Leonard Frank Cooling

Leonard Frank Cooling (23 December 1903 – 15 February 1977) was an English physicist and engineer widely regarded as the "Founder of British Soil Mechanics".

Cooling published widely on soil mechanics and related subjects, and was one of the five founders of the soil mechanics and geotechnical journal, Géotechnique, along with Rudolph Glossop, Alec Skempton, Hugh Golder, and Bill Ward. He served on the publication's advisory panel from its first meeting in 1949 until 1969, and was chairman from 1966 to 1969.

Life and career

Education and early work Cooling was born in Solihull on 23 December 1903. A promising student, he attended Yardley Secondary School before winning a scholarship to the University of Birmingham, where he graduated with a first-class honours degree in physics in 1925. In 1926, he obtained an MSc for research into the thermo-magnetic properties of nickel-iron and meteorites. His work led to some involvement with soil physics at Rothamsted Experimental Station, and in 1933, under the directorship of Dr Reginald Stradling, Cooling was appointed head of the newly formed Soil Physics Section at BRS.

In 1937, Alec Skempton commenced what would become a lifetime of work in soil mechanics under Cooling at the BRS, after abandoning his studies on reinforced concrete. Skempton and Cooling published research on London Clay and in August of the same year, the failure of the Chingford Dam resulted in the first UK visit by Karl Terzaghi, who redesigned the dam in co-operation with Skempton, Cooling, and the BRS soil mechanics team after Skempton had successfully identified the rapid rate of filling of the dam by the contractor, Mowlem, as the cause of the failure.

International recognition In 1936, Cooling was the sole UK delegate at the 1st International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering in Harvard, presenting three papers. By the second conference in 1948, his efforts had catalysed a major expansion, with 74 British delegates and 57 papers presented. Cooling served as chair of the British Geotechnical Society (BGS) from 1955 to 1959, edited Géotechnique, and delivered the second Rankine Lecture in 1962.

Key investigations and contributions Cooling's investigations and notable work included:

Chingford Dam failure (1937), which coincided with Karl Terzaghi's visit to Britain. Development of the first field and laboratory methods for soil sampling and testing in Britain. He was instrumental in early embankment and foundation studies in London Clay and Essex sea defence failures after the North Sea flood of 1953.

Legacy and personal life Cooling lived in Oxhey with his wife and daughter, and retired in 1968. He remained active in geotechnics until his death on 15 February 1977 at the Peace Memorial Hospital in Watford. The British Geotechnical Society established the Cooling Prize in 1970 to honour his commitment to young professionals, awarded annually for the best paper by a young engineer.