Sarah Gustitus-Graham, PhD, (Florida) was awarded the Rising Star Award for her work in the field of solid waste engineering and the promise she shows at the 2023 Solid Waste Association of North America Florida Summer Conference and Hinkley Center Research Forum in Daytona Beach, Florida, last month. In addition, Samir Ahmed, PE, (Florida) presented “Rolling Impact Compaction for Ground Improvement in Florida” at the conference.

Sarah is an Engineer who focuses on solid waste management. She offers broad experience in landfill design, hydrologic and geotechnical investigations, bench-scale and modeling studies of liner and cover systems, landfill gas management, waste composition studies, and cost-benefit analysis.

Samir Ahmed is an Engineer who focuses on the design, permitting, construction, operation, and closure of containment systems for solid waste.

The geology of Florida consists of karst features, formed by the dissolution of limestone. Engineers are often confronted with challenges designing and constructing infrastructure within karst terrain areas due to the potential collapse of materials overlying subsurface voids. This presentation discusses the design of a facility in Florida and the approaches taken to investigate and mitigate potential impacts from karst features prior to construction. It provides an overview of rolling impact compaction and touches on the benefits and challenges associated with using rolling impact compaction to improve ground conditions for a facility in a karst terrain area.

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For consultation regarding solid waste services contact Sarah or Samir at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Learn more about Sara Gustitus-Graham: Sarah Gustitus-Graham| LinkedIn