His practice focuses on onshore and offshore projects for the upstream and midstream oil and gas and petrochemical industry. This requires the implementation of his combined knowledge and experience on soil and rock mechanics for geotechnical characterization and analyses, geotechnical earthquake engineering, engineering applications of geomorphology, and hazard, vulnerability, and risk mitigation.
Clients value Rodolfo's ability to identify and address geotechnical challenges related to site preparation and development in challenging environments throughout the world. He has conducted numerous geohazard evaluations for facilities and pipelines, site development feasibility studies, earthquake reconnaissance missions and post-earthquake assessment of the performance of earthen structures and foundations, and large-scale modeling projects. Geohazard related projects have included assessing the effects of ice scour on offshore pipelines in cold regions, seismically and wave induced liquefaction analysis, steep slopes and landslide management including hazard and asset monitoring systems, pipeline stream crossing flood hazard evaluation and mitigation, probabilistic seismic hazard analyses and hazard calculations for seismically-induced landslides, effects of sea level rise on existing facilities and its mitigation, etc. Rodolfo is the main author of the 2018 PRCI guidance document entitled "Guidelines for Management of Geohazards Affecting the Engineering and Construction of New Oil and Natural Gas Pipelines."
Rodolfo was honored with the 2013 Shamsher Prakash Prize for Excellence in the Practice of Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering. He is the author or co-author of more than 25 journal and conference publications that have found their way into standard practice, such as a study on the liquefaction susceptibility of fine-grained soils and measurement of energy transferred during the Standard Penetration Test.
