Raymond J. Krizek

Raymond J. Krizek (born June 5, 1932 in Baltimore ) is an American civil engineer specializing in geotechnical engineering .

Krizek studied civil engineering at Johns Hopkins University , where he made his bachelor's degree in 1954. He then worked for a construction company, a representative for Burroughs Corporation and from 1955 a lieutenant in the US Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Belvoir in Virginia and later in Baltimore. From 1957 he taught at the University of Maryland as an instructor, at the same time making up for his master’s degree (1961). In 1963 he received his doctorate at Northwestern University , where he became an assistant professor in 1963, an associate professor in 1966 and a professor in 1970 (from 1987 as Stanley F. Pepper Professor ). From 1980 to 1992 he was head of the Faculty of Civil Engineering. He has been leading a master’s degree program in project management there since 1994.

Krizek is known for his investigations into the properties of suspensions for soil injections and the treatment of contaminated soils to be disposed of, such as those that occur when dredging in ports. This became relevant in the early 1970s, when dumping on the high seas was no longer permitted in the USA. He found alternative methods, for example dumping in alluvial land to establish new harbors (Seagirt Marine Terminal in the port of Baltimore) or reclaiming land on eroded islands in Chesapeake Bay.

He worked with Alcoa on more environmentally friendly methods of extracting aluminum from bauxite sludge. He also developed methods of disposing of waste from the desulfurization of industrial exhaust gases.

His work on soil grouting, for example with fine cement, found its way into the US ASTM standards. He worked in this area with Hayward Baker (a subsidiary of Keller Grundbau ).

In 1993 he received the French Palmes Academiques. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (2001), the Spanish Engineering Academy and since 2002 an honorary member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). In 1998 he was named Engineer of the Year for the Illinois section of ASCE. In 1997 he received the Terzaghi Award , in 2006 he gave the Terzaghi Lecture and in 1971 the Walter Huber Research Award of the ASCE. He is an honorary doctorate from the Spanish University of Cantabria.

Web links

• Homepage
• Krizek in the Innovation Hall of Fame