Geotechnology engineering is an area of civil engineering that focuses on earth, rock and subterranean water and their relation to planning, execution and operation of engineering projects.
Since almost every structure is founded either on or in the earth/rock (except for structures that float on the water or in the air), geotechnology engineering is an inseparable part of the planning, execution and functioning of these structures.
Engineering, often, relates to the ground as an active body that applies loads on structures (e.g., supporting structures, subterranean structures), and sometimes as a body that reacts to loads (e.g., a structure’s foundations, the stability of inclines and reactions to earthquakes), and at other times as a building material (e.g., bearing materials, filling material for embankments, walls from reinforced earth).
Modern geotechnology engineering requires a combination of a basic understanding of mechanics, a grasp of the mechanical characteristics of earth and rocks and the ability to make analytical and normative calculations on a computer.
A geotechnology engineer works in an office, a lab and on site.
