Professor Peter Vaughan


Professor Peter Vaughan

Peter Vaughan, one of our founding Directors, passed away on Friday 16 May 2008. Over the last 25 years, Peter was closely involved in a large number of GCG projects and took a keen interest in the development of GCG and its staff. He, together with David Hight and Robert Mair, formulated the GCG ethos and provided guidance in matters, whether technical or non-technical. His depth and breadth of interest and knowledge place him amongst the greatest geotechnical practitioners. He is perhaps best known for his work at Imperial College on the behaviour of problematic soils, weak rocks and embankment dams.



Photo courtesy of Maria Laporte In the course of his career he received numerous awards, including the Institution of Civil Engineer's (ICE) Telford Gold Medal and the British Geotechnical Association (BGA) Prize, both of which he was awarded three times. More recently, in 2001, he was awarded the ICE Geotechnical Research Medal. While at Imperial College he supervised more than 20 PhD programmes, authored more than 80 technical papers and gave numerous prestigious lectures, including the BGA Rankine Lecture in 1994. Peter will be remembered fondly by all that knew him for his keen mind, sense of fun and endless generosity.