RHS resume

ROBERT H. SWAN, JR.

Geotechnical/Geosynthetic engineering,

Laboratory Testing,

Instrumentation

EDUCATION

Drexel University: MS, Civil Engineering, 1987

Drexel University: BS, Civil Engineering, 1985

REGISTRATION

Engineer in Training: Pennsylvania, 1987

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY

SGI Testing Services, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, President and CEO, June 2001

GeoSyntec Consultants, Atlanta, Georgia, Project Engineer and Laboratory Manager, Soil-Geosynthetic Interaction Testing Laboratory, 1994 – June 2001; Assistant Project Engineer, 1991 - 1994; Senior Staff Engineer, 1989 - 1991; and Program Manager, Soil-Geosynthetic Interaction Testing, 1989 - 1994

GeoSyntec Inc., Boynton Beach, Florida, Program Manager, Soil-Geosynthetic Interaction Testing, 1987 - 1988

Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Graduate Research Assistant in Geotechnical Engineering, 1985 - 1987

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Mr. Swan has been active in geotechnical engineering since 1981 through course work and cooperative industry placement, building on a strong soil mechanics, geology, hydrology, and construction material background. His cooperative industry experience spans the geotechnical/civil engineering realm, from serving as a laboratory technician performing standard soil and concrete testing, to field inspection and quality control on various construction sites throughout Philadelphia. He was an assistant project manager on a heavy highway construction project in Deptford, New Jersey.

Mr. Swan developed extensive experience with geosynthetics at Drexel University. Since 1984 he has specialized on the use and performance of high strength geotextiles and geogrids. He was active in the formation of the Geosynthetic Research Institute (GRI) at Drexel University. His exposure to geosynthetics stems from a Senior Design Project in which he investigated the improvement of shallow foundation bearing capacity using high strength geotextiles as reinforcement. This work centered around laboratory modeling using very soft soils.

Maintaining a strong interest in the improvement of soft soils using high strength geosynthetics, Mr. Swan was active with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USAE) on several projects incorporating these types of materials. This work involved certification of the wide strip strength and direct shear of the various geotextiles in conjunction with the project's native soils. Mr. Swan has also worked closely with the USAE Waterways Experiment Station (WES) and the USAE New Orleans District in the development, construction, evaluation, and calibration of various strain gauges for use in monitoring the actual strains incurred by geotextiles during and after construction. Mr. Swan completed the geotextile instrumentation for the New Orleans District, Bonnet Carre Spillway, Geotextile Reinforced Levee Test Section. This project consisted of installation and calibration of 75 foil strain gages that were mounted to three (3) different types of woven polyester geotextiles. The results of this work have influenced other USAE Districts and material manufacturers to implement geotextile monitoring.

Mr. Swan's M.S. Thesis was titled "Frictional Behavior of High Performance Geosynthetics". This work centered on pullout and interface direct shear tests on various high strength geotextiles and geogrids in cohesionless, cohesive, and mixed soil systems. In addition, correlations were made to the wide strip strength and the junction strength of these various geosynthetics.

Mr. Swan has been active in writing standard test methods for the GRI as well as for the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Currently he is a task group leader for the ASTM D 35.01 subcommittee on mechanical properties. He has authored papers on geosynthetics and presented workshops for ASTM and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

While at GeoSyntec Consultants, Mr. Swan was the Laboratory Manager for the GeoSyntec–SGI^® testing laboratory. He has been responsible for the development of testing facilities for interface direct shear, pullout, and masonry block connection testing, high capacity wide strip tensile testing using roller clamps, in-isolation creep testing, and the ability to perform confined (in-soil) tensile as well as confined creep testing of various geosynthetic products with an emphasis on geotextiles and geogrids. He has directed over 1500 laboratory testing programs over the past fifteen years with the firm.

AFFILIATIONS

American Society of Civil Engineers

American Society for Testing and Materials

International Geosynthetics Society

North American Geosynthetics Society

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