Common ground in engineering geology, soil mechanics and rock mechanics: past, present and future

Engineering geology, together with soil mechanics and rock mechanics, is commonly considered to be one of the three fundamental scientific disciplines in ground engineering. Historically, the interrelation between these three disciplines has never been free of ambiguity. This, for instance, is highlighted by the fact that both Karl von Terzaghi, the founder of soil mechanics, and Leopold Muller, the founder of rock mechanics, considered themselves foremost as engineering geologists without, however, succeeding in establishing engineering geology as a free-standing discipline with autonomous intellectual merits, methods and procedures. This situation has changed recently as evidenced in Knill's fundamental publication (2002) on Core Values in Engineering Geology and by the fact that the relevant three International Societies are currently in the process of moving together towards a "Federation of Geo-Engineering Societies".