Geo-Institute Director’s Cut

On Director's Cut, Geo-Institute Director Brad Keelor interviews G-I members about anything and everything. You might hear about their favorite geotechnical project, their favorite music, or their favorite pie. In Episode 14 of Season 7, our guest is Ken Mika of TetraTech, the 2025-26 ASCE Board of Direction Assistant Treasurer!
SHOW NOTES:
- It was really windy the day we recorded, and the wind seemed to get the best of the WiFi and the recording several times.
- There's so much to read about the Bears-Packers rivalry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bears%E2%80%93Packers_rivalry
- Here's some beautiful footage of some Wisconsin cheese curds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-BGMmERObk
- Find your section, branch, or Institute chapter by starting at ASCE's Regions page: https://www.asce.org/communities/find-a-group/regions
- Here's more info on the Fly-In: https://www.asce.org/advocacy/legislative-fly-in
- A Day in the Life of Bernie Brewer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv48iERkwj0
The Geo-Institute is a technical society with about 12,000 geotechnical engineers and geologists as members. Find out more or join at http://www.geoinstitute.org.
Music courtesy of very cool Seattle band Head Like A Kite. Song is Director's Cut from the 2010 album Dreams Suspend Night. Check them out at http://www.headlikeakite.com.
 

On Director's Cut, Geo-Institute Director Brad Keelor interviews G-I members about anything and everything. You might hear about their favorite geotechnical project, their favorite music, or their favorite pie. In Episode 43 of Season 4, it's our annual Thanksgiving episode! Brad speaks with Eric Backlund of Campos and Kolleen Backlund of American Electric Power!
SHOW NOTES:
- Do not, in fact, drink pool water. https://www.geisinger.org/health-and-wellness/wellness-articles/2017/06/20/20/26/gulp-dont-drink-the-pool-water
- Can't get enough electrical transmission? ASCE does an Electrical Transmission Structures conference every 3 years! https://www.etsconference.org/
- For more tales of student transportation, watch Jack Lawrence and Robert Wiggins on Director's Cut earlier this year! https://youtu.be/fNo6fTdoeIA
- Find your local G-I chapter and get involved! It might change your life like it did for the Backlunds! https://www.geoinstitute.org/chapters/find-a-chapter
- Happy Thanksgiving from the Geo-Institute to all our viewers!
The Geo-Institute is a technical society with about 12,000 geotechnical engineers and geologists as members. Find out more or join at http://www.geoinstitute.org.
Music courtesy of very cool Seattle band Head Like A Kite. Song is Director's Cut from the 2010 album Dreams Suspend Night. Check them out at http://www.headlikeakite.com.
 

On Director's Cut, Geo-Institute Director Brad Keelor interviews G-I members about anything and everything. You might hear about their favorite geotechnical project, their favorite music, or their favorite pie. In Episode 45 of Season 4, our guest is Navid Jafari of Louisiana State University, the 2024 Arthur Casagrande Professional Development Award winner!
SHOW NOTES:
- Some info on the fake "Angels with Filthy Souls" movie in Home Alone: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/angels-with-filthy-souls-turns-82-kind-of-4095371
- And it's a Google ad with Macauley Culkin, not Walmart! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqiYSrwj9mc
- Today's Grad Student Leadership Council does a lot for G-I, not the least of which is coordinating the student program at Geo-Congress!
- Some additional info from the National Hurricane Center on Hurricane Delta! https://www.weather.gov/lch/2020Delta
- Of course you want to read up on the Casagrande Award! https://www.asce.org/career-growth/awards-and-honors/arthur-casagrande-professional-development-award
The Geo-Institute is a technical society with about 12,000 geotechnical engineers and geologists as members. Find out more or join at http://www.geoinstitute.org.
Music courtesy of very cool Seattle band Head Like A Kite. Song is Director's Cut from the 2010 album Dreams Suspend Night. Check them out at http://www.headlikeakite.com.
 

On Director's Cut, Geo-Institute Director Brad Keelor interviews G-I members about anything and everything. You might hear about their favorite geotechnical project, their favorite music, or their favorite pie. In Episode 13 of Season 7, our guest is Don DeGroot of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst!
SHOW NOTES:
- Start learning more about NGI here: https://www.ngi.no/en/
- And you should meet Suzanne Lacasse, longtime NGI Director and now advisor. Don interviewed her for the Geo-Legends series in 2021! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjVIu8z8cY0
- The University of British Columbia has a whole dictionary of Canadianisms! https://dchp.arts.ubc.ca/
- We don't even have a web page about what it takes to be a faculty advisor - need to fix that. But reach out if you're interested in that role and we'll help.
- Here's info on the Canadian Ski Marathon! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Ski_Marathon
- UMass does indeed have the tallest library in the world. https://www.umass.edu/gateway/umass-stories/where-opportunity-stands-tall
- Here are some highlights from Game 7 of the 1971 Stanley Cup final, including the iconic shot of Jean Beliveau with his final Stanley Cup as a player: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFPlrmuFXZA
- Here's the Saku Koivu return: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-JpPyLHddM&pp=ygURc2FrdSBrb2l2dSByZXR1cm4%3D
- Here's a maple syrup tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lrYeDH4orE&pp=ygUSbWFraW5nIG1hcGxlIHN5cnVw
The Geo-Institute is a technical society with about 12,000 geotechnical engineers and geologists as members. Find out more or join at http://www.geoinstitute.org.
Music courtesy of very cool Seattle band Head Like A Kite. Song is Director's Cut from the 2010 album Dreams Suspend Night. Check them out at http://www.headlikeakite.com.
 

On Director's Cut, Geo-Institute Director Brad Keelor interviews G-I members about anything and everything. You might hear about their favorite geotechnical project, their favorite music, or their favorite pie. In Episode 46 of Season 4, our guest is Giovanna Biscontin of the National Science Foundation!
SHOW NOTES:
- Here's the story of Post-its, and no, Romy and Michelle DID NOT invent them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-it_note
- You likely want to learn more about the part of NSF that Giovanna calls her professional home. https://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=CMMI
- Get more info about the G-I Student Leadership Committee at their website! https://sites.google.com/site/gigslc/home
- Loads of great images and video at the National Science Foundation multimedia gallery! https://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/index.jsp
The Geo-Institute is a technical society with about 12,000 geotechnical engineers and geologists as members. Find out more or join at http://www.geoinstitute.org.
Music courtesy of very cool Seattle band Head Like A Kite. Song is Director's Cut from the 2010 album Dreams Suspend Night. Check them out at http://www.headlikeakite.com.
 

On Director's Cut, Geo-Institute Director Brad Keelor interviews G-I members about anything and everything. You might hear about their favorite geotechnical project, their favorite music, or their favorite pie. In Episode 12 of Season 7, our guest is Jenny Ramirez of Geosyntec, 2026 Geo-Congress program committee member!
SHOW NOTES:
- Info on the Cherry Island Landfill project! https://dswa.com/facility/cherry-island-landfill/
- The chocolate brand endorsed by Shideh Dashti and Jenny that's made in Boulder: http://www.chocolove.com
- ASCE Student Membership is (still) FREE! Why would you NOYT JOIN?!? https://www.asce.org/communities/student-members
- More info on Parque Seminario in Guayaquil - where the iguanas live! https://theoccasionaltraveller.com/guayaquil-iguana-park/
- All your Geo-Congress info at http://www.geocongress.org!
The Geo-Institute is a technical society with about 12,000 geotechnical engineers and geologists as members. Find out more or join at http://www.geoinstitute.org.
Music courtesy of very cool Seattle band Head Like A Kite. Song is Director's Cut from the 2010 album Dreams Suspend Night. Check them out at http://www.headlikeakite.com.
 

On Director's Cut, Geo-Institute Director Brad Keelor interviews G-I members about anything and everything. You might hear about their favorite geotechnical project, their favorite music, or their favorite pie. In Episode 10 of Season 7, our guest is Larissa Ribeiro of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the winner of the 2026 Geo-Shirt competition!
SHOW NOTES:
- It's behind a paywall, but here's a study of the history of geosynthetics in Brazil: https://www.soilsandrocks.com/sr-2025-011224
- Here's a good starter to compare Portuguese and Spanish: https://www.ciee.org/go-abroad/college-study-abroad/blog/portuguese-vs-spanish-language-key-differences-similarities
- Here's a simple pão de queijo recipe: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_brazilian_cheese_bread
- And a feijoada recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/139208/feijoada-brazilian-black-bean-stew
- For info about ITA, start here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instituto_Tecnol%C3%B3gico_de_Aeron%C3%A1utica
- There are so many stories about the history of Brasilia: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/60-years-ago-modernist-city-brasilia-built
- You can get your own shirt designed by Larissa for a $30 donation to student programs! https://www.ascefoundation.org/geo-institute-student-participation-fund-individuals
- All your Geo-Congress info at http://www.geocongress.org!
The Geo-Institute is a technical society with about 12,000 geotechnical engineers and geologists as members. Find out more or join at http://www.geoinstitute.org.
Music courtesy of very cool Seattle band Head Like A Kite. Song is Director's Cut from the 2010 album Dreams Suspend Night. Check them out at http://www.headlikeakite.com.
 

On Director's Cut, Geo-Institute Director Brad Keelor interviews G-I members about anything and everything. You might hear about their favorite geotechnical project, their favorite music, or their favorite pie. In Episode 47 of Season 4, our guest is Morgan NeSmith of Berkel & Company - he's also the host of Morgan's Mentors on the DFI podcast network!
SHOW NOTES:
- Here's the Iron Maiden album: https://open.spotify.com/album/07iqoQdTfocUoUbQ8wWoae
- And Bad Religion: https://open.spotify.com/album/0s3sN3oXA5etbsIBXnMIBl
- Check our the work of DFI's Augered Cast-in-Place Piles Committee: https://www.dfi.org/communities/technologies-and-methods/acip-dd/
- We mention Morgan's hosting duties for DFI, and we mention the Morgan's Mentors episode with Wayne Clough. Now go watch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-0FjmFYa9w
The Geo-Institute is a technical society with about 12,000 geotechnical engineers and geologists as members. Find out more or join at http://www.geoinstitute.org.
Music courtesy of very cool Seattle band Head Like A Kite. Song is Director's Cut from the 2010 album Dreams Suspend Night. Check them out at http://www.headlikeakite.com.

On Director's Cut, Geo-Institute Director Brad Keelor interviews G-I members about anything and everything. You might hear about their favorite geotechnical project, their favorite music, or their favorite pie. In Episode 9 of Season 7, our guest is Marty Taube of Menard!
SHOW NOTES:
- A 60 Minutes piece from a couple weeks ago about McDowell County, WV - the home of Marty's field story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFtxQoBAGOU
- Some info on Taylor Allderdice HS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Allderdice_High_School
- Of course there's a Pittsburgh dictionary! https://www.yajagoff.com/pittsburghese
- Info about the Geo-Institute chapters: https://www.geoinstitute.org/chapters - A story on the final game at Forbes Field: https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/june-28-1970-human-locusts-have-their-day-pirates-play-final-game-at-forbes-field
- The Mario Lemieux goal from game 2 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Final is spectacular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J0L74qUi8U
- And one of my favorite calls in sports history is somewhere around the 9:25 mark here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIl3jUOXh50
- All your Geo-Congress info at http://www.geocongress.org! The Geo-Institute is a technical society with about 12,000 geotechnical engineers and geologists as members. Find out more or join at http://www.geoinstitute.org.
Music courtesy of very cool Seattle band Head Like A Kite. Song is Director's Cut from the 2010 album Dreams Suspend Night. Check them out at http://www.headlikeakite.com.

On Director's Cut, Geo-Institute Director Brad Keelor interviews G-I members about anything and everything. You might hear about their favorite geotechnical project, their favorite music, or their favorite pie. In Episode 3 of Season 5, our guest is Kyle Rollins of Brigham Young University, the 2023-24 G-I Cross-USA Lecturer, and the 2024 Seed Lecturer!
SHOW NOTES:
- Find out about the Cooper River Bridge Run, and test out Kyle's work on the bridge: https://bridgerun.com/
- Here's a fact sheet on blast liquefaction - not surprisingly, it's from New Zealand! https://www.eqc.govt.nz/assets/Publications-Resources/What-is-blast-induced-liquefaction-testing-Factsheet.pdf
- Little pitch for The Italian Place in Orem, UT: https://www.italianplaceutah.com/
- Of course, more info on the Seed Medal and Lecture! https://www.asce.org/career-growth/awards-and-honors/h-bolton-seed-medal
The Geo-Institute is a technical society with about 12,000 geotechnical engineers and geologists as members. Find out more or join at http://www.geoinstitute.org.
Music courtesy of very cool Seattle band Head Like A Kite. Song is Director's Cut from the 2010 album Dreams Suspend Night. Check them out at http://www.headlikeakite.com.