Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering

In June, David White, associate professor in geotechnical engineering and Waldo W. Wegner Professor in Civil Engineering, trekked to Timber Creek, Australia, in the country’s Northern Territory to participate in a joint exercise between United States and Australian defense forces to construct an unsurfaced airfield. The trip took White to the Bradshaw Field Training Area in Australia, and was the culmination of the Joint Rapid Airfield Construction Program.

“The exercise showcased several technologies such as digital designs integrated with Global Position Systems (GPS) machine control, roller-integrated compaction monitoring, and rapid soil stabilization,” says White. “The exercise was completed in 22 total days of construction, demonstrating a spectrum of technologies designed to speed contingency engineering operations.”

During the exercise, White worked with the joint military construction teams and performed in-situ testing to evaluate the performance of intelligent compaction machines and rapid soil stabilization using cement and fibers.

This trip, which was supported by funding from Caterpillar, was White’s first time in the land down under. He says a memorable part of the trip was watching a C130 airplane land on the completed runway. Getting stuck in the Outback at night when the car battery died, meeting local Aboriginal people, and seeing lots of interesting animals such as snakes, crocodiles, scorpions, kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, and vampire bats, also helped make the trip memorable, he adds.

Because the project was a success, White’s next step will be to analyze the results for future use.