George K. Burke receives 2017 DFI Distinguished Service Award

Hawthorne, N.J. — George K. Burke, P.E., D.GE, is the recipient of the Deep Foundation Institute’s highest award to an individual, the Distinguished Service Award (DSA). This award recognizes individuals who have made exceptionally valuable contributions to the advancement of the deep foundations industry.

The award will be presented at the Awards Banquet during DFI’s 42nd Annual Conference on Deep Foundations in New Orleans, October 24-27, 2017 (www.deepfoundations2017.org).

Burke is semi-retired from Hayward Baker (HBI) and works part-time as the senior risk manager. Prior to semi-retiring in 2015, Burke worked for HBI in the corporate office in Odenton and Hanover, Maryland, for 30 years. He was the senior vice president for 20 of those years, and before that he was vice president of HBI Environmental, manager of the jet grouting division and project engineer for special projects.

Burke is widely recognized for his contributions toward the development, design, and application of jet grouting and mechanical soil mixing in North America. He has been on the forefront of the research and development of jet grouting and soil mixing for geotechnical applications and has been involved in all aspects of their development, including complex advancements in hydraulic, mechanical, and geotechnical engineering.

“George’s significant efforts in the development and adoption of soil mixing and jet grouting have contributed greatly to the advancement of the deep foundations industry,” says Theresa Engler, DFI executive director. “He has also generously shared his knowledge through active participation in technical committees and educational seminars. On behalf of DFI, I am pleased to see George receive this honor at our Annual Conference.”

Burke has been a longstanding member of DFI, ASCE and ADSC, and was an active member on DFI’s Soil Mixing Committee. He remains an active participant on the ASCE Grouting Committee, and was a member of the Jet Grouting Subcommittee that developed the 1st edition of the Jet Grouting Guidelines.

In 2009, he was confirmed as a Diplomate of the Academy of Geo-Professionals, and in 2010 he was presented with the Wallace Hayward Baker Award from the Geo-Institute of ASCE for the development of jet grouting and soil mixing technologies. In 2012, Burke delivered a keynote presentation at the DFI-ICOG 2012 International Conference on Grouting and Deep Mixing Conference.

Burke received B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil (geotechnical) engineering from Drexel University.