DFI Traveling Lecturer
Lecture series runs from September 1 – August 31
The DFI Traveling Lecturer is a prominent industry expert selected annually to travel and present a series of lectures to university students, professional groups and industry associations. The DFI Traveling Lecturer program promotes the field of geotechnical engineering and deep foundation construction by
- Encouraging students to explore a career in the deep foundations industry
- Providing information on topics of interest to members of the industry
- Raising awareness of how DFI and its activities support the industry
Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions on our Traveling Lecturer series.
Nominate a Lecturer
Nominations from the DFI membership are accepted each year until February 1. All nominations received after February 1 will be considered the following year.
2025 - 2026 DFI Traveling Lecturer
Rick Deschamps, Ph.D., P.E.
Nicholson Construction
Rick Deschamps, Ph.D., P.E., vice president of Nicholson Construction Company received his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in civil engineering at the University of South Florida, and his Ph.D. from Purdue University studying under Professor Jerry Leonards.
Deschamps worked for the geotechnical consultant Dames and Moore in Tampa between his master’s and Ph.D. and then joined the civil engineering faculty at Purdue, where he did research on pile foundations, constitutive modeling and slope stabilization. In 1996 he received the Harold Munson teaching award from Purdue.
Deschamps joined FMSM Engineers in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1999, where his focus was on numerical modeling for design of remediation systems for U.S. Corps of Engineer dams. In 2004 he joined Nicholson Construction. Since that time, he has led Nicholson’s design team in development of competitive design-build and value engineered geotechnical solutions for projects throughout the U.S.
In 2014 he received the ASCE Wallace Hayward Baker Award, and the irony still brings a smile to his face.
2024-2025 Lecture Topics
G.A. Leonards Memorial Lecture: Application of Innovative Geotechnical Solutions
The opportunity to implement innovative solutions generally requires a motivated owner, an unusual problem, reliable geotechnical information, appropriate analytical tools and willingness to try something new. The presentation provides an overview of four projects where innovative solutions were successfully implemented. 1) Construction of a 48 ft cantilever grade change wall to avoid encroachment on neighboring property in Arlington, Virginia. 2) Use of widely spaced deep shear walls to stabilize a slope failure that threatened a key highway in Crookston, Minnesota. 3) Use of a 240 ft diameter diaphragm wall shaft for below grade combined sewer storage, and 4) Use of micropiles to remediate Prairie du Sac Dam that was supported on deteriorating timber piles in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.
Emergency Repair of Fountain Slide to Maintain CN Rail Service
Fountain Slide, located approximately 16 km northwest of Lillooet, British Columbia, is a relic landslide that has been active since the 1970s. The slide began impacting train operations and in 2004 the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) undertook measures to stabilize the railbed during the following 11 years including track realignment, shotcrete tie back wall and a soldier pile and lagging wall with three levels of anchors. In mid-2014 the slide retrogressed above the tracks and movement increased to about 7 mm per day, leading to extreme distortion of the earth retention system and frequent realignment of the tracks. In the summer of 2016, a design build system of micropiles and anchors was implemented to stabilize the slide. The approach was used because of limited access for large equipment and the need for a ductile stabilization system because of the ongoing movements during construction. Movements were as high as 20 mm/day during construction but continued to decrease during and after construction and the tracks were stabilized. The presentation discusses the design considerations and final approach implemented, construction activities, and deformation monitoring during and post construction.
Limitations in the Back Analysis of Shear Strength from Failures
Stability failures are often "back analyzed" to estimate the operative shear strength. In fact, back analysis is commonly believed to be one of the most reliable ways to estimate soil and/or rock strength. However, this presentation provides examples to illustrate specific situations in which back analysis of failures can lead to misinterpretation of strength. Examples from earth and concrete gravity dams are used, and consideration is given to both 2-D and 3-D idealizations. The cases demonstrate that interpreted strength can be in significant error, and in practically all cases the errors are unconservative. Finally, this presentation illustrates that back analysis is reliable only when the model and all assumptions are reasonable and accurate representations of the real system.
Emergency Repair of Wanapum Dam
Wanapum Dam is located on the Columbia River in Washington State and was completed in 1963. It has a spillway that is 820 ft long and a hydroelectric capacity of 1,092 MW. In February 2014 a fracture was discovered on the upstream side of Wanapum Dam’s concrete spillway. The fracture ran the length of one 65-ft-wide monolith and was open 2 in at its widest spot. The owner lowered the reservoir behind the dam to reduce the load and this reduced the crack opening width. A subsequent investigation
showed that the primary cause of the fracture in the dam’s spillway was a mathematical error made in the preconstruction design. The presentation provides an overview of the investigation and repair work undertaken to the remediate the dam. This effort included: crack mapping, cement and chemical grouting, installation of large tendon and bar anchors from the dam crest and spillway, and installation of bar anchors below water with the use of divers.
Remediation of Prairie du Sac Dam
Prairie Du Sac Dam is a hydroelectric facility located about 23 miles northwest of Madison, Wisconsin, on the Wisconsin River that was completed in 1914. The dam impounds Lake Wisconsin on the Wisconsin River, and the powerhouse contributes 31 MW of power to Wisconsin Power & Light’s (owner) customers. The dam is over 300-m long, has 41 tainter gates and was supported on over 10,000 timber piles. Investigations demonstrated that some of the timber piles were deteriorating. Nicholson Construction provided a design-build solution using micropiles to stabilize the structure. The presentation includes a summary of project constraints, the design approach, construction activities and QA/QC efforts. The collaborative participation of the owner, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and the board of consultants further enhanced the unique nature of the Prairie du Sac project.
Emergency Repair of I-65 Bridge over Wildcat Creek
In August 2015, the northbound lanes of Interstate 65 near Lafayette, Indiana, were closed over a 37-mile section when an existing bridge pier settled during driven steel pile installation at the Wildcat Creek bridges. Nicholson Construction was contacted to develop an emergency response. A review of the situation determined that the driven piling punctured an artesian aquifer. A design-build solution using micropiles was developed to underpin the existing pier. This presentation reviews the cause of the settlement and how micropiles were able to address the challenges of the site, including the artesian head of 35 ft above the top of the aquifer.
Block 76 (City Creek Center) Excavation Support and Lessons Learned
The Block 76 project includes the demolition and redevelopment of an entire city block for mixed-use retail, office and residential properties directly adjacent to Historic Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. Excavation was carried out 65 ft below street grade and as much as 50 ft directly below adjacent buildings supported by shallow foundations. Movements of the earth retention system and adjacent buildings were monitored in real time using automated equipment, which complemented traditional geotechnical instrumentation. In the areas immediately adjacent to the existing buildings 9 stories or greater, anchored diaphragm walls were employed. Areas of the site not supported by diaphragm walls employed a soil nail wall system. Jet grouting was used for water cutoff in lieu of dewatering along the north and east sides of project. A detailed account is provided of the technical and commercial lessons learned.
Past DFI Traveling Lecturers
DFI wishes to thank all our previous traveling lecturers for their dedication and expert insight.
Matthew E. Meyer, P.E., BC.GE • 2024 – 2025
Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc.
Jesús Gómez, Ph. D., P.E., BC.GE • 2023 – 2024
Vice president of GEI Consultants
Dan Brown, Ph. D., P.E., BC.GE • 2022 – 2023
Chief Engineer and Senior Principal at Dan Brown and Associates
Thomas D. Richards, Jr., P.E., BC.GE • 2021 – 2022
Retired chief engineer and current consultant at Nicholson Construction Company
David B. Paul, P.E. • 2020 – 2021
Managing partner of Paul GeoTek Engineering and retired from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Willie M. NeSmith, P.E. • 2019 – 2020
Former chief geotechnical engineer for Berkel & Company Contractors
John R. Wolosick, P.E., BC.GE, F.ASCE • 2018 – 2019
Director of engineering at Hayward Baker Inc. (HBI) and past president of DFI