The Rankine Lecture is hosted in March each year by the British Geotechnical Association. It is widely viewed as the most prestigious of the invited lectures in Geotechnics.

The lecture commemorates W. J. M. Rankine, Professor of Civil Engineering at Glasgow University, who was one of the first engineers in the UK to make a significant contribution to Soil Mechanics, and is best known for his theory for the earth pressure on retaining walls. From 1961 to 1972 the lecture was held at the Institution of Civil Engineers, but since 1973 has taken place at Imperial College. In even-numbered years the lecturer is from the UK, and in odd-numbered years from overseas. Each lecture is published in Géotechnique, together with the text of the biographical introduction and the vote of thanks.

List of Rankine Lecturers

No YEAR LECTURER SUBJECT
1 1961 A. Casagrande Control of seepage through foundations and abutments of dams
2 1962 L. F. Cooling Field measurements in soil mechanics
3 1963 A. Meyer Recent work in rock mechanics
4 1964 A. W. Skempton Long-term stability of clay slopes
5 1965 N. M. Newmark Effects of earthquakes on dams and embankments
6 1966 A. W. Bishop The strength of soils as engineering materials
7 1967 L. Bjerrum Engineering geology of Norwegian normally-consolidated marine clays as related to settlements of buildings
8 1968 R. Glossop The rise of geotechnology and its influence on engineering pracice
9 1969 R. B. Peck Advantages and limitations of the observational method in applied soil mechanics
10 1970 K. H. Roscoe The influence of strains in soil mechanics
11 1971 J. C. Jaeger Friction of rocks and stability of rock slopes
12 1972 P. W. Rowe The relevance of soil fabric to site investigation practice
13 1973 T. W. Lambe Predictions in soil engineering
14 1974 R. E. Gibson The analytical method in soil mechanics
15 1975 J. Kerisel Old structures in relation to soil conditions
16 1976 A. C. Meigh The Triassic rocks, with particular reference to predicted and observed performance of some major foundations
17 1977 V. F. B. de Mello Reflections on design decisions of practical significance to embankment dams
18 1978 W. H. Ward Ground supports for tunnels in weak rocks
19 1979 H. Bolton Seed Considerations in the earthquake-resistant design of earth and rockfill dams
20 1980 A. N. Schofield Cambridge geotechnical centrifuge operations
21 1981 N. R. Morgenstern Geotechnical engineering and frontier resource development
22 1982 D. J. Henkel Geology, geomorphology and geotechnics
23 1983 E. Hoek Strength of jointed rock masses
24 1984 C. P. Wroth The interpretation of in situ soil tests
25 1985 N. Janbu Soil models in offshore engineering
26 1986 A. D. M. Penman On the embankment dam
27 1987 R. F. Scott Failure
28 1988 H. B. Sutherland Uplift resistance in soils
29 1989 H. G. Poulos Pile behaviour - theory and application
30 1990 J. B. Burland On the compressibility and shear strength of natural clays
31 1991 J. K. Mitchell Conduction phenomena: from theory to geotechnical practice
32 1992 B. Simpson Retaining structures: displacement and design
33 1993 K. Ishihara Liquefaction and flow failure during earthquakess
34 1994 P. R. Vaughan Assumption, prediction and reality in geotechnical engineering
35 1995 R. E. Goodman Block theory and its application
36 1996 S. F. Brown Soil mechanics in pavement engineering
37 1997 G. E. Blight Interactions between the atmosphere and the Earth
38 1998 D. W. Hight Soil characterisation: the importance of structure and anisotropy
39 1999 S. Leroueil Natural slopes and cuts: movement and failure mechanisms
40 2000 J. H. Atkinson Non-linear soil stiffness in routine design
41 2001 H. Brandl Energy foundations and other thermo-active ground structures
42 2002 D. M. Potts Numerical analysis: a virtual dream or practical reality?
43 2003 M. F. Randolph Science and empiricism in pile foundation design
44 2004 N. N. Ambraseys Engineering, seismology and soil mechanics
45 2005 R. K. Rowe Long term performance of contaminant barrier systems
46 2006 R. J. Mair Tunnelling and geotechnics - new horizons
47 2007 A. Gens Soil-environment interactions in geotechnical engineering
48 2008 A. Charles The engineering behaviour of fill - the use, misuse and disuse of case histories
49 2009 T. O'Rourke Geohazards & Large Geographically Distributed Systems
50 2010 C. R. I. Clayton Stiffness at small strain - research and practice
51 2011 S. W. Sloan Geotechnical Stability Analysis

References

  • ICE Virtual Library - The Rankine Lecture [1]
  • British Geotechnical Association - List of Rankine Lecturers [2]
  • British Geotechnical Association [3]de:Rankine Lecture