Role of Instrumentation in a Dam Safety Program

Dr. Georgette Hlepas is the National Geotechnical Policy Advisor for the US Army Corps of Engineers and is located in the Headquarters office in DC.  She is also the lead for the USACE Instrumentation and Performance Monitoring Community of Practice and the Chairperson for the USSD Monitoring of Dams and Their Foundations Committee.  She has ~13 years of experience in geotechnical engineering and instrumentation with USACE and has been an instructor of several instrumentation courses.  She has a PhD in Civil and Materials Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois.

Will Brown is a Branch Chief for FERC’s Division of Dam Safety and Inspections Atlanta Regional Office. Will’s team annually reviews instrumentation and monitoring reports for over sixty high hazard dams.  Prior to joining the Commission in 2010, Will worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service completing inspections, design and analyses of dams in Georgia.  Will also served on active duty as an engineer in the U.S. Army for nine and a half years completing construction and design projects in the U.S., Haiti, Nicaragua, Germany, Kuwait, and Iraq.  Will has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering and Engineering Management from the University of Missouri-Rolla.  Will is a registered Professional Engineer in Georgia and Missouri.

Raphael Victor has been working in the Instrumentation and Monitoring industry for 15 years on various international infrastructure projects mostly in Europe and in the US in cities such as Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Seattle, New York and Washington DC.

Through his journey implementing and managing monitoring programs on complex projects, he has gathered valuable experience to be shared with the civil engineering community.

Raphael is currently working as Business Development Manager at Sixense, an instrumentation and monitoring consultant providing high quality data on the structural and geotechnical condition of assets. Through his role, Raphael is assisting clients in North America on Infrastructure, Construction, Mining and Rail sectors.

Raphael earned is M.S. degree in civil and geotechnical engineering at ENSG Nancy (France).

Jeff has over 15 years’ of industry experience including 5 years with an instrumentation manufacturer and 10 years with a global engineering firm.

Jeff holds degrees in Civil Engineering and Geotechnical Engineering as well as a diploma in Technology Management and Entrepreneurship from the University of New Brunswick in Canada.

Jeff has worked on instrumentation projects for several high profile sites including Boone Dam, Oroville Dam, Samarco Mine, Zelazny Most Tailings Dam, and multiple Canadian oil sands projects. He has also worked on geotechnical analysis and design projects in the dams, mining, and Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) sectors for clients such as Tennessee Valley Authority, US Army Corps of Engineers, Atlantic Gold, Trevali, and Vale.  

Rudy has 30+ years of professional civil engineering experience focused on instrumentation and monitoring of dams, tunnels, bridge and other large structures. Rudy has helped with the instrumentation of several Dams in the USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru and other countries around the globe. Rudy's experience includes instrumentation installation, data analysis and correction. He has also served as committee member at TRB, USSD, Geo-I and ASTM. Rudy earned his Degree in Civil Engineering at the Catholic University in Guayaquil Ecuador.  

Josh has five years of Civil Engineering experience (Twin Falls, ID) and nine years of instrumentation experience (Campbell Scientific, Logan, UT).  Notable assignments included project and plan review for the City of Twin Falls, ID and third-party project management and oversight for the Idaho Transportation Department during major roadway projects.  He has assisted customers on a global basis with data acquisition systems for agricultural applications, bridges, buildings, and dams.  Josh earned a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from Utah State University.

Pierre Choquet has been involved in the field of Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring for most of his career. He joined RST Instruments of Maple Ridge, BC in 2007 and is now Technical Advisor and Vice-President of Market Development. Pierre graduated in Geological Engineering (Engineering Geology) from Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal and subsequently obtained a doctorate degree in Rock Mechanics from Ecole des Mines de Paris in France. From 1982 to 1993 he was a faculty member at the department of Mining and Metallurgy of Laval University in Quebec City where his specialty was rock mechanics, ground control, and applied geology. Pierre is a member of the USSD Committee on Monitoring Dams and their Foundations and is the Canada representative on the ICOLD Technical Committee on Dam Surveillance. He is also the Editor of the Instrumentation and Monitoring column of the Canadian Geotechnique magazine.

Jordan Keeney is a Civil Engineer experienced with water dams and critical infrastructure. His professional experience includes planning and designing all aspects of geotechnical structures related to water dams, including earthen water dams, appurtenant structures, and waste disposal stacks. He has been involved in the full life cycle of dam safety projects and has completed scoping and feasibility studies, managed site investigations, supported facility operations, finalized detailed geotechnical designs, and provided solutions for remediation and closure efforts. He has also monitored and mitigated geohazards on several diverse and challenging projects.

Amanda has 16 years of professional experience in geotechnical and civil engineering related to dam safety. Her work at Reclamation includes designing and providing technical support regarding instrumentation systems and monitoring programs, evaluating instrumentation data and visual monitoring information, conducting onsite training for dam operators, and designing and installing new monitoring equipment and automated data acquisition systems.  Previously, Amanda worked as a consultant in the mining industry designing tailing storage dams and heap leach facilities.  She holds a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Colorado School of Mines.