75 YEARS OF HISTORY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENGINEERING GEOLOGY DIVISION OF THE GSA

The Engineering Geology Division (EGD) of the Geological Society of America was established as the society's first specialty division in 1947, in contrast to the society's geographical sections. This came about because of the widespread use and organization of engineering geologists and military geologists by federal agencies during the Second World War (1939-1945). Professor Charles P. Berkey (Columbia University) served as the division's first chair. Sidney Paige became vice-chair and Roger Rhoades became secretary. Others who figured prominently in the establishment of the new division included Arthur B. Cleaves, Parker D. Trask, Edward Burwell, William Irwin, Shailer Philbrick, and George Wooland. The executive committee's early definitions of an engineering geologist helped to define the profession and were absorbed into the certifications in the 1950's and 1960's in California. The Engineering Geology Division began publishing a quarterly newsletter, "The Engineering Geologist", in April 1966 with Professor Dick Goodman (University of California, Berkeley) as the editor. The division was renamed the Environmental and Engineering Geology Division (EEGD) in 2011 to better reflect the evolving focus of applied geology in the 21st Century.