Lunch and Learn Seminars

The Center for Underground at the Colorado School of Mines hosts a free seminar series throughout the academic year featuring speakers from all aspects of the underground construction and tunneling industry—designers, contractors, consultants, owners, manufacturers, suppliers—to discuss current projects, case histories, technical advance and to pose industry challenges to our students and staff.

These events are a collaborative effort from the Center for Underground, the University Transportation Center for Underground Transportation Infrastructure and the local student chapter of the Underground Construction Association.

These events are free and open to all. Please note: dates and presenters are subject to change. Past seminars are archived below with downloadable presentation notes and flyers available as noted.

Upcoming Seminar

4/29/2020: ON THE APPLICATION OF THE CONVERGENCE-CONFINEMENT METHOD TO TUNNEL DESIGN AND IMPACT OF POST-FAILURE BEHAVIOR ON EXCAVATION RESPONSE Presenter: Dr. Leandro R. Alejano, Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Engineering, University of Vigo (Spain)

Recent Seminars

4/15/2020: UTC-UTI WEBINAR SERIES Topic: Intelligent Systems for Transportation Watch the Video.
4/8/2020: THE NORWEGIAN METHOD OF TUNNELING Presenter: Marte Gutierrez, CSM
4/1/2020: UCA COMPETITION
3/11/2020: ROCK TUNNELING FOR THE ALBANY PARK STORM WATER TUNNEL IN CHICAGO Presenter: Sotirios Vardakos, Senior Technical Principal and Supervising Engineer at the Geotechnical and Tunneling Group of WSP in New York
3/4/2020: BALLARD SIPHON PROJECT MEETS THE HERRENKNECHT VERTICAL SHAFT MACHINE Presenter: Jake Taylor, Field/Project Engineer & Construction Manager at McMillen Jacobs Associates
2/26/2020: RAPID TUNNELING EXPERIENCES IN CHALLENGING GROUND CONDITIONS Presenter: Giuseppe Gaspari, P.E., Canada Tunneling and Underground Space Leader for Canada at AECOM
2/12/2020: TUNNELING FOR WATER UTILITY TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION Presenters: Jon Fischer, P.E., Engineering Manager at Denver Water in Construction Management, Nate Soule, P.E., Co-Founder and Vice President of Lithos Engineering, Eric Swanson, Senior Construction Inspector for Denver Water
2/5/2020: NO TUNNEL IS THE SAME – UNCOVER THE CHALLENGES FROM SEATTLE TO CANADA Presenters: Ashley K Heckman, PE, PG Regional Manager at Aldea Services, Inc., Paul Headland, PE, PG Senior Vice President at Aldea Services, Inc.
1/22/2020: RAPIDLY EMERGING MASS TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGIES Presenter: Mike Wongkaew, PhD, PE, SE, PMP, is an Associate Vice President and National Tunnel Practice Lead – Northwest for HNTB Corporation
1/8/2020: AREA K ARTESIAN PILOT MINE MITIGATION, GLENROCK, WYOMING Presenter: David Hibbard, Project Geologist at Brierley Associates
11/20/19: THE COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT CHALLENGE OF MANAGING ROCKBURSTING CONDITIONS Presenter: Mark Diederichs, Professional Consulting Engineer with Innovative Geomechanics and a Professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada
11/13/19: EPB TUNNELING AND THE DIFFERENT METHODOLOGIES FOR DIFFERENT PROJECTS Presenter: Will Hodder, Senior Field Engineer, Jaydee
11/6/19: HECLA AND EPIROC: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HARD-ROCK, NARROW VEIN MOBILE CONTINUOUS MECHANICAL MINER Presenter: George Sturgis, Recently retired as Vice President for Project Development at Hecla Mining
10/23/19: BUILDING THE PURPLE LINE IN BETHESDA: A 16-MILE LIGHT RAIL LINE CONNECTION Presenter: Jeff Hammer, Project Engineer, Traylor Bros.
10/9/19: THE GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING RESPONSE TO BIG DATA: REACTIVE vs. PROACTIVE… YOU CAN CHOOSE Presenter: Bachus, Civil Engineer, Adjunct Professor at Georgia Tech
9/25/19: DISASTER STRIKES WHEN A TUNNEL COLLAPSE CAUSES A WATER BREACH Presenters: Melody Clay, EIT, Geotechnical Engineer, Brierley Associates, Bill Zietlow, PE, Senior Associate, Brierley Associates
9/11/19: THE UNDERGROUND INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL PANEL DISCUSSION Presenters: Tim Fishel, Michels, Justin Carrico, The Walsh Group, Matthew Ulizio, Atkinson
9/4/19: UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION CENTER FOR UNDERGROUND TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE Presenter: Dr. Marte Gutierrez, James R. Paden Distinguished Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the DOT Tier 1 University Transportation Center for Underground Transportation Infrastructure (UTC-UTI) at Colorado School of Mines.
8/28/19: TUNNELING UNDER THE HUDSON RIVER Presenter: Grant Millener, Engineering Manager, Kiewit
8/21/19: FALL SEMESTER KICK-OFF Presenter: Center for Underground

Seminar Archives

2018-2019

,4/24/19: DMM Stabilization of New Orleans Levees (Click here for more info) Presenter: Dr. Tiffany Adams Professional Engineer
4/17/19: UCA Student Chapter Competition (Click here for more info)
4/10/19: Central 70 Project Overview – Lowered Section Groundwater Analysis (Click here for more info) Presenter: Craig Briggs, Project Executive and SENIOR Vice President, Central 70
4/3/19: Variable Density TBMs and the Related Considerations (Click here for more info) Presenter: Dr.-Ing Ruben Duhme is General Manager, Herrenknecht Asia
3/13/19: Central 70 Project Overview – Lowered Section Groundwater Analysis (Click here for more info) Presenter: Craig Briggs, Project Executive and SENIOR Vice President, Central 70
3/6/19: Planning and Design of the New Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant Outfall for the City of Toronto (Click here for more info) Presenter: Gary Kramer, P.Eng, P.E., Senior Vice President and Tunnel Practice Lead for Hatch
2/20/19: Designing Underground Excavations at the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (Click here for more info) Presenter: Jon Hurt, PE, CEng MICE, Arup
2/13/19: Overview of Trenchless Techniques and the Engineering Judgement Required to use Empirical Estimating Methods for Pipe Jacking Forces (Click here for more info) Presenter: Bill Zietlow, Geotechnical Engineering Professional
1/30/19: Tunneling technology in Norway, with particular emphasis on deep subsea tunnels (Click here for more info) Presenter: Bjørn Nilsen, Professor of Geological Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
1/16/19: Westward through the Canyon Wall-The Floyd Hill Reconstruction (Click here for more info) Presenter: Stephen Harelson, Program Engineer, Colorado Department of Transportation
11/07/18: Beach Interceptor Tunnel Stabilization, Laguna Beach, California, Presenter: David M. Jurich, Professional Engineer, Mott MacDonald
10/24/18: Managing Your Career and Complex Excavations in Big Cities, Presenter: Michael Smithson, Senior Vice President, Skanska USA Civil
09/26/18: Tunnel Boring Machines in Urban Soils: How they work, why they work, when they work, Presenter: Mike Mooney, Grewcock Chair in Underground Construction and Tunneling and Professor, Colorado School of Mines
09/19/18: How to See Behind Concrete Tunnel Liners Non-Destructively, Presenter: Reza Hedayat, Assistant Professor, Colorado School of Mines
09/05/18: The Rondout Bypass Tunnel, Part III, Presenter: Matt Swinton, Senior Vice President, Kiewit Infrastructure Co.
08/29/18: University Transportation Center for Underground Transportation Infrastructure, Presenter: Marte Gutierrez, James R. Paden Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines
08/22/18: Fall Kick-Off, Presenter: Mines Underground Faculty

2017-2018

April 18, 2018: Drivers of Shaft Design Criteria | Presenter: Bill Strickland, Project Manager, Hecla Mining
April 11, 2018: About Obayashi Corporation and its Achievements in the USA | Presenter: Fumi Katafuchi
April 4, 2018: What does the CM do on a Tunnel Job? | Presenter: James Wonneberg
March 14, 2018: Microtunneling and Other Trenchless Technologies | Presenter: Brenden Tippets
March 7, 2018: Seismic Design and Analysis of High Speed Rail Infrastructures | Presenter: Anoosh Shamsabadi
February 28, 2018: Judgment and Common Sense in Underground Engineering | Presenter: Michael Vitale
February 21, 2018: Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Pedestrian Tunnel | Presenter: Jon Hurt
February 7, 2018: Pressure Tunnel Lining Design Considerations | Presenter: Greg Raines
January 31, 2018: I-70 Mountain Corridor, Past, Present and Future | Presenter: Stephen Harelson
January 17, 2018: Spring Semester Kick-Off | Presenters: Tamil Epel, Brett Kravitz
November 15, 2017: Modern Versus Conventional: Comparing TBM and Drill Blast Methods | Presenter: Lok Home
November 1, 2017: Port of Miami Tunnel: Construction, Design and Innovations | Presenter: Nick Chen
October 25, 2017: Tech Talk: Methods of Back-Analysis of Tunnel Response | Presenter: Dr. Marte Gutierrez
October 18, 2017: Extreme Engineering Part II: An Update on the Rondout Bypass Tunnel | Presenter: Matt Swinton
October 11, 2017: Lake Mead Intake No. 3 | Presenter: Greg Sherry
September 27, 2017: Holistic Underground Engineering | Presenter: Bruce Grewcock
September 13, 2017: Central 70 Project: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow | Presenter: Anthony DeVito
August 30, 2017: Urban transit Tunneling in India | Presenter: Rajat Gangrade
August 29, 2017: Distinguished Lecture | Presenter: Butch Waidelich
August 23, 2017: Fall Semester Kick-Off | Presenters: Tamir Epel, Brett Kravitz

2016-2017

April 12, 2017: A Case History of the Fixed Fire Suppression System in the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel | Presenter: James Carroll, project manager and civil lead on the EJMT FFSS, ILF Consultants Inc. | Poster Summary of Presentation
March 22, 2017: Converting Open-Pit Mining to Underground Mining | Presenter: Kyle Rovick, Kiewit
March 8, 2017: Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project Overview | Presenter: Colin Lawrence, Global Tunnel Practice Leader, Executive Vice President, Mott MacDonald
February 23, 2017: Lucky Friday #4 Shaft: Design and Evolution | Presenter: Dave Berberick, Senior Project Manager, Hecla Limited
February 8, 2017: Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel Fixed Fire Suppression System | Presenter: James Carroll, West Coast Manager, ILF Consultants, Inc.
February 1, 2017: Michigan Ditch Landslide and Tunnel — A New Tunnel and Unique Delivery Method | Presenter: Nate Soule, vice President and co-founder, Lithos Engineering | Email uct@mines.edu for access to presentation slides | Time-lapse video of TBM installation and excavation of Michigan Ditch Tunnel
January 18, 2017: NEW Colorado School of Mines University Transportation Center for Underground Transportation Infrastructure (UTC-UTI) | Presenter: Marte Gutierrez, Director, UTC-UTI, and James R. Paden Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines | Presentation Slides
January 11, 2017: Understanding the Dynamics of Risk on a Tunnel Project Site | Presenter: Jacob A. Coibion, Tunnel Project Manager, Guy F. Atkinson Construction Company
December 7, 2016: Microwave-assisted hard rock cutting | Presenter: Dr. Philipp Hartlieb, senior researcher at Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Austria
November 16, 2016: Practical Lessons in Geotechnics | Presenter: Don W. Deere, Deere and Ault Consultants, Inc.
November 11, 2016: Global City Infrastructure: A look at how mega-cities around the world are engineering the future | Presenter: Martin Knights, global tunnel lead for CH2M
November 2, 2016: Design Through Construction—Lake Travis Water Treatment Plant No. 4 Raw Water Intake | Presenter: Gregg Sherry, Brierley Associates
October 19, 2016: The The Boston Big Dig: Finding the Right Tool for the Job | Presenter: Mike Lewis, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT)
October 12, 2016: Extreme Engineering: The Rondout Bypass Tunnel | Presenter: Matt Swinton, Senior Vice President and District Manager, Underground District, Kiewit
October 7, 2016: TBM Performance Prediction, Background and State of the Art | Presenter: Jamal Rostami, Hadden / Alacer Gold Endowed Chair, Department of Mining Engineering, Colorado School of Mines | Presentation Slides
September 28, 2016: Graduate Student Research Talks | Yuanli Wu: Experimental Study on the Behavior of Foam and Foam-Conditioned Soil under Pressure, Simon Prassetyo: Efficient Hydro-Mechanical Simulation of Embankment Loading on Foundation and Tunnel in Saturated Ground
September 14, 2016: Precast segmental liner design and construction for some of the world’s most challenging tunnels | Presenter: Jon Hurt, PE, CEng MICE, Arup | Presentation Slides
August 30, 2016: Computational Simulation in Mechanized Tunneling | Presenter: Günther Meschke, Collaborative Research Center SFB 837, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
August 24, 2016: Fall Kick-Off and Info Session | Presenter: Dr. Gabriel Walton, Assistant Professor, UC&T, Colorado School of Mines | Presentation Slides

2015-2016

February 24, 2016: Southern Delivery System S4A Central Tunnel Construction | Presenter: Ashley Heckman, Lead Tunnel Engineer, Rocky Mountain Region, MWH
February 10, 2016: Applying 3D Geological Modeling to Infrastructure Design | Presenter: Dr. Alan Keith Turner, Emeritus Professor of Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines | Presentation Slides
February 8, 2016: Rondout-West Branch Bypass Tunnel | Presenters: Grant Millener, Project Control Manager & Ben Seling, Project Engineer, Kiewit
February 5, 2016: Bridges, Tunnels, and Life – The Real World of Heavy Civil Construction and Engineering | Presenter: Michael Krulc, Project Manager, Underground Division, Traylor Bros. Inc.
November 18, 2015: 3D Imaging and Its Critical Role in Underground Construction | Presenter: Dr. Matt Lato – Senior Engineer at BGC Engineering Inc.
November 4, 2015: London Cross Rail Metro Project | Presenter: Martin Knights – Senior V.P., Tunnels and Earth Engineering, CH2MHill
October 28, 2015: Can We Tunnel Through Soil with Zero Ground and Building Deformation? | Presenter: Dr. Mike Mooney – Grewcock University Professor, UC&T, Colorado School of Mines
October 21, 2015: Geophysical Imaging of Rock Failure and Fracture Growth | Presenter: Dr. Reza Hedayat – Assistant Professor, UC&T, Colorado School of Mines
October 14, 2015: Graduate Student Research Presentations | Presenters: Richard Bearce – Post Doctoral Researcher, UC&T; Erik Poeck – PhD Candidate, Mining
October 7, 2015: Excellence in Geostructures and Geomaterials | Presenter: Dr. Eunhye Kim – Assistant Professor, UC&T, Colorado School of Mines
September 17, 2015: High Pressure Tunneling Under Lake Mead to Provide Water for Las Vegas | Presenters: Jim Nickerson – Vegas Tunnel Constructors & Noah Hoefs – Southern Nevada Water Authority
September 16, 2015: UCA Networking Event | Come Network with Professionals from the Underground Construction and Tunneling Industry!
September 9, 2015: Tips for Having a Successful Career in Underground Construction | Presenter: Matt Swinton – Senior V.P. & District Manager, Underground District, Kiewit
September 2, 2015: Progressive Pillar Yield at 2.4 km Depth in Creighton Mine | Presenters: Dr. Gabriel Walton – Assistant professor, UC&T faculty, Colorado School of Mines
August 26, 2015: UCA and UC&T Fall Kick-Off and Info Session | Presenters: UC&T Faculty and UCA Student Officers | Presentation Slides

2014-2015

March 25, 2015: Delivering Underground Construction Projects with BIM: A Virtual Design and Construction Experience | Presenters: Jay Mezher – BIM Architect & Joe O’Carroll – Vice President, Parsons Brinckerhoff
February 11, 2015: Mechanized Trenchless Installations for Small Diameters | Presenter: Dr. Gerhard Lang, Business Development Manager, Herrenknecht
February 4, 2015: Rock Fragmentation, Cutterhead Design and Excavator Mechanical Requirements | Presenter: Brian Asbury, Manager at the Earth Mechanics Institute, Colorado School of Mines
January 14, 2015: Topics on TBM Chemicals and Soil Conditioning | Presenters: Jim Lindsay, Jamie Ibarra & Jan Babenderde, BASF
November 19, 2014: Rock Engineering in Norway and Development Trend of Underground Rock Support | Presenter: Dr. Charlie C. Li, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
November 12, 2014: Case Study in Innovative Underground Construction | Presenters: Michael Traylor – Co-President, Michael Krulc – Project Manager, Traylor Bros. Inc
October 22, 2014: Innovations in Hard Rock Tunneling for Civil & Mining Applications | Presenter: Brian Khalighi, VP-Engineering, The Robbins Company
October 15, 2014: Managing a Mega Project – The Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program | Presenter: David Sowers, Deputy Program Administrator for Operations, Washington State Department of Transportation
October 1, 2014: Tunneling Under the Sydney Opera House | Presenter: Nik Sokol, Associate Tunnel Engineer, Arup
September 17, 2014: Industry Panel Discussion
September 10, 2014: TBM Drilling in Saturated Sand, Pressure and Soil Movements | Presenter: Adam Bezuijen, Professor of Geotechnics, Ghent University, Belgium
September 3, 2014: Means and Methods of Underground Construction – Kiewit Underground District | Presenters: Sean Sladicka – Project Manager, Patrick Martin – Project Engineer and Colin Lyons – Project Manager, Kiewit Underground District
August 27, 2014: UC&T Student Research Presentations | Presenters: Richard Bearce, Jacob Grasmick and Lisa Mori, Colorado School of Mines
August 20, 2014: UC&T Fall Kick-Off and Information Session | Presenters: UC&T Faculty, Colorado School of Mines | Presentation Slides

2013-2014

April 9, 2014: Seismic Response of Tunnels | Presenter: Antonio Bobet, Professor of Civil Engineering, Purdue University
April 2, 2014: Mine Ventilation | Presenter: Kirk McDaniel, Principal Advisor, Underground Mining, Rio Tinto
March 26, 2014: UC&T/UCA/SWE Joint Presentation | Presenter: Dr. Priscilla Nelson, Mining Department Head, Colorado School of Mines
February 19, 2014: Tunneling in the Nation’s Capitol | Presenter: Bill Edgerton, Principal, Jacobs Associates; Chair, UCA of SME Executive Committee
January 22, 2014: Use of Underground Space | Presenter: Martin Knights, Senior Vice President, CH2MHill
January 8, 2014: Seymour Capilano Twin Tunnels Project | Presenter: Dave Rogstad, President and CEO, Frontier-Kemper Constructors, Inc.
November 13, 2013: Building the World’s Largest Bored Tunnel | Presenter: David Sowers, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) | Handout | Presentation Slides
October 30, 2013: Tunnels of Denver Water | Presenter: Greg Gulley, Dam Safety Engineer, Denver Water
October 9, 2013: San Francisco Subway Addition | Presenter: Luis Piek, Senior Tunnel Engineer, Arup
September 26, 2013: President’s Distinguished Lecture Series | Presenter: Bruce Grewcock, Chairman and CEO, Kiewit Corporation
September 25, 2013: Tunnel Case Histories and the Importance of Ground Behavior in Tunnel Design | Presenter: Dr. Gary Brierley, Doctor Mole Incorporated | Presentation Slides
August 21, 2013: UC&T Fall Kick-Off and Information Session | Presenters: UC&T Faculty, Colorado School of Mines | Presentation Slides

2012-2013

April 24, 2013: Sound Transit’s University Link Light Rail TBM Tunnel | Presenters: Matthew Burdick, P.E., and Richard McLane, Traylor Bros.
April 3, 2013: Underground Industry & McCook Tunnel Project | Presenter: Jeff Petersen, Senior Vice President, Kiewit Infrastructure Co.
March 20, 2013: Norwegian Method of Tunneling (NMT) | Presenter: Dr. Marte Gutierrez, Colorado School of Mines
February 13, 2013: New Irvington Tunnel Design and Construction | Presenter: Glenn M. Boyce, Ph.D., P.E., Jacobs Associates
January 30, 2013: The Complexity and Challenges of Tunneling | Presenter: Lok Home, President, The Robbins Company
January 9, 2013: Design and Construction of Emergency Repairs to the Laguna Beach Interceptor Tunnel | Presenter: David Jurich, Vice President, Hatch Mott MacDonald
December 5, 2012: Real-Time Monitoring for Underground Construction & Tunneling | Presenter: Boris Caro Vargas, General Manager, SolData, Inc.
November 28, 2012: Overview of Design and Construction of Large Tunnels | Presenter: Todd M. Kilduff, Senior Project Manager, Brierley Associates, LLC
October 22, 2012: Los Angeles Metro Subway | Presenter: Amanda Elioff, P.E., Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB)
October 10, 2012: Techniques to Explore the Unknown Conditions Ahead of a Tunnel Boring Machine…and some other cool stuff! | Presenter: Mike Mooney, Ph.D., P.E., Colorado School of Mines
October 1, 2012: Widening an Existing Tunnel… Not as Easy as You’d Think! | Presenters: Jim Bemelen and Ben Acimovic of CDOT; Tim Maloney of Edward Kraemer & Sons; Howard Hume of Yeh & Associates; Taro Nonaka of Obayashi Corp.
September 21, 2012: Modern Tunneling for Cities – Principles and Case Histories | Presenter: Vojtech Gall, Ph.D., P.E., Gall-Zeidler Consultants
September 19, 2012: Large Tunnel Design, Alaskan Way Tunnel Case History | Presenter: Bill Hansmire, SVP, Parson Brinckerhoff (PB)
September 12, 2012: McCook Reservoir Tunnel | Presenters: Josh Armstrong and Ben Seling of Kiewit Infrastructure Company