The first 2016 issue of IGS News from the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) has been released. The issue includes some prominent support of the Society’s first major regional conference of the year—GeoAmericas 2016—and reminds members of the forthcoming mid-term elections for the IGS Council (2016 – 2020).
The IGS has worked hard over the years to promote more equal representation on its council of both world regions and industry and academia. It’s a difficult balance to strike for any professional association, but the IGS has been rather successful.
The current make up of the Council by region:
36% Europe
29% Asia
28% Americas
7% Africa
Industry representation is 57% and academia is 43%.
The issue includes biographies of members who are running for the open positions, news of who is retiring from the Council and who has elected not to run, and other election information.
IGS NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Reports from the IGS Technical Committees also stand out in the issue.
The Technical Committee on Barriers (TC-B) continues its strong outreach program. The group has organized sessions for GeoAmericas 2016, EuroGeo 6, and GeoAsia 6 this year for the IGS. Also, the TC-B has developed a special session for ASCE’s GeoCongress in Chicago (14 – 18 August 2016). The committee’s activities have become so involved that it has now established two subcommittees: one for mining applications, one for coal ash.
The newly formed Technical Committee on Hydraulics has identified three key areas to focus on: Drainage, Erosion Control, and Coastal Applications. These areas will be addressed in special invited lecture sessions at GeoAmericas 2016, EuroGeo 6, and GeoAsia 6, respectively.
In conference news, the IGS News includes updates on those three regional conferences plus announcements on forthcoming conferences that have been granted the IGS Auspices designation:
- 3rd International Conference on Transportation Geotechnics (3rd ICTG 2016), Guimarães, Portugal, 4 – 7 September 2016
- Geotechnical Frontiers 2017, Orlando, Florida, USA, 12 – 15 March 2017
Finally, major highlights include news on:
- The passing of IGS founding member and former ISSMGE President Prof. Masami Fukuoka
- Kerry Rowe’s election to the US-based National Academy of Engineering
- Australia IGS Chapter election news
- Conference reviews from GEOS PERU 2015 (May), International Seminar on Natural Disaster Mitigation with Geosynthetics and other Advanced Methods (September 2015), 15th Asian Regional Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (November 2015), the 24th Geotechnical Conference of Torino (February 2016)
- And more
DOWNLOAD IGS NEWS, V32, ISSUE1 (PDF)
Learn more about the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) activities, membership, and resources at www.geosyntheticssociety.org.
