GeoAmericas 2020, the 4th Pan-American Regional Conference on Geosynthetics, has nearly arrived! From 26 – 31 October 2020, an international community of hundreds geotechnical engineers will gather ONLINE for technical sessions, lectures, and short courses.
GEOAMERICAS 2020 PROGRAM
It is a large program, as promised. The wide range of topics address major sectors (e.g., transportation engineering, mining) and geosynthetic materials (e.g., long-term performance, filtration properties). The presence of so many networking breaks also gives attendees a unique opportunity to round out their learning.
MORE GEO: Big Topics & Big Names in GeoAmericas 2020 ONLINE Lectures
IGS Young Members Are Very Involved
The IGS Young Members Committee has worked hard to ensure that young engineers and those in training are well incorporated in the learning. This has been a multi-year effort and with the GeoAmericas 2020 Young Members program, that work is clearly validated. Highlights:
- October 26 – IGS Student Award. Nominated individuals from five different chapters from North and South America will present their high-level technical papers and the IGS will recognize their academic achievements.
- October 27 – Young Members Session. Projects, technical papers, and research will be shared.
- October 29 – Career Talk with Nathalie Touze, IGS Vice President and Deputy Director at INRAE and Flávio T. Montez, CEO of Huesker North America.
- Daily – Young Member Quiz. Delegates will test their knowledge on the conference in a daily quiz with prizes at stake … including a first prize of a registration at the 12th International Conference in Geosynthetics (12 ICG) in Rome in 2022!
GeoAmericas Quick Look
Day 1 (October 26) includes the opening keynote, the IGS student paper awards session, three technical sessions, a discussion session on MSE walls (which has been a hot topic at recent events), a training lecture on reinforced embankments on soft soils, and Dr. Richard Brachman’s delivery of the inaugural Zornberg Lecture.
Day 2 brings Kerry Rowe’s fantastic Mercer Lecture, another special session for young engineers, 5 technical sessions, more training lectures and discussion, and a keynote address from one of the most dynamic figures in mining’s use of geosynthetics, Denys Parra.
ON IGS WEBSITE: IGS Brasil President Talks GeoAmericas 2020
Day 3 opens with a keynote from another of the giants of the field: Dov Leshchinsky, who will add more to the MSE wall design debate. More rounds of technical sessions, discussions, and training lectures follow. As with the other days, networking is built in.
Day 4 flips the script on the traditional conference. Most events open with a pre-conference day of short courses. GeoAmericas 2020 has nested its short courses on this fourth day of learning. The offerings focus on geosynthetics in transportation engineering, hydraulic engineering, barrier systems, embankment design, and installation. All of the short courses are half-day course except for Jorge Zornberg and Erol Tutumluer’s full-day course on Geosynthetic Design of Roadways, Railways, and Airfields.
Day 5 includes Jie Han’s keynote on Geosynthetics Reinforced Paved and Unpaved Roads, followed by technical committee meetings and more technical, discussion, and training lecture sessions.
The conference concludes on Day 6 (October 31), with Barry Christopher sharing lesson learned across four decades in geosynthetics engineering. Additional sessions take place prior to a closing ceremony.
GET INVOLVED
Geosynthetica strongly encourages readers to check out the GeoAmericas 2020 Online agenda. Plan your involvement and REGISTER TODAY.
