Page 7 - CEGE Magazine Fall 2022

A Confluence of Thinkers
The MTS Visiting Professorship
in Geomechanics, a brainchild of Charles Fairhurst, was created in 1987 by MTS Systems Corporation. Its goal is to bring visiting experts to mingle with CEGE faculty, inspiring new ideas and addressing chal- lenges in construction, mining, and geomechanics.
The first recipient of the MTS Profes- sorship was Emmanuel Detournay, a student of Charles Fairhurst, who was invited in his role as Senior Research Scientist at Schlumberger Cambridge Research in the United Kingdom. During his visiting professorship, Detournay worked with Andrew Drescher. Detournay later joined the CEGE geomechanics faculty; he was named to the National Academy of Engineering in 2016.
The “MTS Chair,” as it is familiarly referred to, continues to foster fruitful collaborations. In 2022, six visitors were hosted.
University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering | DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND GEO- ENGINEERING 7
MTS Professorship in Geomechanics
Sofia Mogilevskaya with John Chapman, Keele University, United Kingdom
Emmanuel Detournay with Anthony Pierce, University of British Columbia, Canada
Euripides Papamichos, Mechanics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Emmanuel Detournay with Nathan VanDeWouw, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
Alexander Movchan, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
Davide Bigoni, University of Trento, Italy
In the beginning, the actual “MTS Chair” was located at the headquarters of MTS Systems Corporation and was the spot for official photos.
When at a geomechanics conference in Minneapolis, Sonia Mogilevskaya gathered this distinguished group of researchers and MTS Professorship alumni. Front row: Zenon Mnoz, Poland; Ioannis Vardoulakis, Greece; Anthony Pierce, Canada; Roberto Ballarini, USA; Emmanuel Detournay, USA; John Goddard, USA. Second row: John Napier, south Africa; Tomasz Hueckel, USA; Radoslaw Michalowski, USA; Rob Jeffrey, Australia.When at a geomechanics conference in Minneapolis, Sonia Mogilevskaya gathered this distinguished group of research- ers and MTS Professorship alumni. Front row: Zenon Mnoz, Poland; Ioannis Vardoulakis, Greece; Anthony Pierce, Canada; Roberto Ballarini, USA; Emmanuel Detournay, USA; John Goddard, USA. Second row: John Napier, south Africa; Tomasz Hueckel, USA; Radoslaw Michalowski, USA; Rob Jeffrey, Australia.
Joe Labuz with Anthony Ingraf- fea, Cornell University, United States
Andrew Drescher and Volodymyr Kushch, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine