Internationally recognized geotechnical engineer to deliver KU School of Engineering Glenn Lange Lecture
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Engineering will host the Glenn Lange Lecture at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in Eaton Hall, Spahr Classroom, with keynote speaker Edward Kavazanjian. He is a Regents Professor at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment and a member of the National Academy of Engineering — one of the highest professional distinctions in the field.
Kavazanjian is internationally recognized for his work in geotechnical engineering, a field focused on predicting and managing the behavior of earth materials to support infrastructure.
“The KU School of Engineering is honored to recognize a researcher of Professor Kavazanjian’s stature. His work is foundational in the field of geotechnical engineering, and we look forward to hearing his insight on his research,” said Mary Rezac, dean of the KU School of Engineering.
Over an illustrious career that spans academia and private practice, he has helped shape national standards for landfill performance, led advances in earthquake engineering and spearheaded the development of biogeotechnics — a sub-discipline that uses natural biogeochemical processes to modify soil properties.
“Sustainable development is the engineering issue of our age,” Kavazanjian said. “Earlier generations of civil engineers dealt with the construction of heroic structures, systems engineering and life-cycle cost analysis and environmental remediation and protection. We are now in the age of sustainability engineering, facing increasingly severe natural hazards, climate change and ever-growing demands for natural resources.”
As director of Arizona State’s Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-Inspired Geotechnics (CBBG), Kavazanjian has managed more than $45 million in research, including projects that explore how biocementation and bioinduced gas production can improve the strength and resilience of soils.
His keynote lecture at KU will explore recent innovations in this emerging field of biogeotechnics and their potential to enhance the resilience and sustainability of civil infrastructure.
Kavazanjian has long been familiar with KU’s engineering program, noting its strong focus on transportation geotechnics. This impression stems from his professional work and affiliation with faculty members from KU’s Department of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering — Jie Han, Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor, and Bob Parsons, professor.
Kavazanjian shares research interests and has collaborated with them on numerous professional issues, and Han and Parsons have each served as past presidents of the American Society of Civil Engineers' Geo-Institute.
Kavazanjian previously visited Lawrence in 2022 to speak at KU’s annual Geotechnical Engineering Conference and said he was impressed by the long history of the conference and energy of the school’s geotechnical community.
“I’m honored to deliver the Glenn Lange Lecture and look forward to sharing some of the exciting developments in biogeotechnics pioneered by the CBBG,” he said.
About Glenn Lange
Glenn Lange graduated from the KU School of Engineering in 1958 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He worked for Western Electric in Omaha, Nebraska, from 1961 until his death in 1983. Lange and his family appreciated the role of higher education in creating opportunities for students and wanted to give back to the School of Engineering.