By Richard Starkey and Michael Aerts – The competition for water resources is growing globally, with the resolution of or the inability to effectively resolve these issues threatening economies, communities, and, in some regions, basic survival. A key objective of infrastructure and water management professionals is to ensure that breaches or breakdown within water resource networks are identifiable and rectifiable...

By Lee Buchsbaum - The sweeping new federal rules on handling and storage of coal ash may lead to the single largest increase in the geosynthetics market in 20 years. The US Environmental Protection Agency conducted a long study on the health risks and technical strengths of nearly 700 coal ash facilities at power plants nationwide. The resulting rule change,...

AMI has announced the dates of Waterproof Membranes 2015, the 9th installment in the annual series. The international conference focuses on the market dynamics, technical innovation, manufacture, installation, and performance of waterproof membranes. It will be held 17 - 19 November 2015 at the Maritim Hotel in Bonn, Germany. VISIT THE EVENT WEBSITE The Call for Presentations has also been issued. Topics mentioned in...

GeoAmericas 2016 will be held 10 – 13 April 2016 in Miami, Florida, USA. The event brings together experts in geosynthetics and geotechnical engineering from throughout the Americas. Hosted by the North American Geosynthetics Society, and serving as the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics, GeoAmericas offers a strong opportunity to exchange knowledge, develop new business, and continue to improve the field...

The Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI) held its biennial membership meeting in February in Portland, Oregon. The event, which was attended by 37 participants, served as a transition point between the previous board of directors and officers and the new leadership. The FGI Officers (2015 – 2017) are as follows: President – Andrew Mills (Layfield Group, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) Vice President – Kent...

The 15th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (XV PCSMGE) will take place 15 – 18 November 2015 in Buenos Aires. Following the trend of other major geotechnical events in Latin America, the conference will co-locate with three major events to optimize participant networking and educational benefits. Also being held in conjunction with the XV PCSMGE will be: 8th...

For the past seven years, Chris Eichelberger has served as a business development director and vice president of one the biggest geosynthetics installation and environmental companies in the United States. As of March 2, however, Eichelberger has taken on a new role: as Vice President of Technical Marketing for Agru America, Inc. Agru is one of the largest manufacturers of...

The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) has invested tens of thousands of dollars in its engineering research fellowship program over the years. The 2015 – 2016 academic year fellowship Request for Proposals (RFP) has been issued. It is notable for its expansion of eligibility to master's engineering students. Previously, the program was open only to doctoral program candidate research. The RFP is international....

The Erosion Control Technology Council has announced the results of its recent election, which determined the 2015 – 2016 term ECTC Board of Directors. Diane Hitt (East Coast Erosion Blankets, LLC) was elected Chairman. For Hitt, it marks another significant milestone in just the past 12 months. She was honored in early 2014 with a Women in Manufacturing STEP (Science,...

By Elizabeth Peggs - I confess that when I heard "February in Portland" I quietly questioned a few things about the International Erosion Control Association’s (IECA Region One) 2015 conference! My reservations were immediately offset by the second part of the same announcement: IECA had opted to co-locate its 2015 Environmental Connection conference with IFAI’s biennial Geosynthetics conference. It...