Notes from 9ICG, Day 1

Dr. J.P. Giroud speaks to a packed room.

Sunday, May 23, marked the opening day of the 9th International Conference on Geosynthetics (9ICG) here in Guaruja, São Paulo, Brazil. It was a huge success, based upon the great line up at the registration desk! A handful of great pre-conference short courses were offered during the day, including “Geosynthetics in Mining and Dams.”

A fair amount of business was conducted by the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) Council, which held a major election this year. The IGS Council met all day to wrap up the business being conducted by the exising council; the new council will meet at the conclusion of the conference.

The evening began with a lovely reception where friends from all corners of the globe met over some local exotic juices and finger sandwiches. At 6:00 pm, the more formal portion of the evening began. Jarbas Milititisky of Brazil hosted the opening lecture, which was presented by Dr. S. Sandroni. His 12-point lecture addressed “Brazilian research and Practice with Geosynthetics.” Dr. Sandroni reviewed practice, research and expertise from the Brazilian community pertaining to filtration, reinforcement and containment among other things.

Attendance and interest are strong at this quadrenniel event from the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS).

The welcome lecture was followed immediately by the Prestigious Lecture by Dr. J. P. Giroud. He presented his 2008 Terzaghi Lecture on the “Development of Criteria for Textile and Granular Filters.”

Both speakers presented to a very full and interested audience.

MONDAY

Monday will provide a full day of unique events, including the opening Mercer Lecture presented by Heinz Brandl. Shortly thereafter, the exhibit hall will open.

There will be no concurrent sessions during the opening of the exhibit.

In the afternoon from 1:30 to 2:00 pm a unique session titled “meeting the industry” will be presented. In this session, three tech presentations will be made from industry to the attendees–after which there will be two time slots of which each will host 6 sessions concurrently.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Elizabeth Peggs is Geosynthetica’s Director. Contact Us Today!.