Professor Michele Maugeri
Professor Michele Maugeri (center), joined by IGS Past Presidents Jorge Zornberg (left) and Daniele Cazzuffi (right), September 2014, Berlin. Prof. Maugeri was recognized for his many years of contributions to the IGS during the IGS Awards ceremony and was greeted with a standing ovation.

On 1 November 2014, after a long battle with illness, Professor Michele Maugeri passed away. Prof. Maugeri was a long-time member of the Italian Chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). Despite his declining health, Prof. Maugeri continued working and even traveled to Berlin in late September to attend technical sessions at the 10th International Conference on Geosynthetics (10 ICG).
He was recognized during the IGS Awards in Germany for his dedication and service to the Italian Chapter of IGS and the IGS at large, and he was greeted with a standing ovation from an audience that was almost entirely unaware of his illness.
From 1992 onward, Prof. Maugeri delivered keynote and special lectures in international conferences and workshops of different disciplines, helping extend the IGS mission beyond the core industry.
In particular, he was a scientific “ambassador” of geosynthetics engineering at events organized by other learned societies. He often focused on engineering issues dear to Italy, and with which the Italian design community has maintained a strong and beneficial dialogue with the world: seismic geotechnics, mitigation of natural hazards, and geoenvironmental issues.
He served on the IGS Council for eight years (2002 – 2010) and worked to promote the appropriate use of geosynthetics in different fields throughout the world.
Prof. Maugeri was also very active in the preparation of national and international guidelines and standards that dealt with innovative, geosynthetic applications.
He died at his home in Sicily. Burial services were held on November 3 at the cathedral in his home town of Acireale.
We extend our thoughts and sympathies to his family and friends. Those wishing to send a personal message to Prof. Maugeri’s family may contact his son Alessandro, alemaugeri@alice.it, who many may recall from the 8th International Conference on Geosynthetics (September 2006, Yokohama), which Alessandro attended with his father.

– Dr. Ing Daniele Cazzuffi (AGI-IGS President and Former IGS President) and Chris Kelsey (Editor, Geosynthetica.net)

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