Institute of Soil Mechanics, Foundation Engineering and Computational Geotechnics

Foundation engineering is the science of building in and with soil. Soil mechanics is the theoretical basis for this and includes model concepts for soils, the performance of tests to describe their properties and the calculation methods for determining the stress and deformation of foundation engineering structures. The interaction between soil and structure is of particular importance in the calculation. Structures are built using different construction methods, which are bound to certain application limits due to their close connection with the subsoil conditions. Soil mechanics is one of the core disciplines of civil engineering. The corresponding professorship was established at Graz University of Technology in 1964 under the leadership of O.Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Dr.h.c. Christian Veder (1964-1978). This was followed by the institute's heads O.Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Heinz Brandl (1978-1981), O.Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Martin Fuchsberger M.Sc. (1982-1993), O.Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Stephan Semprich Prof.onor. (1993-2011) and Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Roman Marte (2012-2024). On August 1st, 2024, Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Franz Tschuchnigg took over as head of the institute. A laboratory equipped with modern testing technology is available for scientific soil mechanics investigations. In situ measurements, an essential component of the observational method frequently used in geotechnics, complement the research-led teaching at the institute. The focus of research activities is on the further development of technologies used in the realization of foundation engineering structures. The Computational Geotechnics working group was established at the Institute in 1997 under the leadership of Prof. Helmut F. Schweiger M.Sc. and was taken over by Prof. Franz Tschuchnigg upon his retirement in 2019. The working group was integrated into the institute when Prof. Tschuchnigg took over as head of the institute and, in addition to the development of high-quality material laws, also deals with complex three-dimensional finite element analyses of geotechnical tasks. In 1994, the three geotechnical institutes of Graz University of Technology merged: - Institute of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering - Institute of Rock Mechanics and Tunneling - Institute for Applied Geosciences merged to form the Geotechnics Group Graz (GGG). The aim of the group is interdisciplinary cooperation in the field of geotechnics in research and teaching. As part of this cooperation, the Christian Veder Colloquium, workshops and a geotechnical lecture series are organized every year.