On November 22, 2024, two outstanding diploma theses written at the Research Unit of Ground Engineering, Soil and Rock Mechanics at the Institute of Geotechnics at TU Wien were awarded the prestigious FSV award at a ceremony at RIVERBOX in Vienna.

Dipl.-Ing. Georg Joachim Wagner, BSc, was honored for his work “Assessment of Railway Tracks by Inversion of Dispersion Curves, opens an external URL in a new window”. The work uses approaches from seismic subsurface exploration and applies these directly to the railway track using a special experimental apparatus for measuring dispersion curves. An inversion of the measured dispersion curves enables a layer-separated assessment of the condition of railroad lines. The methodology developed has the potential to make a significant contribution to the further development of condition assessment and thus to the quality control of railroad lines.

Another award went to Dipl.-Ing. Georg Friedrich, BSc, for his work “Numerical modeling of pile-soil interaction under load tests – comparison of measurements and numerical simulations, opens an external URL in a new window”. His research compares detailed measurement results of static pile test loads in Vienna with numerical simulations and provides valuable insights into the load-deformation behavior and the pile-soil interaction of individual piles. The work also forms the basis for the numerical investigation of energy piles.

The Road - Rail - Transport Research Association (FSV) is a central platform for transport experts to promote technical innovations in the transport sector. It develops and updates technical standards that are used in the construction, operation and maintenance of roads, bridges, tunnels and railroad lines. Together with the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK), the FSV Prize supports young professionals in the transportation sector. The aim is to motivate graduates to remain loyal to transportation science and to promote their professional development through a strong network.

A jury of university professors and high-ranking experts from the field of transportation recognized the two theses as outstanding contributions to progress in transportation. The awards underline the high quality of the research carried out at the Institute of Geotechnics at TU Wien.

The Institute of Geotechnics congratulates Dipl.-Ing. Georg Joachim Wagner, BSc, and Dipl.-Ing. Georg Friedrich, BSc, on this exceptional achievement!