Editing Engineering geology (section)

==History==
Although the study of [[geology]] has been around for centuries, at least in its modern form, the science and practice of engineering geology only commenced as a recognized discipline until the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  The first book titled Engineering Geology was published in 1880 by William Penning.  In the early 20th century [[Charles Peter Berkey]], an American trained geologist who was considered the first American [[engineering geologist]], worked on several water-supply projects for New York City, then later worked on the Hoover Dam and a multitude of other engineering projects.  The first American engineering geology textbook was written in 1914 by Ries and Watson. In 1921 [[Reginald W. Brock]], the first Dean of Applied Science at the [[University of British Columbia]], started the first undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Geological Engineering, noting that students with an engineering foundation made first-class practising geologists. In 1925, [[Karl Terzaghi]], an Austrian trained engineer and geologist, published the first text in Soil Mechanics (in German).  Terzaghi is known as the parent of soil mechanics, but also had a great interest in geology; Terzaghi considered soil mechanics to be a sub-discipline of engineering geology.  In 1929, Terzaghi, along with Redlich and Kampe, published their own Engineering Geology text (also in German).

The need for geologist on engineering works gained worldwide attention in 1928 with the failure of the [[St. Francis Dam]] in California and the death of 426 people.  More engineering failures that occurred the following years also prompted the requirement for engineering geologists to work on large engineering projects.

In 1951, one of the earliest definitions of the "Engineering geologist" or "Professional Engineering Geologist" was provided by the Executive Committee of the Division on Engineering Geology of the [[Geological Society of America]].