Across a more than 30-year career and more than 3,000 projects, Guoming Lin has established himself as the go-to geotechnical engineer in and around his Savannah, Georgia home base, so much so that he’s known affectionately as “Dr. Dirt.” 

Lin, vice president and senior consultant at Terracon, has been named ENR Southeast’s 2025 Legacy Award winner for the decades of impact on the industry and his efforts to build the next generation of engineers. 

“Through unwavering dedication, he has risen to prominence as a pioneering figure in geotechnical engineering consulting,” says M. Gayle Packer, Terracon president and CEO. “Considered the go-to expert for projects spanning the Southeast U.S., Guoming is affectionately known by clients as ‘Dr. Dirt.’”

Moving to Savannah in the early 1990s to start consulting as an on-call geotechnical consultant for all major ports projects with Georgia Ports, he regularly works on projects for energy, manufacturing, sports facilities, hospitality, public works, airports, federal installations and more. 

Much of his marquee work has been completed at the Georgia Ports Authority in Savannah, the fourth-largest and fastest-growing port in the country, where terminals are located in low-lying marshy areas underlain by soft marine deposits. In the last 30-plus years, Lin has supported all major projects there, managing and supervising geotechnical explorations on hundreds of projects. He’s consulted on every berth for new construction as well as upgrades or improvements, and led a team of geotechnical engineers that has performed many pile load test programs, slope stability for dredging and devised various ground improvement technologies. 

Other big projects include the Kinder Morgan Elba Island LNG Terminal, where he’s worked on multiple projects since its 2001 recommissioning, including as the geotechnical engineer for the last three phases of the terminal expansion. He’s also been instrumental in providing geotechnical and materials testing for the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, the auto giant’s $10-billion campus near Savannah. 

Lin has served as principal engineer for five award-winning projects, including the 2006 Grand Award from the American Consulting Engineering Companies of Georgia for his geotechnical study for the Elba Island LNG Terminal expansion. 

As productive as he is, Lin consistently dedicates his time to support his colleagues at every level, and has published more than 20 papers in professional journals and proceedings. He’s an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Deep Foundation Institute. Outside of his engineering roles, he is active in the community, including fundraising for Habitat for Humanity, United Way and Ronald McDonald House charities. 

Learn more about Lin, and his legacy, in the April 14 edition of ENR Texas & Southeast.