Bill Chin, P.Eng.

Bill started his career in geotechnical engineering in 1976, working for the majority of the time at KCB. He has contributed extensively to the design and safe operation of tailings storage facilities in the Alberta oil sands and has assisted the Alberta government with development of the provincial Dam and Canal Safety Directive.

Bill has worked across Canada, and internationally in several sectors including mining, oil sands, water resources, hydroelectric and pulp and paper industries. His experience lies in dam engineering, dam safety evaluations and rehabilitation, mine tailings and mine waste management, foundation engineering, slope stability, seepage and liquefaction analyses, and stress deformation modelling. He has successfully used advanced numerical modeling methods to support evaluations of dam foundation movements, for both tailings and water dams, with his work at the Alameda Dam in Saskatchewan being a well-known example.

An eloquent and popular speaker, Bill has given presentations at numerous workshops, lectures and/or seminars hosted by the Alberta government, the University of Alberta and various learned societies including the Canadian Dam Association (CDA), the Canadian Geotechnical Society, the Calgary Geotechnical Society and the Edmonton Geotechnical Society.

Bill’s contributions to setting and improving geotechnical safety standards has had a major impact on improving industry best practices. He was actively involved in preparing the geotechnical sections of the CDA’s Dam Safety Guidelines in 1995 and 1999, and has continued to be an active volunteer member of CDA over the past 25 years.

Awards

In 2018, Bill was awarded a Fellowship by the Engineering Institute of Canada for excellence in engineering and services to the profession and to society.

Education

Bill has a B.A.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia and an M.Eng. in Civil (Geotechnical) Engineering from the University of Alberta. He is a registered professional engineer in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Bill is a member of the Canadian Dam Association and the Canadian Geotechnical Society.

Quote

On the art of geotechnical engineering:

A creative “style of thinking” grounded on sound geotechnical engineering principles, guided by calculation results from simplified/idealized models, and honed by experience and judgement, that gives you the ability to visualize the problem in a holistic way, and in doing so, facilitates the development of practical solutions that will effectively manage the inherent risks associated with the key uncertainties.

From Bill’s presentation  Igniting the Artistic Flame in Geotechnical Engineering.