Samuel P. Clemence
Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence

Office: 257 Link Hall
Phone: (315) 443-2554
Email: spclemen@syr.edu
Personal Website: http://www.ecs.syr.edu/faculty/clemence/index.htm


Dr. Clemence joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 1977 as an associate professor. His previous academic service was at the University of Missouri-Rolla from 1973-1977. Prior to entering academics, he was employed by several consulting engineering firms and served six years as a Naval Officer in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps. He supervised engineering and construction projects in Vietnam, Thailand, the South Pacific, Spain, and the United States.

Professor Clemence is a fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers, a member of Chi Epsilon and Sigma Xi, and was elected to Tau Beta Pi as an Eminent Engineer in 1977. He has received Outstanding Teacher Awards at the University of Missouri-Rolla (1974-75, 1976-77) and at Syracuse University (1988-89). The Division of Higher Education and Ministry of the Methodist Church selected him as the 1990 Scholar/Teacher of the Year at Syracuse University. Dr. Clemence received the 1998 "Outstanding Educator Award" from the St. Lawrence Section of the American Society for Engineering Education. He served as senior associate dean of the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science from 1991-1996. He is the editor of three books and author or co-author of over sixty technical publications. Dr. Clemence received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1973.

Professor Clemence's area of specialization is Geotechnical Engineering/Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering. He has taught undergraduate courses in basic soil properties, foundation design, and soil testing. He has developed and taught graduate courses in advanced soil testing, soil stabilization, rock mechanics, and advanced foundation design. Professor Clemence participated in a Mellon Foundation Grant for Integration of Liberal and Professional Education through the Honors Program, 1984-87. As a result, he has developed a general engineering course entitled, "Technology: Past and Present," which focuses on the history and heritage of technology and its impact on society. He has developed a Pre-college Program in Engineering for high school students through the Syracuse University Division of Summer Sessions. He is also an active participant and commission member of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Dr Clemence has also developed and presented multi-media lectures on “The History of Engineering” and the “ The Erie Canal: Engineering and History”. He has recently developed an interdisciplinary course entitled “Leonardo da Vinci: Artist and Engineer” the course is jointly taught with a Fine Arts professor and includes a spring break trip to Italy and France. The course has received $20,000 funding from the Dean of Engineering and Computer Science and Dean of Arts and Sciences to provide support for students with financial need enabling to enroll in the course and take the trip.

Dr. Clemence's research specialization is in the design and field application of soil anchors, basic properties of soils, and properties of collapsible soils.

Research Interests
Dr. Clemence's research specialization is in the design and field application of soil anchors, basic properties of soils, and properties of collapsible soils.

Research Projects:
• The Uplift and Bearing Capacity of Helix Anchors in Soil, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation.
• Field and Laboratory Investigation of the Permeability of Slurry Walls, New York State Electric and Gas Corporation.
• Evaluation of Collapse Mechanisms for Metastable Soils from South Korea, Korean Science Foundation and the U.S. National Science Foundation.
• Assessment of Expert System Approach to the Seismic Evaluation of Nuclear Plant Equipment, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation.
• Transport and Fate of Organic Contaminants through Soil/Rock Systems, National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences.
• Engineering Education Scholars Workshop, National Science Foundation
• K-12/Onondaga County Schools Partnership for Science, Engineering and Technology, National Science Foundation
• K-12/Onondaga County Schools Partnership for Science, Engineering and Technology, National Science Foundation.

The major goals of the Syracuse University/Onondaga County Schools Partnership for Improvement of Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology (SMET) Education project are to: establish a mutually beneficial parallel educational partnership between school districts; leverage Syracuse University research- and practice-generated expertise in SMET pedagogy, educational technology integration, and assessment through graduate teaching fellows' daily participation in the school system; develop innovative, process-oriented, standards-based, hands-on SMET curriculum units and resources that use local environmental issues to connect teaching basic SMET concepts in K-12 biology, chemistry, earth sciences, physics and technology; enhance GK-12 teachers' content knowledge through dissemination of new SMET teaching resources through print materials and the Web, and through professional development workshops for science teachers; establish content-rich, inquiry-based benchmark programs in K-12 schools through mutually beneficial collaborations between SMET graduate students and science teachers as a forerunner for a permanent collaboration model and replicable national model.

Teaching Interests
Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence, Geotechnical Engineering, Soils and Foundation Design, History of Civil Engineering

Recent Publications
Seider, G.L., Thorston, R., and Clemence, S.P. “Helical Piles with Grouted Shafts – Practical Overview”, Deep Foundations Institute, Proceedings, Annual Conference, October 2003, pp. 219-232.

“Performance of Helical Piles with Grouted Shafts,” Technological and Design Developments in Deep Foundation, Geotechnical Special Publication 100, ASCE, 2000.

“Pullout Performance of Inclined Helical Screw Anchors in Sand,” Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, 1998.

Use of In Situ Tests in Geotechnical Engineering, Editor, ASCE, 1986.

Uplift Behavior of Anchor Foundations in Soil, Editor, ASCE, 1985.


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