The blog of Alvaro Boiero
"Live as if you were going to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were going to live forever" Mahatma Gandhi
The blog of Alvaro Boiero
geo
"Live as if you were going to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were going to live forever" Mahatma Gandhi
Since I was a child, I have had a deep inclination to create models of great engineering works, such as earth dams, towers and buildings, which I used to build with stones and sand, or with wooden toys given to me by my parents. Of course, in those years I had no notion that those models represented the infrastructure that undoubtedly make our civilization possible. At the same time, probably because I grew up in a small town in Argentina, direct contact with nature was always part of me, so I learned to appreciate and respect it, feeling really comfortable with this close contact.
That is why it is logical that I studied Civil Engineering. I was lucky enough to discover, almost from my first Soil Mechanics class, that the study of soils and rocks was my vocation, and that I would dedicate my life to it. I graduated as a Civil Engineer in 2005 at the Oriente University, and since then my professional career has been completely linked to Geotechnical Engineering. Universidad de Oriente (Venezuela), y desde entonces mi carrera profesional ha estado ligada completamente a la Ingeniería Geotécnica.
Since 2005 I have collaborated with two of the most outstanding Venezuelan companies in the field of Geotechnical Engineering: PREGO, C.A. between 2005 and 2008; and AIG, C.A., between 2008 and 2021. In addition, I have participated as a consultant in Soil Dynamics with the company CORAL 83, C.A. AIG, C.A., entre 2008 y 2021. Además, he participado como consultor en el área de Dinámica de Suelos con la empresa CORAL 83, C.A.
With these companies, I had the opportunity to participate in several onshore and offshore projects, mainly in the energy industry (electricity-oil-gas-renewables), which allowed me to acquire extensive experience, both in field exploration, laboratory and modeling of complex geotechnical problems, as well as in the management level.
In addition, while carrying out these projects, I was part of work-teams with engineers from leading companies around the world, so I was able to develop a complete vision of the requirements, organization and objectives of large-scale projects.
In 2009 I received an invitation from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello to participate as a lecturer of Soil Mechanics Lab, a subject that I have taught uninterruptedly since then. In addition, in 2018 I have been invited to teach Slope Stability in the geotechnical postgraduate course opened by that university in 2017, and since 2020 I participate with Grupo Sísmica Adiestramiento at Sismica Institute as a collaborator in some of the programs they offer. Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Venezuela) para participar como profesor en el área de Mecánica de Suelos, impartiendo clases tanto de pregrado como de postgrado, de manera ininterrumpida hasta 2021. Además, desde 2020 participo en Sísmica Institute (España) como profesor en algunos de los programas que ofrecen.
In 2016 I finished my Master's degree in Earth Sciences at Universidad Simón Bolívar, where I obtained an "Outstanding" mention in my thesis. Universidad Simón Bolívar (Venezuela), posgrado en el que obtuve una mención «Sobresaliente» en mi tesis.
In the profession field, I have actively participated in the Venezuelan Society of Geotechnical Engineering since 2009, in which I currently hold the position of Vocal.
Since my years as an undergraduate student, I have felt a special interest in the area of Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, fundamental disciplines for any project to develop in areas with certain seismic hazard. Likewise, I consider essential the study and understanding of Soil Behavior, and of vital importance the determination of Soil Stiffness Parameters, given the relevance of their appropriate selection in the geotechnical modeling, and in the costs of any project (since their values are intrinsically linked to the dimensioning of foundations). And all of this within the framework of Sustainable Development, a fundamental aspect in this first half of the 21st century.
That is why since February 2022 I am at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – BARCELONATECH (Spain), where I am a PhD candidate in Geotechnical Engineering. Here I am working on a research related to ground improvement, which encompasses the analysis of shear strength, stiffness, and sustainable development in soil improvement activities and bio-engineering applied to slope stability.
I have always been interested in scientific dissemination, so I have written some articles, which were published in different congresses and seminars held in the Hungary, Mexico, Canada, Argentina, and Venezuela.
This experience has led me to offer my services as a Senior Consultant in Geotechnical Engineering, always with the aim of helping my clients to make their projects safe and functional, within the framework of Sustainable Development, and seeking the optimization of project costs.
