Dr. Evert Hoek, considered one of the founding fathers of rock mechanics and rock engineering, passed away at his home in Vancouver on July 6, 2024, aged 90.
At U of T, Hoek was a Tenured Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering from July 1, 1987 to June 30, 1993. During this time he was Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Industrial Research Chair (IRC). While at U of T he published some of his most influential research, such as the book “Practical rock mechanics” from his course notes, and the GSI rock mass classification system. He co-authored a book with fellow rock mechanics specialist E.T. Brown of Australia, on the failure criterion of rock, in 1980.
His degrees include a PhD from the University of Cape Town, a D.Sc (Engineering) from the University of London, and honorary doctorates from the University of Waterloo and University of Toronto, and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Spain. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (U.K.), an International Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE).
CivMin Professor Murray Grabinsky, who was a PhD student in the department during the period 1986-1992, recalls, "Evert's graduate lectures were a brilliant complement of his academic accomplishments and professional practice innovations, delivered in an engaging and inspirational style."
Fellow faculty member, Prof. John Curran wrote on June 17, 2004, recommending Hoek for an honorary doctorate from the University of Toronto:
Evert is an eloquent speaker with outstanding teaching skills, assets he has used to serve his profession as well. He has travelled around the world, giving lectures to academics and practicing engineers, and continues to generously give his time, answering enquiries from individuals at all stages of their careers. Some people are great teachers, some are talented engineers while others are exceptional researchers, but only a precious few excel at all three as Evert has.
Born in 1933 in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, Hoek attended Cape Town University (South Africa) for his mechanical engineering undergraduate degree, followed by a master's and then PhD, finishing the latter in 1965. After a period in industry, he joined the South African Council for Scientific Research where he worked on rock stress problems related to deep-level gold mining and on brittle rock fracture, culminating in his PhD.
He has then invited by the University of London (U.K.) to create and inter-departmental centre for teaching and research in rock mechanics at the Royal School of Mines in the Imperial College of Science and Technology. In 1970 he was appointed London University Professor or Rock Mechanics. In 1975 he was awarded a higher doctorate by London University on the basis of his published work in rock mechanics. In the same year he gained the AIME Rock Mechanics Award for his contributions to applied rock mechanics.
His special interest in the practical engineering applications of rock mechanics, and his wide experience in geotechnical consulting, led to his decision to leave Imperial College to establish Golder, Hoek and Associates as a British-based member company of Golder Associates Limited, an international group of consulting geotechnical engineers. In 1975 he moved to the Vancouver office of Golder Associates as a Principal Partner and Director; from 1983 to 1987 he served as Senior Principal and Chairman of the Board.
In 1993, after six years in academia at U of T, Hoek once more returned to the private sector, opting for a private consulting practice based in Vancouver. Thereafter, for the next 25 years until his retirement in 2018, he worked as an independent consultant on review and consulting boards on civil and mining engineering projects around the world.
~CivMin
Other tributes and mentions:
Rocscience: Hoek's Corner https://www.rocscience.com/learning/hoeks-corner
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Evert-Hoek
https://tunnelingonline.com/in-memoriam-evert-hoek/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-giant-rock-mechanics-engineering-ru4bf
https://about.ita-aites.org/news/1663/lifetime-achievement-award-dr-evert-hoek