Dr. Christopher C. Mathewson, P.E., P.G. has been recognized as one of America's Most Influential in Engineering Geology by the International Association of Who's Who

    COLLEGE STATION, TX, November 20, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Dr. Christopher Mathewson has enjoyed an extensive and prolific career in the field of education for more than 40-years at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Dr. Mathewson began his education at the Case Institute of Technology, where he studied for a BS degree in Civil Engineering and graduated in 1963. From there, he progressed to the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he pursued a Master of Science degree in Geological Engineering, which he received in 1965. Following graduation, he was commissioned in the National Ocean Survey officer corps and served from 1966 through 1970. Upon his resignation as a Lieutenant, he returned to the University of Arizona to complete his doctorate, earning a Ph.D. in Geological Engineering in 1971. Upon graduation with his doctorate in Geological Engineering he joined the faculty in the Department of Geology at Texas A&M University in September 1971, where he specialized in Engineering Geology.

His educational career has spanned more than four decades, during which time he has held a number of prestigious posts. He was promoted to Professor of Geology in 1981 and elevated to Regents Professor in 2005 by action of the Texas A&M Board of Regents. Dr. Mathewson received the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching (1986) awarded by the Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University. In 2006 he was presented with the Robert C. Runnels Excellence in Advising Award by the College of Geosciences at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Mathewson retired after 40-years of direct teaching and advising students in May of 2011, when he was designated as Regents Professor Emeritus at Texas A&M University by the Board of Regents. In addition to his career as a classroom instructor for both undergraduate and graduate geology and civil engineering students he also was engaged by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service as a Senior Training Specialist where he taught professional development and training programs to licensed geologists and engineers, certified environmental professionals, and numerous Texas State agencies responsible for environmental protection. His graduate teaching and research program has resulted in the granting of over 100 graduate degrees in geology.

In addition to Dr. Mathewson's teaching career, he has been involved in numerous research and development projects related to applied geology and the protection of the Health, Safety and Well-being of the public. His research has included the investigation of expansive soils and home foundations (the most costly of homeowner hazards), coastal shoreline erosion and the impact of upstream dam construction, hurricane and storm impacts on the coastal zone, urban flooding and the impact of urban development, scour of highway bridge piers caused by flood flows in rivers, and the impact of the stability of slopes in the permafrost region of the Canadian Arctic on petroleum pipelines in the region. His research studies of the impact of surface coal mining in Texas on the groundwater environment and the protection of the groundwater resources in the mining area enhanced the environmental protection activities carried out by the mining industry. The results of Dr. Mathewson's research activities have been published in numerous professional journals. His research work was recognized when he received the award for the Outstanding Technical Paper during the 1988 National Symposium on Mining, Hydrology, Sedimentology and Reclamation, held in Reno, NV, in December 1988.

He is the also author of a textbook, Engineering Geology, which was published in 1981, the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists awarded the Claire P. Holdredge Award.

Dr. Mathewson is a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas and Arizona and a licensed Professional Geologist in Texas, Oregon and Alaska. He has worked as a professional geologist or professional engineer in multiple professional consulting activities. He has served as an expert witness in numerous litigation and public service matters related to the environment and public protection. He has served as a subject matter expert on the Council of Examiners of the National Association of Boards of Geology developing the fundamentals of geology component of the national geologist licensure examination since 1992. He was awarded the Charles R. Sherman Award in 2011 during the Annual Meeting, National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG) in San Diego, California.

Dr. Mathewson has also been professionally active in numerous professional societies; having served as the Bulletin Editor and President of the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists; as President of the American Geosciences Institute; as Chairman of the U. S. National Committee of the International Association of Engineering Geologists. He has served on numerous organization committees related to education, meeting programs and field trips. The Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists has recognized Dr. Mathewson's contributions to the Association when they awarded him the Floyd T. Johnston Service Award in 1995; the Presidential Citation for Mentoring in 2006; and the Karl and Ruth Terzaghi Outstanding Mentor Award in 2008. The Texas Section of the Association awarded him the 2007 Pete Henley Mentor Award in July 2008.

He is also a Life Member and Fellow of the Society of American Military Engineers, a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and a Life Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. In 2012, Dr. Mathewson was appointed to the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists by the Governor of Texas, where he served until 2018.

One of the most prominent honors bestowed upon Dr. Mathewson was in 2011, when the AEG Texas Section Scholarship Fund introduced a scholarship named after him, which is awarded to outstanding students who demonstrate ability, potential, contribution, character and participation in environmental and engineering geology.

In addition, Dr. Mathewson was honored with the James Hutton Lifetime Service Award from the National Association of State Boards of Geology in recognition of service leading to the significant advancement of the profession of geology.

Dr. Christopher Colville Mathewson's book "Engineering Geology " is available for purchase in both hardcover and paperback on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Engineering-geology-Christopher-C-Mathewson/dp/0675080320

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