The conference, held in Austin 23-26 January 2005, was an enormous success. Gsa was proud to be a Cooperating Organization . Read the conference review (preconference written by Lara Peggs and full conference review courtesy of IGS News (March 2005 Issue) Karina McInnes, Editor).

A full report on the Geo-Frontiers three-conferences-in-one. Pre-conference review by geosynthetica, followed by a full conference review by Karina McInnes, Editor of IGS News.

Jean-Pierre Gourc is pleased to announce that the 43 papers presented at the International Workshop Hydro-Physico-Mechanics of Landfills in Grenoble, France are now available to "all the people belonging to our large scientific community." This Workshop provided an opportunity to gather experts (academics and professionals) from the fields of geomechanics but also hydraulics, bio-chemistry and physics to combine their skills and knowledge about landfills. The emphasis was on the correlation between the different properties for waste and landfill covers and the potential improvement of the landfill control , concept and design. More than 75 experts coming from ten different countries attended this Workshop. Learn more here.;

Both the 8ICG in Yokohama, Japan, and the NAGS/GRI-19 joint conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, have extended their abstracts deadlines to April 30, 2005. Please note that the GeoShanghai International Conference deadline is today, April 15, 2005.

The Halloran Twins were born to Danette and Mike on 12 April 2005 at 7:54 am , Alanna 7lb 4oz and Elizabeth 7lb 1.25oz each measured 20" in length. Everyone is healthy and happy!

CETCO International (a gsa underwriter), a wholly owned subsidiary of AMCOL International Corp., has announced its plans to build a manufacturing facility for its geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) products in Segovia, Spain…

Please make a note that Marilyn Ashley of GSI has changed her e-mail address. She can now be reached at mvashley@verizon.net.

Bob Koerner reports on the ASCE/PennDOT Conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the ESD Waste Conference in Lansing, Michigan. He then visits Tenax in Baltimore regarding geonets, followed by a trip to lecture at Tensar, and a visit with SKAPS. GCLs, White Paper #5, and the currently reviewed GCL Specification are also touched upon.

The D35 (05-01) Committee Ballot is now posted on the ASTM web site. To access the ballot, please go to the "continued" link below and login. This will give you access to your personalized 'My ASTM' page. The minutes, rosters and agendas (where available) are also posted in this area. The meeting schedule is available by selecting the "Meetings & Symposia" link on your personalized 'My ASTM' page approximately two months prior to the next meeting. The ballot will be open and available on the web from Apr 15, 2005 - May 16, 2006. All voting members are required to return ballots. Your ballot response is important to the committee in obtaining the required 60% return for a valid ballot. The return of ballots is a measure of a member's participation on a committee. It is critical that ASTM is notified of any changes to mailing and email addresses as soon as possible. This may be done by going to your 'My ASTM' page and selecting "Update your information". Alternatively, send corrections along with your member number to changes@astm.org or phone ASTM Customer Service at (610) 832- 9585 or fax at (610) 832-9555. Learn more here.;

Matt Showan, Marketing Manager, will be leaving Maccaferri Inc. and joining Maccaferri Ltd (UK) as Sales and Marketing Manager for the UK and Ireland. He will be based in Oxford, England. Ghislain Brunet has been appointed Technical and Marketing Director for Maccaferri Inc. (USA).