Publications | Professional Activity | Awards | Graduate Students | Projects
Title: Professor, Ph.D., D.Eng., FREng, FRSC, FCAE, FEIC, FASCE, FIE(Aust), P.Eng.
Office: Ellis-229B
Canada Research Chair - Tier I
Department of Civil Engineering
Ellis Hall
Queen's University
Kingston, ON K7L 3N6 Canada
Tel: 1 (613) 533-3113
Fax: 1 (613) 533-2128
Email:kerry@civil.queensu.ca
Professional Activity | Memberships | Board of Directors
Educated at The University of Sydney, Australia, Dr. Rowe worked as a geotechnical engineer with the Australian Government Department of Construction prior to emigrating to Canada in 1978. He spent 22 years as a professor, including 8 years as Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, at The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. He was the Vice-Principal (Research) at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada from 2000 to 2010. He is presently a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering.His research and consulting has been in the fields of Geotechnical, Geosynthetic, Hydrogeologic, Landfill and Geoenvironmental Engineering. He is the lead author of the book "Barrier Systems for Waste Disposal Facilities", and editor of the Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering Handbook for Kluwer Academic Publishers, and has more than 500 publications in refereed journals, conferences and books dealing with:
- contaminant migration through soil and rock
- landfill design
- containment of contaminated sites
- geosynthetics (including geotextiles, geomembranes, geogrids, geonets etc.)
- reinforced embankments and walls
- tunnels in soft ground
- failure of slopes and excavations
Dr. Rowe has supervised a large number of graduate students, many of whom have won awards for their research. His research and teaching has been recognized by a number of awards including, most recently, the Killam Prize, Legget Medal, Sir John Kennedy Medal, and The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. In recognition to his contribution to the development of geoenvironmental engineering, in 2013 the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering inaugurated the ISSMGE R. Kerry Rowe Lecture, to be presented at the international conference every four years. He has been very active in professional activities including having been President of the International Geosythetics Society, President of the Canadian Geotechnical Society and President of the Engineering Institute of Canada. He is currently Editor of the Journal Geotextiles and Geomembranes, and either an Associate Editor or member of the Editorial Board for eight other journals. He was selected to present the Giroud Lecture (2002) by the International Geosynthetics Society, the 45th Rankine Lecture (2005) by the British Geotechnical Society, and the 23rd Manuel Rocha Lecture (2006) by the Portuguese Geotechnical Society, 7th Authur Casagrande Lecturer (2011) by the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, and the 3rd Ferroco-Terzaghi Orator (2012) by the Indian Geotechnical Society. He has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Canadian Academy of Engineering, Engineering Institute of Canada, Australian Institution of Engineers, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Professional Activity
- President, Engineering Institute of Canada, 2006-2008
- President, Canadian Geotechnical Society, 2001 & 2002
- Chairman, Standards Council of Canada (SCC) International Subcommittee on Geotextiles and Geomembranes - 1989 to 2000
- Vice President, North American Geosynthetics Society - 1987 to 1991
- Editor, International Geosynthetics Society Newsletter - 1986 to 1990
- President, International Geosynthetics Society - 1990 to 1994
- Immediate Past President, International Geosynthetics Society, 1994-1998
- Vice President - Technical, Canadian Geotechnical Society - 1997 & 1998
- Founding Chair, London District Section of Canadian Society for Civil Engineering and Canadian Geotechnical Society - 1993-1996
- Vice-Chair, Ontario Regional Council, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering - 1996-1998
- Member, NSERC Civil Engineering Grant Selection Committee - 1996-1999
- Chair, NSERC Civil Engineering Grant Selection Committee - 1998-1999
- Technical Chairman, 6th International Conference on Geosynthetics, Atlanta, March 1998
- President, Canadian Geotechnical Society, 2001 & 2002
- Co-Chair of the Awards Committee of the International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics, 1999-Present
- Technical Chairman, 6th Canadian Environmental Engineering Conference, London, June 2000
Member
- International Standardization Organization Working Group on Physical Properties of Geotextiles - 1986 to 2000
- International Geotextile Society Technical Committee on Publications and Education - 1984 to 1988
- Soil Properties Committee, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1986 to 1995
- Governing Council of the International Geotextile Society, 1988 to 1998
- Groundwater Quality Committee, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1994 to1998
- Member, Expert Panel established by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Royal Academy of Engineering to review the standing, quality and potential of engineering research in the United Kingdom, 2004
- Executive Committee, ISSMGE TC215 Environmental Geotechnics 2009-
- U.S. National Academies Committee appointed to assess the performance of engineered waste containment barriers 2006-2007
- Council of Canadian Academies Expert Committee on Research Integrity 2010
Editorial Board Membership
- International Journal for Geotextiles & Geomembranes
Board member: 1990 to Present
Editor: 1997 to Present - Canadian Geotechnical Journal
Associate Editor: 1983 to Present - Journal of Geotechnical Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers
Board member: 1986 to 1995 - International Journal on Computers and Geotechnics
Board member: 1988 to Present - International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics
Board member: 1987 to Present
Associate Editor - 1997 to 2001 - Geosynthetics International
Board member: 1994 to Present - Soils & Foundations: Journal of Japanese Geotechnical Society
Board member:1997 to Present - Italian Geotechnical Journal
Board member: 1997 to Present - Lowland Technology International,
1999 to Present - Geotechnique (Institution of Civil Engineers, U.K.),
2000 to 2004 - Geotechnical Engineering (Institution of Civil Engineers, U.K.)
1998 to 2003 - Transport in Porous Media,
2000 to Present - International Journal of Geomechanics
Co-Editor: 2001 to 2009
Board member: 2001 to 2008
- Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science
2001 to 2008 - Waste Management
2002 to 2006 - Soils and Rocks, 2005 - Present
Boards of Directors
- Interuniversity Super Computer Advisory Board 1986 - 1989
- Interuniversity Super Computer Advisory Board (Chair) 1989
- Management Board OCLSC - University of Toronto 1989
- Canadian Geotechnical Society 1997-1998
- Centre for Research in Earth and Space Technology (CRESTech) 2000-2002
Member, Executive Committee 2001-2002
Member, Audit Committee 2001-2002
Member, Environmental Advisory Committee 2001-2002
Member, Selection Committee for CEO 2001- 2002 - High Performance Computing Virtual Laboratory (HPVCL)(Chair) 2000-2010
- Canadian Microelectronics Corporation (CMC) 2000-2009
- PARTEQ Innovations Inc (Chair) 2000-2010
- Canadian Geotechnical Society 2000-2003
- CANARIE Inc. 2003-2007
- Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Institute 2003-2010
- Engineering Institute of Canada, Board Member, 2004-2010
- Innovation Park Advisory Board (Chair) 2008-2010
- Canadian Geotechnical Society 2011-