The Legacy of Karl von Terzaghi, Founder of Geotechnical Engineering, at ITU

The lecture notes, letters, photographs, and experimental apparatus of Prof. Dr. Karl von Terzaghi, the scientist who developed the consolidation theory to understand soil behavior and laid the foundations of modern geotechnical engineering at ITU, are on display at the ITU Faculty of Civil Engineering.

ITU Faculty of Civil Engineering is hosting an exhibition where visitors can explore the deep ties Karl von Terzaghi established with ITU.

Terzaghi served as a faculty member in Civil Engineering at ITU (then known as Mühendis Mekteb-i Âlîsi) between 1916 and 1918. The simple experimental setups he established at ITU during this period paved the way for the birth of the discipline of soil mechanics. Terzaghi laid the groundwork for the first textbook in the globally recognized field of soil mechanics, Erdbaumechanik, through his work in Istanbul. In 1949, ITU awarded Karl von Terzaghi an honorary doctorate in recognition of his scientific and technical contributions.

ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, who visited the exhibition, highlighted that in a letter written years later, Terzaghi referred to ITU as his “second home” and proudly stated that the findings he obtained there were later confirmed in the United States. Prof. Dr. Mandal invites participants to visit the exhibition and witness Terzaghi’s scientific legacy in Istanbul, embarking on a special journey into the past through original letters and laboratory notes.

At the exhibition held in the Geotechnical Seminar Room of the ITU Faculty of Civil Engineering, the following items related to Karl von Terzaghi are on display:

• A group photograph taken with department students and faculty members during his tenure at the Mühendis Mekteb-i Âlîsi (now ITU) between 1916 and 1918,
• His first lecture notes in the field of Foundation Engineering,
• Correspondence exchanged with Prof. Dr. Hamdi Peynircioğlu, the founder of the ITU Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory,
• The wooden desk he used during the years he was invited back to ITU to provide consultancy services for the construction of two major dams in Turkey: Seyhan and Sarıyar,
• The Honorary Doctorate Certificate presented to him by ITU in 1949,
• A permeability testing device (used to measure the ability of soils to transmit fluids such as water), designed by Terzaghi during his consultancy work on dam construction in 1949 and manufactured by Prof. Dr. Hamdi Peynircioğlu,
• Various photographs.

Additionally, the exhibition features the Shear Box device, the first experimental apparatus of the ITU Soil Mechanics Laboratory, along with several other historical components from the laboratory, all awaiting visitors.