Prof. John Carter

Biography

John Carter has more than 30 years experience in teaching, research and consulting in civil, geotechnical and offshore engineering. His research interests include analytical and numerical modelling, soil-structure interaction, rock mechanics, the behaviour of cemented and uncemented carbonate soils, soft soil engineering, tunnelling and offshore foundations. He has attracted more than $5 million in competitive research funding and been associated with development projects attracting additional grants of more than $4 million. He is the author of several hundred refereed technical papers in geotechnical engineering and engineering mechanics, covering a diverse range of topics from theoretical mechanics to experimental applications. His research output includes a significant body of work on the engineering behaviour of seabed carbonate sediments.

Because of the expertise acquired during his research career in geotechnics John Carter has been called upon to consult widely to industry on a range of geotechnical projects including soft clay foundations, offshore foundations, retaining walls and buried structures. He has also been retained as an expert consultant on numerous offshore foundation problems for a number of major oil and gas companies, including BHP, Esso, Woodside, Wapet, Bond Oil, Amoco and Exxon. He is currently a consultant director of Advanced Geomechanics, a geotechnical consultancy based in Perth, providing specialist advice to the offshore industry on foundation problems and on-shore and offshore site investigations. He has also been involved in commercialization of research and the marketing of its outcomes, including his own specialist geotechnical software. Between 1997 and 2000 he was a director, representing the interests of the University of Sydney, of Benthic GeoTech Pty Ltd, a $10 million joint venture company that conceived, designed, built and now operates PROD, the Portable Remotely Operated Drill, which is used to penetrate the ocean floor, conduct in situ tests and recover core samples.

John Carter's experience with engineering projects has required him to work in Australia, Britain and the USA. He has authored more than 60 major consulting reports for a range of clients, including mining companies, oil companies, other engineering consultancies and lawyers. Examples of this experience are as follows:

• Underground cavern analysis and design, Chatswood-Parramatta Rail Link, NSW.
• Expert witness report on the design, construction and maintenance of an industrial car park, Sydney.
• Geotechnical Reviewer, for the design of the Yelgun to Chinderah, Pacific Highway bypass, NSW.
• Expert witness, Thredbo Landslide, NSW.
• Expert witness, house foundation problems - Ellerton Park Estate, NSW.
• Retaining wall review, East Arm Port Development, Darwin.
• Expert witness, Cooks River Cofferdam failure.
• Preliminary foundation engineering and specialised laboratory testing, Gorgon Development.
• Consultant to Amoco, Exxon Production Research, Woodside Offshore Petroleum Pty Ltd, Esso, Wapet, Bond Oil and BHP on pile foundations for offshore oil and gas production platforms.
• Consultant to CSR-Humes, Rocla and the Concrete Pipe Association on problems of soil-structure interaction, including the behaviour of buried pipes and buried concrete arches.
• Consultant to various mining companies on aspects of underground mine stability.
• Consultant to various Geotechnical consultancies on foundation engineering problems.
• Director (1997-2000), Benthic GeoTech Pty Ltd, a joint venture company that designed, built and now operates PROD, a Portable Remotely Operated Drill for use in penetrating and recovering core samples from the ocean floor.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Engineering, University of Sydney, 2003
• Doctor of Philosophy, University of Sydney, 1978
• Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), University of Sydney, 1973

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Research

Research keywords

• civil engineering
• engineering mechanics
• geotechnical engineering
• offshore geotechnics
• rock mechanics
• soil mechanics

Research expertise

John Carter has held research and academic appointments with the Soil Mechanics Group at the University of Cambridge, the University of Queensland, Cornell University, the University of Sydney, and the University of Newcastle. In February 2006 he took up an appointment as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment at the University of Newcastle. He is also a former National Chair of the Australian Geomechanics Society, the foremost learned society for geotechnical engineering and engineering geology in Australia. In 2003 he was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in recognition of his contributions to engineering research and practice. In January 2006 he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his contributions to civil engineering through research into soil and rock mechanics and as an adviser.

John Carter has 30 years experience in teaching, research and consulting in civil, geotechnical and offshore engineering. His research interests include analytical and numerical modelling, soil-structure interaction, soil mechanics, rock mechanics, the behaviour of cemented and uncemented carbonate soils, soft soil engineering and offshore foundations. He has attracted more than $5 million in competitive research funding and been associated with development projects attracting additional grants of more than $4 million. He is the author of several hundred refereed technical papers in geotechnical engineering and engineering mechanics, covering a diverse range of topics from theoretical mechanics to experimental applications. His research output includes a significant body of work on the engineering behaviour of seabed carbonate sediments. He has consulted widely to industry on a range of geotechnical projects including soft clay foundations, offshore foundations, retaining walls and buried structures. He has also been retained as an expert consultant on numerous offshore foundation problems for a number of major oil and gas companies, including BHP, Esso, Woodside, Wapet, Bond Oil, Amoco and Exxon. He is currently a consultant director of Advanced Geomechanics, a geotechnical consultancy based in Perth, providing specialist advice to the offshore industry on foundation problems and on-shore and offshore site investigations. He has also been involved in commercialization of research and the marketing of its outcomes, including his own specialist geotechnical software. Between 1997 and 2000 he was a director, representing the interests of the University of Sydney, of Benthic GeoTech Pty Ltd, a $10 million joint venture company that conceived, designed, built and now operates PROD, the Portable Remotely Operated Drill, which is used to penetrate the ocean floor, conduct in situ tests and recover core samples.

Collaboration

John's research interests include analytical and numerical modelling, soil-structure interaction, rock mechanics, the behaviour of cemented and uncemented carbonate soils, soft soil engineering, tunnelling and offshore foundations.

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
090500	Civil Engineering	75
091599	Interdisciplinary Engineering Not Elsewhere Classified	15
090799	Environmental Engineering Not Elsewhere Classified	10

Centres and Groups

Centre

• ARC Centre of Excellence for Geotechnical Science and Engineering
• PRC - Priority Research Centre for Geotechnical and Materials Modelling

Memberships

ARC Committee member

• Member and Chair EAC for Engineering and Environmental Science

Body relevant to professional practice.

• Member - American Society of Civil Engineers
• Member - Australian Geomechanics Society
• Member - British Geotechnical Society
• Fellow - Institution of Engineers, Australia
• Member - International Society for Rock Mechanics
• Member - International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering

Committee/Associations (relevant to research).

• Member - International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics
• Member - International Association of Engineering Geology

Editorial Board.

• Associate Editor - Canadian Geotechncial Journal
• Co-Editor - International Journal of Geomechanics
• International Journal of Solids and Structures
• Journal of Mechanics of Materials and Structures

Learned Academy.

• Fellow - The Australian Academy of Science (Australian Academy of Science)
• Fellow - Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering)

Appointments

External Examiner in Civil Engineering The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)	01/01/1998 - 01/12/2000
Challis Professor of Civil Engineering The University of Sydney (Australia)	01/01/1999 - 01/12/2005
Chair of Academic Board The University of Sydney (Australia)	01/07/2004 - 01/12/2005

Awards

Other

1986	Visiting Associate Professor Cornell University (United States) Visiting Associate Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, USA.
1977	British Council Travel Grant Cambridge University (United Kingdom) British Council Travel Grant, awarded for post-doctoral research at Cambridge University
1974	Eleanor Sophia Wood Travelling Scholarship University of London (United Kingdom) Eleanor Sophia Wood Travelling Scholarship, awarded by The University of Sydney for graduate research work at Kings College, University of London.
1973	best undergraduate thesis in civil engineering Institution of Engineers, Australia (Australia) Awarded the Institution of Engineers, Australia, Prize for the best undergraduate thesis in civil engineering
1971	Prize No. 1 Association of Consulting Structural Engineers of NSW (Australia) Awarded the Association of Consulting Structural Engineers of NSW Prize No. 1 (3rd year civil engineering).

Recognition.

2006	Member in the Order of Australia Australian Government (Australia) For contributions to civil engineering through research into soil and rock mechanics and as an adviser
2005	Prize for Outstanding Contributions, International Association For Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, (Australia) For sustained contributions to the advancement and implementation of numerical modelling in geomechanics, and especially constitutive modelling of geomaterials.
2003	Fellow Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (Australia) Elected as a Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering,
2001	Chandra Desai Medal International Association For Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (Australia) for outstanding and sustained contributions to the solution of a wide range of geotechnical problems including development and application of large deformation analyses, effects of pile installation, interpretation of in situ tests, analysis of jointed rock masses, linear and non-linear problems in porous media including their thermomechanical response, foundations for offshore structures, development of constitutive relations, particularly for structured soils, and for the analysis of cyclic loading.
1998	Szeto-Wai Fellowship University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong) Szeto-Wai Fellowship, University of Hong Kong
1996	Visiting Fellowship Technical University Graz (Germany) Visiting Fellowship, Technical University Graz
1989	Engineering Foundation Fellowship University of Western Australia (Australia) Engineering Foundation Fellowship, University of Western Australia
1989	Fellow Institution of Engineers (Australia)
1986	Engineering Foundation Fellowship University of Western Australia (Australia)

Research Award.

2005	E.H. Davis Lecturer Australian Geomechanics Society (Australia) E.H. Davis Lecturer, Australian Geomechanics Society.
2004	Cross-Canada Lecturer Canadian Geotechnical Society (Canada) Cross-Canada Lecturer, Canadian Geotechnical Society,
1994	Outstanding Paper International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics (Australia) Prize for Outstanding Paper, International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics.
1990	Best Paper Presentation Oxford (United Kingdom) Prize for Best Paper Presentation, 3rd International Symposium on Pressuremeters, Oxford, UK.

Invitations

Application of Structured Soil Models to Shallow Footing Problems GeoShanghai 2006 - American Society of Civil Engineers, Australia (Conference Presentation - non published.)	2006
Numerical and Semi-Analytical Techniques for Footings Subjected to Combined Loading International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, Italy (Conference Presentation - non published.)	2005
Prediction Of The Lateral Capacity Of Suction Caissons International Association for Computer Methods in Geomechanics, United States (Conference Presentation - non published.)	2001
Some geotechnical failures associated with offshore oil and gas production facilities Candian Geotechnical Society, Australia (Cross Canada Lecture Tour)	2004
Computing and Computer Modelling in Geotechnical Engineering Geoeng 2000, Australia (International Lecture)	2000
E.H. Davis Memorial Lecture Australian Geomechanics Society, Australia (Invited Lecture)	2005
Foundations and Retaining Structures - Research and Practice 11th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Turkey (Keynote Lecture)	2001

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Administrative

Administrative expertise

University of Newcastle

Pro Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, 2006-2011

University of Sydney

Chair, Academic Board, 2004-2005

Head, Department of Civil Engineering, 1995-1999

Acting Dean, Faculty of Engineering, March-July, 1997

Director, Centre for Geotechnical Research, 1990-2005

Beyond the University

Academic Reviews

1998 Member, Review Panel, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Western Australia.

2000 Chairman, Review Panel, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland.

2007 Member, Review Panel, Faculty of Engineering, James Cook University

Appointments Committees

2003 Chair of Civil Engineering, The University of Melbourne.

2005 Chair of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland.

Australian Research Council

1988-01 Assessor of Large Project Grants and Collaborative Industry Grants in Engineering, 1988-2001.

2002-04 Chair, Engineering and Environmental Sciences Expert Advisory Committee.

2004 Chair, Research Networks Selection Committee.

2005 Chair, Federation Fellowship Selection Committee

Australian Geomechanics Society

1990-04 Member, Sydney Chapter Committee.

1996-03 Member, National Committee.

1997-98 Chairman, Sydney Chapter Committee.

2000-01 Chairman, National Committee - Oversight of the introduction of a formal Constitution for the Society preparatory to incorporation in the ACT.

2002-03 Immediate Past Chairman, National Committee.

2005-09 Member, National Committee.

2005-09 Nominated by the Society to be the Vice-President for Australia New Zealand of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.

Engineers Australia

1998-99 Member, Sydney Division Committee

The Womens College, University of Sydney

2002-07 Member, Building and Development Committee.

2002-07 Member of Council.

Advanced Geomechanics Pty Ltd

Director of Advanced Geomechanics, a Geotechnical consultancy based in Perth, WA, specialising in offshore foundation investigation and design, 1996-present.

Benthic Geotech Pty Ltd (BGT)

Involved with the conception, early development and eventual commercialisation of PROD, the portable, remotely operated seabed drill.

Appointed as a Director for the period 1997-2000, representing the interests of the University of Sydney, of the spin-off company (BGT) that commercialised PROD.

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering

Member, Education Committee

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Teaching

Teaching keywords

• civil engineering
• engineering mechanics
• geotechnical engineering

Teaching expertise

University of Sydney, 1973-1976

BE Laboratory and tutorial supervision in courses in Materials and Soil Mechanics.

Cambridge University, 1977-1979

BA Undergraduate supervisions (tutorials for groups of 2 and 3 students) in courses in Dynamics and Soil Mechanics, for St Margarets College and Churchill College.

MPhil Development and presentation of lectures in Theoretical Soil Mechanics, including the application of numerical methods to the solution of boundary and initial value problems.

University of Queensland, 1979-1982

BE Development and presentation of lectures, tutorials, assessment and examinations in undergraduate courses in Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.

MEngSc Development and presentation of Masters course lectures and assessment in Advanced Theoretical Soil Mechanics, Slope Stability Analysis and Foundation Engineering.

University of Sydney, 1982-2005

BE Development and presentation of lectures, tutorials, assessment and examinations in undergraduate courses in Soil Mechanics, Rock Mechanics for Mining Engineers, Geotechnical Engineering, Environmental Geotechnics, Engineering Computing and Introduction to Civil Engineering.

MEngSc & MES Development and presentation of Masters course lectures and assessment in Theoretical Soil Mechanics, Foundation Engineering, Rock Mechanics, Analysis and Design of Pile Foundations and Environmental Geotechnics.

1990-2005, as Professor of Geotechnical Engineering, responsible for curriculum development and delivery of all Geotechnical courses in the Civil Engineering degree program.