Delwyn G. Fredlund

Distinguished Researcher Award - Fall 1996

Professor Fredlund, a native of Norquay, Saskatchewan, joined the University of Saskatchewan as an Assistant Professor in 1966, moving through the ranks to a Full Professor in 1976. Dr. Fredlund was awarded his Bachelor of Engineering, University of Saskatchewan (1962) and his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering, University of Alberta (1964,1973). Having become interested in the problems of unsaturated soils in the prairie region, his doctoral dissertation marked one of the first fundamental treatments of unsaturated soils by introducing the concept of stress state variables. This concept has become the cornerstone treatment of unsaturated soils mechanics in geotechnical engineering.

He is the author or co-author of over 160 refereed journal articles, conference proceedings, technical papers, and chapters in edited collections. In 1993 he co-authored Soil Mechanics for Unsaturated Soils, the first major text on unsaturated soil mechanics published. His expertise is recognized internationally and, through the International Development Research Centre, he has developed three exchange programs and, through the Canadian International Development Agency, project links with Vietnam. He has served as a research consultant to the Government of Hong Kong, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and to Saskatchewan Highways among others.

Dr. Fredlund's scholarly work has been recognized in many ways. He has held or holds positions as Associate Editor of the Canadian Geotechnical Journal and Chair of the Expansive Soils Committee for both the Canadian Geotechnical Society and the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. He received the Distinguished Service Award of the Association of Professional Engineers of Saskatchewan (1994); and was elected Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada (1993). He is a member of the NSERC Civil Engineering Grant Selection Committee.

Dr. Fredlund has supervised over 50 MSc and PhD students, including four who have become colleagues at the University of Saskatchewan, and many who came from Hong Kong, China, South East Asia and South America. Professor Fredlund believes that international outreach through the training of qualified personnel is one of the best forms of aid.