in this issue

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THE SURFACEBELOW

Dr. W. Allen Marr recently traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan on a mission to assist the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with the rehabilitation of the Naghlu Dam, a large provider of Kabul’s electricity. The dam was designed and constructed between 1960 and 1968 and during subsequent political turmoil, fell into disrepair.

Responsibility for the management and operation of the electricity system rests with Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), the national electricity utility. The World Bank, USAID, and ADB are funding a major design and construction effort to bring the dam to modern international safety standards and optimize power generating capability. This effort includes modern dam safety program implementation, a civil works upgrade, and training of local staff in best practices for dam safety maintenance.

DABS engaged Dr. Marr to chair a Project Technical Advisory Panel, which will provide an independent and high-level technical evaluation of the safety of Naghlu Dam and propose solutions to increase the safety of the

dam and its associated structures to the acceptable standards corresponding to international practices. Dr. Marr expects to visit the project several times each year over the next five years as the design and construction of the rehab work progress.

Commenting on his experience from the first trip, Dr. Marr stated: “The Afghan people are in a tough situation. I came home thankful that we know our government will be stable in the future, we can be sure we will get home to our family safely each night, and our kids and grandkids can get good educations. These are not the conditions today in Afghanistan. I look forward to doing what I can to help improve conditions there through the upgrading of Naghlu Dam to provide reliable power to Kabul.”

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Evaluating Dam Safety in Afghanistan Enhanced Product Technical Support Dr. Gokyer Provides Technical Solutions TRB Presents K.B. Woods Award Salt Lake City Office

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Naghlu Dam, Kabul AfghanistanTechnical Safety Evaluation Project

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Before a product is shipped to the customer, it is subjected to a rigorous quality assurance / quality control

process, where we test it c o n t i n u o u s l y for more than 30 hours. In addition, our QA team performs a demanding analysis to verify that the equipment is in complete

working order. To make certain we remain current, our QA/QC protocols undergo internal audits frequently and external audits on an annual basis and are updated as a result of these audits.

Geocomp offers several different resources for technical support. We recently launched an online technical support portal, providing 24-hour customer support. We also host a library of helpful videos on our products via YouTube, including tutorials on performing specific tests, product introductions, and initial set ups. In addition, we occasionally host seminars on the

products and will be rolling out a series of webinars in the near future.

Our dedicated team includes the best and brightest working behind the scenes to build, deliver, and support our products and aim for the client experience to be at a high level of satisfaction. Our products are deployed in more than 50 countries by universities, public and government agencies, and commercial enterprises. In the United States, we serve more than 36 departments of transportation (DOT), including the Federal Highway Administration.

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Gecomp Products – Enhanced Technical Support Designed with Our Clients in MindOne of the major objectives in designing our products is to put the user at the center of our design considerations and make their lives easier by creating products that are fast, reliable, and easy to use. This platform ensures the needs of our clients are always at the center of our design, p r o d u c t i o n , and technical s u p p o r t services. This enables clients to quickly understand and interpret the data they need to make informed decisions on their projects.

Geocomp recently rolled out a newly enhanced technical support process for our products. We designed this process with our clients in mind. From assembly, through our extensive quality assurance program, to our 24-hour technical support, we strive to provide the best products and experiences for our clients.

We are proud that all aspects of our product development, from concept to production, is done in-house at our headquarters outside Boston, MA.

Technical Support:

Our Team:

American Made Products:

Enhanced QA / QC:

“In my opinion, your firm makes the best soils testing equipment on the market. It has been my privilege to work with Geocomp for most of my professional career; things seldom go wrong and they are quickly fixed when they do.” Lee Grosch – Montana DOT

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Geocomp welcomes Dr. Seda Gokyer, as a Technical Solutions Engineer to its Products division in Massachusetts. She is a key resource in providing customer technical support for our products. Seda will provide on-site and in-house training for our clients on the use of our laboratory systems as well as provide state-of-the-art geotechnical testing. Seda has extensive experience in geotechnical laboratory testing, cyclic simple shear testing with shake table, design and manufacturing of laboratory test equipment and set-ups, liquefaction of sands, finite element analysis, seismic instrumentation and base isolation, earthquake engineering, and soil dynamics. She also is well-versed in providing support and training. While at Northeastern University, she delivered outreach programs and lectured for undergraduate and graduate level foundation engineering, soil mechanics, and soil and foundation dynamics courses.

As part of the technical support team for our products, Seda will leverage her expertise in geotechnical engineering, background in support and training, and positive outlook to provide high quality problem-solving, quick responses, and top-notch support for Geocomp’s customers.

Dr. Seda Gokyer Technical Solutions Engineer

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EMPLOYEE CORNER

Dr. Dan Ding, Laboratory Geotechnical Engineer for GeoTesting Express, was presented with the K.B. Woods Award by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) for her paper titled “Effect of Number of Soil Strength Measurements on Reliability of Spread Footing Designs.” The K.B. Woods award is given annually for the outstanding paper published in the field of design and construction of transportation facilities. Dan co-authorized this paper with J. Erik Loehr, Ph.D., P.E. Associate Professor at the University of Missouri and William J. Likos, Ph.D., Professor at the University of Wisconsin.

The paper was written following a research project conducted as part of a comprehensive geotechical site characterization project for the Missouri Department of Transportation. The goal of the research team was to improve specifications for load and resistance factor design (LRFD) and provide guidelines for designers to quantify the potential value of site characterization activities during the design phase and make more rational decisions with regard to the type and scope of site characterization activities.

Dr. Dan Ding Presented with K.B. Woods Award

Join us in congratulating Dan on achieving this distinguished honor.

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GEOCOMP OPENS NEW OFFICE IN SALT LAKE CITY

Geocomp Corporation, an innovator in comprehensive geostructural design and performance monitoring services, is pleased to announce the opening of our new office in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our Salt Lake City office is led by Ashley Mac Millan, a registered professional engineer in Utah. Ashley has expertise with mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall evaluation, analysis, design, construction oversight, inspection, instrumentation, and remediation from working on various MSE projects in the United States and Canada. Recently, she has been working with intelligent geotextiles to monitor the performance of Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil–Integrated Bridge Systems (GRS-IBS). Ashley is certified by the Geosynthetics Institute for construction quality assurance for installation inspection of MSE walls, berms, and slopes. She is engaged in the engineering community in Salt Lake City serving as Secretary for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Younger Member Forum and is an active member on the Programs Committee for the Women in Transportation Seminar (WTS) Northern Utah Chapter. Geocomp has six offices across the country providing services and products to help clients identify and manage risk associated with the design, construction, and operation of infrastructure. Our professional staff combine in-depth understanding of structural and geotechnical material behavior with the latest in performance monitoring technologies to deliver innovative and sound geostructural solutions. The results is better control of risk and cost of projects.

Salt Lake City Location

2150 S. 1300 E, Suite 500

Salt Lake City, UT 84106

(801) 990-2752

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