TGEP 02: ASCE National President Dr. Kancheepuram N. Gunalan on the Future of Geotechnical Engineering The Geotechnical Engineering Podcast

In this episode of The Geotechnical Engineering Podcast, we talk to Dr. Kancheepuram N. Gunalan (Guna), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2020 National President and Senior Vice President at AECOM about his career in the geotechnical field, his time as ASCE president, and why he thinks geotechnical engineering is critical to the future of the built world.

Engineering Quotes:



Here Are Some of the Questions We Ask Dr. Kancheepuram N. Gunalan, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, F.ASCE in This Episode:





Can you tell us more about yourself and what you do at AECOM and ASCE?

Do you have a secret on how to get 26 hours in your day?

Can you tell us more about your first love, geotechnical engineering?

You have had many opportunities in your career. Can you tell us about some of them and how you approached them?

Are getting field experience and moving to different locations critical for a geotechnical engineer's success?

Can you tell us about your goal of reaching out to younger generations of geotechnical engineers and what your vision of the future looks like?

How can outreach and mentoring benefit geotechnical engineering?

What did you do to achieve the ASCE Professional Practice Ethics and Leadership award in 2016?

What excites you about geotechnical engineering today and in the future?



Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed With Dr. Kancheepuram N. Gunalan, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, F.ASCE:



Guna was born and raised in Southeast India. He got his undergraduate and master's degrees there before he decided to pursue his Ph.D. at Texas Tech University. He graduated with his Ph.D. with an emphasis in geotechnical and structural engineering in 1986.

Guna decided to keep his Ph.D. program in mostly technical fields. His major was in geotechnical structures; his first minor was in geosciences and the second minor was in soil sciences.

Guna started his career at a small geotechnical material firm 11 years before moving to the Pacific Northwest to broaden his technical skills in earthquake engineering. He then worked at Maxim technologies, working his way up to the position of area manager. Following that, he worked at Parsons Brinckerhoff for 17 years in the alternate delivery field, after which he moved to AECOM, where he is currently the senior vice president of the alternate engineering and transportation line (and still works in the geotechnical engineering line on occasion). He was also elected president of the volunteering side of the business.

Having a lot of support from your team makes it possible to keep the projects and tasks that you have running smoothly and on schedule.

Never turn down an opportunity as you might not get an opportunity like it again. You need to take opportunities as challenges that you can learn from, especially when you make a mistake. Every experience teaches you something.

Getting field experience and moving to different locations will help you to understand different aspects of geotechnical engineering as other parts of the world experience them.

When you look back on your career, without the help of many other people in your profession, you would not be where you are today. You need to look at what you can give back to the profession and the younger generations of engineers to make a better future for all.

If you think you are too busy to be a mentor, you need to take the time to be one. You need to know that when you leave, you are leaving everything in capable hands.

A former president of the ASCE, Bill Hendry, had a group called The Global Principals of Professional Conduct. This group's goal was to reduce the loss of money caused by corruption, bribery, and fraud. The group produced a training video called Ethicana, which talks about corruption, bribery, and fraud. Guna chaired the group for many years and it morphed in...