Geotechnical and Earth Resources Engineering

Code
Course
Number of Credits
Description/Course Objective
CE71.12 Rock Mechanics
3
Rock mechanics is a principal subject in geological and geotechnical engineering. It plays a vital role in the exploration and production of oil and other natural resources; mining, construction of civil infrastructures, transportation routes, and water resource facilities, hydropower projects; and in the prevention and mitigation of natural hazards particularly landslides. Knowledge on rock mechanics is essential for infrastructure development projects of all countries where there are existence of mountainous terrains.
CE71.13 Advanced Soil Mechanics and Testings
3
The soil-engineering field of study involves three categories. The first one deals with the fundamental and advanced principles of the mechanics of soil behavior both under laboratory and field conditions. The second, deals with applied topics such as foundations and earth structures, excavations and soil improvement, etc . This course deals with the fundamental and advanced principles of soil behavior as a prerequisite for applied courses related to the design of foundations, earth structures, excavations and soil improvement, etc. This course also provides fundamentals and advanced laboratory and field testing of soils
CE71.24 Geoenvironmental Engineering
3
Geotechnical engineers are increasingly challenged to solve environmental problems related to the reduction of construction waste, waste disposal facilities and cleanup of contaminated sites. This effort has given rise to a new discipline of specialists in the field of geoenvironmental engineering. To be effective, geoenvironmental engineers must be armed not only with the traditional knowledge of geotechnical engineering, but also with the knowledge of principles of environmental engineering. This course provides basic principles and phenomena in geoenvironmental engineering, and some application of landfill design.
CE71.31 Engineering Geology
3
To provide a balanced and comprehensive understanding of the methods and approaches that is useful in dealing with the great variety of geologic conditions encountered in engineering works.
CE71.41 Analytical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering
3
Geotechnical engineers are increasingly challenged to solve geotechnical problems using analytical solutions, numerical methods, and experimental methods. This course provides sound fundamental knowledge of solid mechanics and geomechanics, and introduces effective analytical solutions for practical problems.
CE71.42 Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engineering
3
Numerical methods have been widely used for analysis and design in Geotechnical Engineering. This lecture provides the theoretical framework of finite element method through computation, derivation, computer programming of basic problems, and the application of the method to practical geotechnical engineering problems.
CE71.51 Foundation Engineering and Design
3
Foundation Engineering is an important component of education and training of Civil Engineers. All superstructures are to be supported on well-designed foundations for their safety and subsequent performance. The course imparts the principles of foundation analysis and design. It also includes judgement in foundation engineering practice and forensic geotechnical engineering. 
CE71.53 Underground Excavation and Tunneling
3
Rapid urbanization and the development of infrastructures in the Asian region, coupled with the increase in people's environmental awareness have given a great impetus to the demand for underground space utilization and tunneling activities in the region, in line with the global trend in sustainable development of infrastructures.
CE71.55 Geosynthetic Engineering and Design
2
The term geosynthetics come from geo which refers to earth and synthetic which means man-made products. The materials used in the manufacture of geosynthetics are almost entirely from polymers, although fiberglass, rubber and natural materials are also used. Currently, geosynthetic materials have emerged as widely used engineered materials in civil engineering community. These products are cost-effective, widely available and actively marketed. It is, therefore, imperative to study its fundamental properties and their measurements in laboratory tests as well as their design and applications in civil engineering infrastructures.
CE71.56 Ground Improvement Techniques
3
As more engineering structures are built, it becomes increasingly difficult to find a site with suitable soil properties. The properties at many sites must be improved by the use of some form of soil improvement methods, such as: static or dynamic compaction, reinforcement, drainage or by the use of admixtures. Thus, it is important for the soil engineers to know the different soil improvement methods; the degree to which soil properties may be improved; and the costs and benefits involved. In this way, the soil engineer can gain knowledge in order to design ground improvement projects as well as to advise the client regarding value engineering to save cost and obtain maximum benefits for the specific project. This course deals with the latest state-of the-art techniques of soil improvement including geosynthetics.
CE71.57 Risk and Reliability Analysis of Geotechnical Infrastructures
3
Risk analysis and reliability-based design in geotechnical infrastructure plays a vital role in the safe and economical construction of infrastructural facilities. This course synthesizes the background knowledge on probabilistic techniques, risk analysis and reliability as well as emphasizes application to actual design of slopes, embankments, dams, foundations, tunnels and excavations considering uncertainty in design parameters and models. Risk-based decision making and life cycle cost analysis are also included as important components of this course. Field and laboratory test data are interpreted considering the associated risks to help the selection of design parameters, which strongly influence geotechnical design. In this course, the students solve real world problems in geotechnical infrastructure projects.
CE71.61 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering
3
Geotechnical engineers are increasingly challenged to solve the geotechnical problems under dynamic and seismic loading conditions. This course provides fundamental knowledge of soil dynamics, and practical application of soil dynamics and geotechnical earthquake engineering.
CE71.63 Workflow in Oil and Gas Operations
3
This course aims to give a better understanding of the practical side of the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) operations to the students. The course will be a combination of lectures, seminars and field visits to oil and gas companies in the SE Asian countries in order to witness the actual operations. The lectures will consist of different sessions, each of which will take between 2 to 4 weeks, covering petroleum geology and geophysics (G&G), petrophysics, drilling, reservoir management and production technology. The teaching of the course is largely carried out by the invited industrial experts from major companies.
CE71.65 Exploration Geophysics
3
To provide a comprehensive and advanced knowledge on geophysical exploration techniques, their applications and limitations in solving various geological, hydrogeological, geotechnical, and environmental problems, with an emphasis on mineral and hydrocarbon exploration.
CE71.66 Petroleum Reservoir Engineering 
3
This course provides fundamental knowledge of properties and behaviors of petroleum reservoir and hydrocarbons in the reservoir.
CE71.68 Well Logging Interpretation
2
The course provides both basic and advanced knowledge on well logging and formation evaluation, including Quicklook Log, Full and Advanced Interpretation. The course also deals with new types of logging such as FMI and NMR as well as the special types of formation such fractured basement. The course is designed in such a way that the staffs from oil and gas company, who need to update the knowledge on well logging and formation evaluation techniques to work in a subsurface team, can attend it as traing course in relatively short period.
CE71.69 Fundamentals of Geosystem Exploration
3
To provide a fundamental understanding on geological and geophysical techniques to explore a geosystem or a part of its that need to be sustainably exploited or developed for economic and industrial growth of society, especially those are potential of mineral, groundwater and petroleum resources. The course is particularly useful for engineers who would like to further specilize in hydrocarbon exploration and production.
CE71.70 Petrophysics
3
Petrophysics is one of the key courses for integrated and advanced studies in geophysical and reservoir engineering. The course is designed for geoscientists and reservoir engineers in demand throughout the petroleum industry, especially for those who work in an integrated asset teams. The aim of the course is to provide with the tools and techniques to fully characterize a geosystem in term of physical properties, in particular for a petroleum reservoir.
CE71.71 Drilling & Well Completion Operation
3
With the increasing demand and consumption for both oil and natural gas, most of all oil & gas companies accelerate their exploration and production activities in an effort to maintain the production output. Drilling has been one of the forefront core operations. The main objective of this course is to outline the core subjects in drilling and well completion operations to help understand better the well design, risk assessment, cost involved and environmental impact. Some local case studies and experiences with advanced drilling technology will be presented. An important part of the course is on petroleum-related rock mechanics to provide the students with a needed background regarding drilling stability and conduction of acoustic logging.
CE71.72 Petroleum Production Engineering
3
This course provides knowledge of petroleum production system with the main focus on subsurface production (from the reservoir up to the wellhead).
CE71.9001 Selected Topic: Decision Analysis and Risk Management for O&G Industry 
3
This is a customized course for the PME-GEPG program in HCM City. The international oil and gas industry is one of the most important, highly capital-intensive and risky industries at global, regional, and local levels. Therefore, it is very crucial to carry out prudent economic evaluations of any capital investment’s commitment before resources are committed. This requires a through understanding of the techniques available and their application by all those involved in decision-making. Furthermore, Joint venture is now becoming the primary form of business organization in the oil and gas industry. Professionals need to know the risks involved in such business organizations, how to properly manage the risks.
CE71.9004 Selected Topic: Petroleum Geochemistry
3
Petroleum geochemistry evolved rapidly in the period 1970-2000 and is now a mature discipline widely used in many aspects of petroleum exploration. If one thinks of the petroleum system, petroleum geochemistry plays a role in characterizing the source rocks, evaluating thermal history of the source rocks and whether they have matured enough to generate oil or gas, monitoring migration pathways and playing a significant role in reservoir characterization.
CE71.9005 Selected Topic: Practical Soil Engineering
3
The soil-engineering field of study involves three categories. The first category deals with the principles and mechanics of soil behavior both under laboratory and field conditions. The second deals with applied topics such as foundations and earth structures, while the third category is more advanced in nature and research oriented. This course on "Mechanics of Soils", which belongs to the first category, deals with the fundamental principles of soil behavior as a prerequisite for courses related to the design of foundations and earth structures.
CE71.9007 Selected Topic: Instrumentation and Advanced Soil Testing
3
The objective of this course is to acquaint students with geotechnical instrumentation and advanced geotechnical testing equipment and test procedures. Current geotechnical investigation practice in Asia has primarily focused on conventional soil testing which may not be adequate and appropriate for designing sophisticated geotechnical structures. State-of-the-art geotechnical testing equipment, in both field and laboratory, are available in the market, but adaptation of these equipment by the practitioners is rather slow, probably due to the lack of awareness, unfamiliarity with the new equipment etc.  These new testing equipment are designed to improve sampling quality and to determine other essential soil properties which are required in designing special geotechnical structures. These equipment can yield more reliable test data for engineering applications and soil modeling, they can also improve the understanding of soil behaviour, such as soil anisotropy etc. Geotechnical instrumentation is widely used in urban construction works as well as other geotechnical works such as dams, highways and ports etc., for monitoring the performance of the geotechnical structures during construction and operation as well as for safety assurance and in the observation method. Therefore, geotechnical engineers should be familiar with these instruments and their applications.
CE71.9008 Selected Topic: Forensic Geotechnical Engineering for Problematic Soils 
2
Forensic engineering is broadly defined as the field that applies engineering principles and practices to determine and interpret the causes of damaged or failed structures.  Forensic engineering is different from regular design, because forensic investigation often involves observation, experiment, and rigorous analyses to determine the causes of the damage or failures.  By developing the knowledge of forensic engineering techniques, students will be able to investigate distress of structures and understand the importance of high-quality design and construction of structures.
CE71.9009 Selected Topic: Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Engineering
2
Engineering practice is still heavily ingrained in saturated soil mechanics. However, unsaturated soil behavior is an integral part of geotechnical engineering practice.  The primary objective of this course is to provide sufficient technical training to students on the theory of unsaturated soil behavior to prepare them in their engineering practice.  
CE71.9012 Selected Topic: Geotechnical Investigation and Exploration
3
In planning, designing, construction, and maintenance/management stages, characteristics of the ground condition is one of the most important geotechnical issues. There are many techniques to investigate/explore the soil stratigraphy and depth profile of soil parameters to meet the required quality and quantity in engineering sense. This course provides the students and practical engineers with the updated and advanced techniques of in-situ geotechnical investigation of soft clay ground. In addition, shallow exploration geophysics as a powerful tool to add the soil investigation will be taught to equip the student with the latest development in geoexploration technology.
CE71.9013 Selected Topic: Risk Management for Infrastructure Development and Planning
3
The concepts of the risk and uncertainly are familiar to geotechnical engineers. Since predictions are not perfect there is always the possibility of failure or unsatisfactory performance. The fisrt part of the course introduces the bases of the risk and the risk assessment using R language. The other part of the course, Infrastructure asset management, provides a farmework for handling both short and long - range planning by combining engineering principles with sound business practices and econimic theory. Therefore, it is inevitable for engineers who are involed in infrastructure asset management to obtain knowledge associated with socio-economic theory.
CE71.9014 Selected Topic: Urban Railway and GeoEngineering and Management 
3
The purpose of this module is to provide a special understanding on railway geoengineering and management focusing on MRT. Railway engineering and management consists of planning, construction, maintenance and general management on railway. In each field, the latest technologies and results of the research studies will be shown.
CE71.9015 Selected Topic: Geotechnical Engineering for Coastal Area 
3
Many countries in SE Asia have long coastline and large coastal areas, where both industrial and urban  centers are concentrted.  This practical-oriented  course is customized for geotechnical professionals, who would like to get familiar with and specialize more in coastal geotechnical engineering.
CE71.9016 Selected Topic: The Economics of Oil and Gas Projects 
3
Introduce students to the concepts of economics of oil and natural gas development, production and trading, particularly in the upstream oil and gas industries.