michael Duncan), ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 133(1), pp. 16-25 (2010).
  • "Deformation and Cracking of Seepage Barriers in Dams due to Changes in the Pore Pressure Regime," (J. D. Rice and J. Michael Duncan), ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 133(1), pp. 2-15 (2010).
  • "Direct Shear Testing of Polished Slickensided Surfaces," (C. L. Meehan, T. L. Brandon, J. Michael Duncan and B. Tiwari), Landslides, Journal of the International Consortium on Landslides, Springer, 7(2), pp. 157-167 (2010).
  • "Measuring Fast' Shear Strengths Along Slickensided Surfaces in the Bromhead Ring Shear," (C. L. Meehan, T. L. Brandon and J. Michael Duncan), Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASTM, 31(3), pp. 239-242 (2008).
  • "Dynamic Centrifuge Testing of Slickensided Shear Surfaces," (C. L. Meehan, R. W. Boulanger and J. Michael Duncan), ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 134(8), pp. 1086-1096 (2008).
  • "Analysis of the Stability of I-Walls with Gaps between the I-Wall and Levee Fill," (T. L. Brandon, S. G. Wright and J. Michael Duncan), Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, 134(5), pp. 692-700 (2008).
  • "Stability of I-Walls in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina," (J. Michael Duncan, T. L. Brandon, S. G. Wright and N. Vroman), Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, pp. 681-691, May 2008.
  • "Measuring Drained Residual Strengths in the Bromhead Ring Shear," (C. L. Meehan, T. L. Brandon and J. Michael Duncan), Geotechnical Testing Journal, ASTM, 30(6), pp. 466-473 (2007).
  • "New Apparatus for Evaluating Filter Performance for Dams Containing Cracks," (T. L. Brandon, Y. Park and J. Michael Duncan), ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal, 30(1), pp. 48-59 (2007).
  • "Drained and Undrained Strength Interpretation for Low-Plasticity Silts," (T. L. Brandon, A. T. Rose and J. Michael Duncan), ASCE J. Geotech. and Geoenvir. Engr., 132, Issue 2, pp. 250-257 (2006).
  • "Rotational Restraint of Pile Caps During Lateral Loading," (R. L. Mokwa and J. Michael Duncan), Journal of the Geotechnical and Geo-environmental Division, ASCE, 129(9), pp. 829-837, September 2003.
  • "Effect of Bridge-Soil Interaction on Behavior of Piles Supporting Integral Bridges," (J. Michael Duncan and S. Arsoy), Transportation Research Record, Journal of Transportation Research Board, No. 1849, Soil Mechanics, Soils, Geology and Foundations, pp. 91-97 (2003).
  • "Rotational Restraint of Pile Caps During Lateral Loading," (R. L. Mokwa and J. Michael Duncan), Journal of the Geotechnical and Geo-environmental Division, ASCE, 1298(9), pp. 829-837, September 2003.
  • "Effect of Bridge-Soil Interaction on Behavior of Piles Supporting Integral Bridges," (J. Michael Duncan and S. Arsoy), Transportation Research Record, Journal of Transportation Research Board, No. 1849, Soil Mechanics, Soils, Geology and Foundations, pp. 91-97 (2003).
  • "Progressive Failure of Lined Waste Impoundments," (George M. Filz, Jacob J. B. Esterhuizen and J. Michael Duncan), Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, 127(10), pp. 841-848 (2001).
  • "Constitutive Behavior of Geosynthetic Interfaces," (Jacob J. B. Esterhuizen, George M. Filz and J. Michael Duncan), Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, 127(10), pp. 834-840 (2001).
  • "Passive Earth Pressures: Theories and Tests," (J. Michael Duncan and Robert L. Mokwa), Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, 127(3), pp. 248-257 (2001).
  • "Experimental Evaluation of Lateral-Load Resistance of Pile Caps", (R. L. Mokwa and J. Michael Duncan), ASCE Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 127, No. 2, p. 185-192 (2001).
  • “Factors of Safety and Reliability in Geotechnical Engineering,” (2000), by J. Michael Duncan, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 126, No. 4, April, 2000, pp. 307-316.
  • “The Use of Back Analysis to Reduce Slope Failure Risk,” (1999) by James Michael Duncan, Civil Engineering Practice, Journal of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers, Volume 14, Number 1, Spring-Summer, 1999, pp. 75-91.
  • “Investigation of the Resistance of Pile Caps to Lateral Loading,” (1999) by Robert L. Mokwa and J. Michael Duncan, A Report of Research Performed Under the Sponsorship of the Virginia Transportation Research Council, the Virginia Department of Transportaion, and Nikken Sekkei Ltd., 382 pp.
  • “SAGE User’s Guide,” (1999) by David J. Bentler, Clark S. Morrison, J. J. B. Esterhuizen, and J. Michael Duncan, Report of the Center for Geotechnical Practice and Research, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 165 pp.
  • “SAGE User’s Guide, Volume II – Soil Properties Manual,” (1999) by J. Michael Duncan and Kai Sin Wong, Report of the Center for Geotechnical Practice and Research, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 165 pp.
  • Manual for Geotechnical Engineering Reliability Calculations,” (1999) by J. Michael Duncan, Michael Navin, and Katherine Patterson, Report of a Study Sponsored by the Virginia Tech Center for Geotechnical Practice and Research, December, 1999, 74 pp.