SUT-US Curran Lecture

Starts: Thu, Sep 11, 2025 5:30 PM CST
Ends: Thu, Sep 11, 2025 8:00 PM CST
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We are enthused to share that the inaugural Society for Underwater Technology US Curran Lecture will be presented by Dr. Charles Aubeny of Texas A&M University. Dr. Aubeny will be presenting the "Mechanics of Deep Penetration of Anchors into the Seabed", where he will discuss how deep seabed anchor penetration enhances mooring efficiency by leveraging higher soil resistance, enabling smaller, cost-effective anchors. This presentation highlights key mechanics, including soil disturbance analysis via the Strain Path Method, vibratory installation in sands, and drag embedment in soft clays. The event will also include a reappraisal of the Seventh McClelland Lecture of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Learning from Offshore Field Performance by Dr. Philippe Jeanjean of bp. In his lecture, Dr. Jeanjean will share learnings from field performance of full-sized offshore foundations under installation and operation loads and details of the buckling of driven piles at the Valhall field during installation. The presentation also addresses anthropogenic geohazards by publishing two case histories of deepwater seafloor instabilities triggered by human activities. The Curran Lecture will take place on Thursday, September 11th, 2025, at the McMurtry Auditorium in Duncan Hall (Department of Computer Science), Rice University, Houston, Texas.
Curran Lecturer:
	Dr. Charles Aubeny Dr. Aubeny is a professor of civil engineering at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He specializes in geotechnical engineering and has 25 years of experience in foundations and anchors for offshore energy structures, both traditional oil-gas facilities and, since 2011 with fixed and floating structures for renewable energy. His research and publication record has a large focus on the performance of all types of anchors for floating energy structures, including piles, suction caissons, and drag embedded plate anchors. His research sponsors have included the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, Minerals Management Service, BP America, Shell Global Solutions, Delmar, and ABS Consulting. He is a recipient of the ASCE Middlebrooks Award is a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Guest Lecturer:
	Dr. Philippe Jeanjean Dr. Jeanjean is a Senior Advisor with bp in Houston, TX, USA. He has 31 years of industry experience in offshore geotechnics. He is a member and past chair of the ISSMGE TC 209 committee on offshore geotechnics and chairs the API RG7 committee on geotechnical and offshore foundations. He co-chaired the 4th International Symposium on Frontiers in Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics in Austin, Texas. Dr. Jeanjean has published more than 60 articles in scientific conferences and journals. He has been a guest speaker or keynote speaker at numerous conferences and delivered the CFMS 2019 Coulomb lecture and the Texas A&M 2021 Buchanan lecture. In 2015, the United States Board on Geographic Names agreed to name an underwater site in the Gulf of Mexico, Dr. Jeanjean Basin, to honor Philippe and his substantial contribution to the advancement of geotechnical and geological knowledge of the seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico.

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Organizing Committee: SUT-US Young Professionals Task Force & OSIG Committee