Description of Division
Geotechnical and Transportation Engineering (GeoTrEn) spearheads three important areas in civil engineering; namely; geotechnical engineering, highway and transportation engineering. For bachelor’s degree programmes, there are seven (7) main courses offered as well as courses from other centres, such as Engineering Geology, Engineering Survey, Geotechnical Laboratory, Soil Mechanics, Geotechnics, GIS for Engineers, Highway and Traffic Engineering. There are four (4) courses offered as elective courses, namely Foundation Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering and Urban Traffic Management. These courses are designed to provide good quality engineering practice to young graduates in the related fields.
In addition, two master’s degree programmes (by coursework) are offered under this centre, which are M.Sc in Geotechical Engineering and M.Sc in Highway Engineering. Emphasis given to the specialized courses in the respective field. Besides, postgraduate research programmes (M.Sc and PhD) are also offered in specific areas such as advanced saturated and unsaturated soil mechanics, numerical modelling, soil stabilization, tropical rock engineering, site investigation and geophysics. While for highway and transportation engineering the interest fields include pavement engineering, traffic, road safety engineering and urban transportation systems. The academicians are actively involved in research, consultation and development in their respective specific fields, which include:
Ground investigation and geophysical survey
Advanced foundation engineering analysis and design
Slope engineering for saturated and partially saturated soils
Numerical geomechanics for saturated and partially saturated soils
Earth retaining structure and reinforced walls
Ground improvement techniques and remediation
Permeability and seepage remediation in contaminated land
Ground bourne vibration and related vibration mitigation measures
Geohazards, geomaterial and rock engineering
Pavement engineering design and construction
Advanced pavement material design
Geometric design and highway capacity
Traffic impact assessment
Urban transport management systems
Road safety and traffic management
Under this centre, there are two research initiative groups spearhead research, consultancy and development, namely Geotechnical Forensic Specialized Initiative Group (GeoForenSIG) and Transportation System Initiative Team (TranSIT). The members in GeoForenSIG are actively involved in research, consultancy and as expert advisory committee addressing geotechnical design and development in the areas of soil and rock tests, soft ground stabilization, urban slopes and slope rectification; as well as geotechnical forensic investigation specializing on the cause of failure and proposal of mitigation, rectification and remediation works. In addition, the research and consultancy team addresses geotechnical problems related to tropical climate, especially on residual soil and soft marine clays i.e. landslide, soil erosion, ground settlement of highways and construction embankments on marine clay, karstic limestone and sinkholes, collapse of excavation during deep constructions and tunnelling. The members are also panel experts in SIRIM QAS on Malaysian Standards, Mineral and Geoscience Department on Georisk Hazard Map and Public Works Department on Standard Specification for Roadworks.
Meanwhile, the members in TranSIT are actively involved in research, consultancy and expert advisory committee focusing on transportation systems, infrastructure and intelligent transport which involve planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operation of transportation facilities and infrastructure. In addition, the members are panel experts on pavement design and construction committee for Public Works Department (PWD) and formerly known as Institute of Kerja Raya Malaysia (IKRaM) or now known as IKRAM Services Sdn Bhd. The research team is actively collaborating with the Malaysian Institute of Research for Safety (MIRoS) in joint research on public safety transportation system, public safety awareness and road safety.
As one of the centre of studies in the Faculty of Civil Engineering UiTM, it is equipped with the best laboratory facilities and latest equipment/software for the purpose of teaching and learning, research, consultancy and staff/student development.
Vision
To envisage and establish as one of the leading academia and panel experts centre in the fields relating specifically to geotechnical engineering, highway and transportation engineering throughout national and international acknowledgement.
Mission
To produce excellent and competent graduates and provide comprehensive knowledge and latest technological enhancement emphasizing on geotechnical engineering, highway and transportation engineering.
Laboratories
This centre of study is actively involved in research and development of the latest state of the art technology, involving testing, simulation and material development. The members participated in many joint collaboration research and knowledge enhancement in the industrial related projects. The laboratories personnel are knowledgeable in the related field of geotechnical and highway applications from several laboratories, namely:
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Soil mechanics laboratory 1 for physical properties evaluation
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Soil mechanics laboratory 2 for physical modelling and simulation
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Advanced soil mechanics laboratory for the evaluation of engineering properties for saturated and partially saturated soils
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Engineering geology laboratory for physical evaluation of rock properties
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Rock mechanics laboratory for the characterization of rock and geomaterials
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Highway engineering laboratory 1 for the physical evaluation of pavement materials
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Highway engineering laboratory 2 for the advanced evaluation of pavement materials
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Transportation engineering laboratory for drivers’ simulation and traffic assessment
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Surveying laboratory for land and engineering surveys application
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Computer laboratory for numerical geomechanics, highway, traffic and geographical information systems application
