Professor of Geotechnical Engineering / Geotechnics Group Leader / Recruitment Visit Co-ordinator: Civil Engineering
| Phone: | +44 (0)1509 228542 |
| Fax: | +44 (0)1509 223981 |
| Email: | n.dixon@lboro.ac.uk |
| Publications: | open |
Professor Dixon graduated from Hatfield Polytechnic in 1982 with a degree in Civil Engineering. He carried out research in Soil Mechanics at Kingston Polytechnic, and was awarded a PhD in 1987 for an investigation of 'The Mechanics of Coastal Landslides in London Clay at Warden Point, Isle of Sheppey'. This was followed by a three year period working for Travers Morgan Consulting Engineers. This included two years as a Senior Assistant Resident Engineer on the A55 Immersed Tube Conwy Crossing, with responsibility for assessing slope stability and interpretation of extensive geotechnical instrumentation, and a period as a Geotechnical Engineer responsible for all aspects of ground investigations, and design of power station foundations. Consultancy activities have been continued to the present day, and include landfill engineering issues, slope stability assessment and specialist laboratory testing.
Following the period in industry, Professor Dixon joined Nottingham Trent University in 1989 as a Senior Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering, and subsequently held the positions of Principal Lecturer and then Reader in Geotechnical Engineering. Over a period of ten years, research interests were extended from the initial area of slope stability, to include geotechnical engineering of landfills and waste mechanics. In October 1999 Professor Dixon joined the Department of Civil and Building Engineering at Loughborough University as Senior Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering and leader of the Geotechnics Group. He became Professor of Geotechnical Engineering in June 2007.
Professor Dixon has taught undergraduate courses on all aspects of geotechnical engineering. He has particular interests in the use of geosynthetic materials in construction and the field performance of soil/structure systems.
Research is being carried out in two main areas:
Other research interests include performance of synthetic sports surfaces, leak detection and location in plastic pipes, design and performance of rotary displacement piles, rapid assessment of pavement structures and engineering behaviour of loess.
Geotechnics
Title(s): Climate Impact Forecasting for Slopes (CLIFFS)
Summary: This is an EPSRC-funded network based at Loughborough University aiming to bring together academics, R&D agencies, stakeholders, consultants and climate specialists to improve forecasting of slope instability in the context of progressive climate change. Project website address: http://cliffs.lboro.ac.uk
Linked to CLIFFS is an EPSRC funded project Biological and Engineering Impacts of Climate on Slopes – Learning from Full-scale (BIONICS-LEARN) to highlight research currently in progress in the UK for a world-wide audience and to share best practice and ideas so that the work can be extended to a global scale.
Methods: A series of workshops have been organised involving academics and stakeholders to disseminate onging research and to identify and prioritise research needs.
Professor Dixon and his co-authors were awarded The Institution of Civil Engineers 2005 Reed and Mallik Medal for best paper covering construction aspects of a civil engineering project. [Dixon, N., Ng'ambi, S. and Jones, D.R.V. (2004). Structural performance of a steep slope landfill lining system. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Geotechnical Engineering, 157, 115-125.]
Professor Dixon and his co-authors were awarded Best Geosynthetics International Paper 2006. [Dixon, N., Jones, D.R.V. and Fowmes, G.J. (2006). Interface shear strength variability and its use in reliability-based landfill stability analysis. Geosynthetics International, 13, 1, 1-14.]
For general enquiries to the Department, email: Civ.Eng.enq@lboro.ac.uk
Postal address:
Department of Civil and Building Engineering
Loughborough University
Loughborough
Leicestershire LE11 3TU
United Kingdom
t: +44 (0)1509 222637
f: +44 (0)1509 223981
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