Carroll Oliver Brawner
May 2014 Honorary Degree Recipient
Doctor of Laws (honoris causa)
Carroll Oliver Brawner is known and respected worldwide for his contributions to open-pit mining and geotechnical engineering, and became an authority on the design, construction and maintenance of stable tailings dams. His advice was always grounded in a desire to protect the safety of people, property and the environment.
Mr. Brawner was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1929. He graduated in civil engineering from the University of Manitoba in 1953 and completed a Master of Science degree in soil mechanics from Nova Scotia Technical College (now part of ±«Óãtv) in 1958. He worked in British Columbia with the province’s Department of Highways, including involvement in major Trans-Canada Highway expansions in Rogers Pass, Kicking Horse and Fraser Canyons, before joining geotechnical consulting firm Golder Associates. Today, the company has over 8,000 employees in some 180 offices around the world, thanks in large part to Mr. Brawner’s early contributions.
In 1978, at the height of his engineering career, Mr. Brawner was appointed a Professor of Mining Engineering in the University of British Columbia’s Department of Mineral Engineering, where he inspired hundreds of engineering students during his tenure in academia. He has contributed to the global advancement of geotechnical engineering through dozens of published technical papers and numerous lectures delivered at more than 90 universities and institutes. He has edited ten major geotechnical texts published by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, served on numerous technical committees and chaired important industry conferences.
His contributions to his profession have been recognized by many awards from North American engineering and mining organizations. These include the Daniel C. Jackling Award of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration; the R.F. Legget Award of the Canadian Geotechnical Society; and others. In 2008, Mr. Brawner was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.