Education
Ph.D., Geology, 1972, Rice University
M.S., Geology, 1968, Rice University
B.A., Geology, 1966, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Professional Geologist Registrations
American Institute of Professional Geologists CPG #9078
Florida #PG827
Georgia #PG274
Kentucky #1481
Missouri #RG-0612
Pennsylvania #PG-000442-G
Tennessee #TN2815

Dr. Beck has more than 25 years of experience in hydrogeology and engineering geology, including research and project management relating to groundwater, geotechnical evaluations, geophysics, and surficial processes and landforms. He is an internationally recognized specialist in karst hydrogeology and hazards assessment. Since 1992 he has directed PELA's office in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Prior to joining PELA, Dr. Beck served for nine years as the first, and only, Director of the Florida Sinkhole Research Institute at the University of Central Florida. As such he was responsible for the program development for this new research institute. Under Dr. Beck's direction the Institute developed a tripartite mission:

• Basic Data Collection: gathering the data necessary to understand how, where, and under what conditions sinkholes occur and to understand the processes of their development so this hazard can be avoided, prevented, or remediated.
• Research: working with geologists and engineers to develop methods of detection, prediction, and repair. A major thrust of this research was the application of geophysical techniques–for instance, ground penetrating radar–for gathering the data needed by engineers for sinkhole repair.
• Professional and Public Education: organizing a major, ongoing, international forum where professional engineers and geologists meet once every two years to share the latest developments in the applications of karst science to engineering problems. Dr. Beck continues to organize this series of Multidisciplinary Conferences on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst under the auspices of P.E. LaMoreaux & Associates, Inc. He edits the professional published proceedings volumes which have become the essential references on engineering in karst areas.

Since joining PELA, Dr. Beck has directed an ongoing multi-year, multi-state study of the groundwater contamination caused by highway stormwater runoff draining into sinkholes and how to eliminate or minimize it. He has conducted an assessment of the impacts of potential sinkhole damages to siting a 500-mile-long pipeline corridor through Florida. He has conducted a geophysical investigation of potential sinkhole damages at a power plant site in Florida, the results of which were used for a successful ground improvement program. He provided technical input for the successful design of a landfill cap over a sinkhole in Missouri. Dr. Beck has also aided the government of Kuwait in sinkhole repair and assisted in evaluating the impact of karst on the spread of groundwater contamination in Guam. He has organized and taught professional short-courses on Engineering Geology in Karst Terranes for State regulators and the U.S. EPA. He has appeared on the Discovery Channel twice as an expert on sinkholes, and he was the technical advisor on sinkholes for the Time-Life book on natural hazards. 

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Seventh Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and...Karst