OBITUARY: Geotechnical engineer Martiz Rykaart

It is with deep regret and profound sadness that SRK Consulting (Canada) shares news of the sudden passing of Dr. Martiz Rykaart at the end of May 2019. [caption id="attachment_1003730324" align="alignleft" width="193"] Martiz Rykaart[/caption] Maritz was a global specialist in geotechnical engineering for the mining industry and a practice leader with SRK. The firm extended its deepest sympathies to his family, friends, and colleagues. He will be sorely missed. Maritz was brought up in South Africa and obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the Rand Afrikaans University in 1991 and 1993 respectively. He moved to Canada in 1998 to pursue his doctoral studies in geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering from the University of Saskatchewan. Three years later, he accepted a job with SRK and in 2001 transferred to Vancouver, where he advanced quickly to become a principal consultant in 2006 and a practice leader in 2009. Maritz was also a leader in the field of cold regions engineering and provided nuanced insights on the application of climate change models in design. An early example is the precedent setting frozen core dam he designed as part of the Doris North tailings management system in Nunavut. Maritz was an unconditionally supportive colleague and a loving family man who was a wonderful husband and great father to his two daughters.