Lassonde School of Engineering receives major gift of geotechnical software

The Department of Civil Engineering at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering has received a gift valued at more than $120,000 in industry-standard geotechnical software from GEO-SLOPE International.

GEO-SLOPE’s donation of its flagship GeoStudio 2012 suite of software will support the department’s rapid growth in terms of students and research activity.

“Thanks to this extremely generous donation by GEO-SLOPE, our students will now have the opportunity to use and become proficient in industry-standard geotechnical software tools,” said Professor Jit Sharma, chair of Lassonde’s civil engineering program. “Having GeoStudio 2012 at our disposal will also enable us to develop industry-relevant geotechnical engineering courses with interactive hands-on computer modelling exercises.

GEO-SLOPE Vice President Paul Bryden said,“GEO-SLOPE recognizes the importance of supporting Canadian engineering students, and is proud to be part of helping them to hit the ground running when they begin their careers.“

GeoStudio 2012 is widely used for analyzing a variety of geotechnical problems, such as stability of embankments and slopes, foundations, deep excavations, tunnels, mine pits and dams. It is also capable of simulating the long-term effects of shifting climatic patterns on soil moisture and allows students to study the effects of earthquake loading on infrastructure.

“Using GeoStudio 2012 allows me to visualize paths taken by the water seeping through an earth dam without having to build a physical model of the dam, “said Lassonde civil engineering graduate student Abid Sahi. “The software helps me model the performance of the dam accurately, giving me the tools to become a better designer and a better engineer.”