GeoAmericas 2016, the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics, has been years in the making. After successful iterations in Mexico (2008) and Peru (2012), the Americas-uniting geotechnical conference returns. Organizers have announced the opening of the GeoAmericas 2016 registration.
The event has already sold out the exhibit hall and the organizers have added extra rooms to the pre-conference room block to handle the early surge of bookings for exhibitors, attendees, and industry organizations intending to arrive early for meetings and personal time in Miami.
The official hotel is the Loews Miami Beach Hotel and Resort. All conference activities will take place at the Loews.
Attendees and exhibitors should be award of hotel room-booking scams that target conference goers. Please book your accommodations directly online–the Loews link on the previous line takes you directly to the special rate code–or call the hotel directly.
In addition to the support for the conference, sponsors are also contributing to a unique construction project in Charlier, Haiti.
Many conferences are targeted by hotel booking scams and room resellers who are not associated with the event. These non-sanctioned buyers convince potential attendees that rooms are selling out and that they hold the last few available rooms. They sell rooms at rates well-above the conference rate and often tack on hidden fees and expensive cancellation policies. Conference organizers and host hotels watch for these scams. Once problems are discovered, warnings are sent out.
GeoAmericas 2016, the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics, alerted exhibitors yesterday that at least two known groups, unaffiliated with GeoAmericas, are targeting event exhibitors right now.
All exhibitor and sponsor companies, exhibitor personnel, and attendees are reminded that there are only two ways to officially book rooms for GeoAmericas 2016:
The Loews Miami Beach Hotel is the official hotel for GeoAmericas 2016. It is the site for all conference activities. Hotel Rooms are available now. While some of the pre-conference and post-conference nights are filling quickly, hundreds of rooms are still available during the event.
The North American Geosynthetics Society hosted “Educate the Educators: A Geosynthetics Training Program for University Professors” on 28–29 July 2015 in Austin, Texas.
This program provided core geosynthetic content, background information, and materials for use in the classroom so that participants can offer fundamental geosynthetics instruction in their engineering programs. The primary goal of the event was to teach every participant how to offer at least one 50-minute class on geosynthetics at the undergraduate level. Lecture notes and a hands-on learning module were provided to support this fundamental lecture. Additional class content and resources for senior undergraduate and graduate courses was also presented, discussed and provided.
The training sessions were be led by NAGS members Dr. Jorge Zornberg of The University of Texas at Austin, geotechnical consultant Dr. Barry Christopher and Dr. Richard Brachman of Queen’s University. Corporate sponsors contributed to technical education by providing informative and interesting case histories as well as special hands-on laboratory explanations and demonstrations by technical experts.
“The quality of the program and the reception of the material by the attendees was excellent,” stated John Henderson, PE, President of NAGS. “Educate the Educators is one of the key strategic programs for NAGS to fulfill our mission to improve the knowledge base of civil engineering professionals about geosynthetics.”
Educate the Educators hosted 43 visiting professors from North America and participants from Italy, Peru, China, Indonesia and Egypt.
This non-commercial educational event was chaired by Mr. Boyd Ramsey of GSE Environmental and created by the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS). The event was hosted by the IGS’s North American Chapter (NAGS) and supported by generous sponsors: Geosynthetic Materials Association, Geosynthetic Institute, TenCate Geosynthetics, Erosion Control Technology Council, Presto Geosystems, GSE Environmental, Huesker, Thrace-Linq, and TRI.
The GeoAmericas 2016 Organizing Committee and its host chapter, the North American Geosynthetics Society, invite you to join us at 2016’s most vibrant geosynthetics event!
Reserve Your Space
GeoAmericas 2016 is the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics. Professionals from throughout the Americas will gather in Miami for technology transfer, networking, and project planning in key sectors such as mining, water resources, roadway infrastructure, waste management, and environmental protection.
The pre-sale period for booths and sponsorships has concluded, so booth and sponsorship positions are now open for reservation by the larger geotechnical engineering community. We invite you to review the Exhibition and Sponsorship Brochure (PDF) and online reservation information.
Strengthen Your Business
International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) Corporate Members enjoy a substantial discount on booths. Non-members can capitalize too. Join the IGS and immediately enjoy a number of high-level benefits on GeoAmericas conference participation, as well as benefit from membership before and after the event.
We welcome your questions, we encourage your interaction, and we look forward to working with you to make this an outstanding event and a key part of your near- and long-term business development.
See you in Miami!
John Henderson, Exhibits & Sponsorship Co-Chair
Peter Passarelli, Exhibits & Sponsorship Co-Chair
For Questions or More Information Please Contact
Becky Slaybaugh, Executive Admin | BSlaybaugh@Minervatri.com
Elizabeth Peggs, Co-Secretary General | EPeggs@Minervatri.com
TEL: +1.561.768.9487
(-5 GMT)
Corporate members of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) have an exclusive 21-day window in which to file exhibit hall booth and conference sponsorship requests for GeoAmericas 2016. The quadrennial event, which is the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics, will be held 10 – 13 April 2016 in Miami. The deadline for IGS Corporate Members to make their pre-sale selections is May 14.
DOWNLOAD EXHIBIT / SPONSORSHIP BROCHURE (PDF)After the deadline passes, sales for booths and sponsorships will be extended to the full geotechnical community.
IGS Corporate Members are strongly encouraged to make sure their teams have the exhibitor and sponsorship brochure. The offer has been issued to all IGS Corporate Members, but the main contact for the IGS might not be the office responsible for booking space at an event in the Americas.
Download the brochure with the link above and share with your team.
UNIQUE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM
The sustainability mission of GeoAmericas 2016 has received great support already, with a number of companies contributing ideas based on their event experience for how to improve the conference experience and sustainability performance.
Electronic sharing of information will be emphasized, with tools such as an event web app to aid in connecting attendees and companies and giving exhibitors a convenient way to share information without attendees needing to lug 25 lbs of paper home with them.
The lanyards for the event—a sponsored item—will not be the traditional corporate branded item. Rather, GeoAmericas 2016 will put lanyard sponsorship on the badges and instead of a traditional lanyard will use the sponsorship money to acquire handmade necklaces from a small business in Haiti. These necklaces will subsequently be able to be reused or gifted by attendees.
Haiti is integrally tied to the event. A school and orphanage construction project is being partially funded directly by the three tiers of major sponsorships (Silver, Gold, and Platinum). Geosynthetics are being used in the work in Charlier, Haiti, and sponsor companies will be invited to join the crew on site as well as have promotional access to the video of the work that will be shot.
Additional exhibit and sponsorship notes that will interest participating companies:
Download the exhibitor and sponsorship pre-sale brochure to find out the full range of advertising, exhibit booth, and sponsorship opportunities.
NOTE: Non-IGS Corporate Members should view this brochure too. You might still file your requests (or join IGS immediately and secure benefits such as 20% break on booth costs). By the IGS bylaws, preference is given in this exclusive sale window to IGS Corporate Members; but as of May 15, it will be open. The Pre-Sale brochure include a box to check for not being a corporate member.
BECOME A CORPORATE MEMBER OF THE IGS TODAYGREAT RESPONSE TO DATE
Significant interest in booth and sponsorship selection was reported by the conference organizers in the week leading up to the release of the pre-sale brochure.
Also, the abstracts submission period closed April 10 with hundreds of submissions and contributions from more than 40 countries.
A date to mark on the calendar is May 15. General attendee registration and non-IGS member booth and sponsorship purchases will be available from then on.
Too many engineers enter the field without state-of-the-art geotechnical knowledge, because their formal schooling overlooks a key piece of modern practice: geosynthetics.
Let the geosynthetics community provide resources to teach your students about geosynthetics.
Geosynthetics were the only new class of construction materials developed in the 20th century. Over the past 40 years, they have become fully integrated into all areas of environmental and civil infrastructure design and execution. Their cost-effective, environmentally strong performance has been well documented. In some cases, federal regulations even require their use (e.g., waste management). Today, every major engineering firm has designated geosynthetic experts on staff. Yet, geosynthetics are taught in less than 45 engineering programs in North American colleges and universities. This has produced an enormous knowledge gap.
Multiple geotechnical and geosynthetics professional societies and organizations are joining together to sponsor a geosynthetics education program specific to supporting educators. “Educate the Educators: A Geosynthetics Training Program for University Professors” will be held 28 – 29 July 2015 in Austin, Texas. This program will provide core geosynthetic content, background information, and materials for use in the classroom so that participants may include geosynthetics in their engineering curricula. The event presents a single 50-minute class on geosynthetics for the undergraduate level; but it also provides a framework for additional class content and resources up to and including a graduate-level class on geosynthetics.
Please apply on line at: http://www.ifai.com/forms/educatetheeducators
The sessions will be led by Dr. Richard Brachman of Queen’s University, Dr. Jorge Zornberg of The University of Texas at Austin, and field veteran Barry Christopher.
This is a non-commercial event being conducted under the auspices of the IGS North America and created by the International Geosynthetics Society , and supported by the Geosynthetic Institute, the Geosynthetic Materials Association, and other industry groups and companies.
There are approximately 40 seats in the course. Successful applicants will be provided with hotel, meals, and transportation in Austin. Successful applicants will need only to fund their travel to Austin.
When: 28 – 29 July 2015 Where: Austin, Texas
In applying for participation, please include:
Applicants will be notified of their enrollment status during the second week in June. Priority will be given to those individuals judged to have influence over the content of the programs at their respective institutions.
APPLY ONLINE TO PARTICIPATEPlease apply today. We encourage you to spread the word on this program to your colleagues in education. Spaces are limited, so act promptly. Please contact me using the information below if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Boyd Ramsey
Chief Engineer – GSE Environmental LLC
GMA Chairman
IGS Council Member
Co-Chair IGS Technical Committee on Barriers
Co-Chair IGS North America Educate the Educators Program
+1.281.797.6183
Why are your students, students from your alma mater and other Universities you hire from not graduating with knowledge of the “state of the art” of geotechnical engineering practices?
Let the geosynthetics industry teach you how to teach your students about geosynthetics.
Geosynthetics are the newest addition to “state of the art” engineering design and execution. Used for over 30 years, geosynthetics are critical to environmental and infrastructure civil construction. Geosynthetics are cost-effective, environmentally friendly and in many cases required by federal US regulations. Every major engineering firm has designated geosynthetic experts on staff.
Yet geosynthetics are taught in less than 45 engineering programs within the universities in the North America.
All of the geosynthetic industry societies and organizations are joining to sponsor a program to provide content and knowledge for geosynthetic education. Called “Educate the Educators: A Geosynthetics Training Program for University Professors.” It will be held in July 2015 in Austin, Texas. This program will provide content, materials and background to include geosynthetics in your universities engineering curriculum. The event presents a single 50 minute class on geosynthetics for the undergraduate level but also provides a framework for additional class content and resources up to and including a graduate level class on geosynthetics.
APPLY ONLINE TO PARTICIPATEThe sessions will be led by Dr. Richard Brachman of Queen’s University, Dr. Jorge Zornberg of The University of Texas and Barry Christopher. This is a non-commercial event being conducted under the auspices of the North American Geosynthetics Society and supported by the International Geosynthetics Society, the Geosynthetic Institute, the Geosynthetic Materials Association and other industry groups and companies.
With the exception of travel to and from Austin, all expenses will be paid. Priority will be given to those individuals judged to have influence over the content of the programs at their respective institutions.
Dates: July 28-29, 2015
Location: Austin, Texas
What is needed to apply: Copy of CV, listing of courses taught and a short commentary telling us how you can include this content in your universities curriculum.
We encourage you to both apply today and to spread the word on this program to those colleges and universities we may not reach. Please act promptly, spaces are limited. Please contact me using the information below if you have any additional questions.
APPLY ONLINE TO PARTICIPATESincerely,
Boyd Ramsey
Chief Engineer – GSE Environmental LLC
GMA Chairman
Co-Chair IGS Technical Committee on Barriers
Email: BRamsey@GSEworld.com
Phone: +1.281.797.6183
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
The Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) is delighted to announce a worldwide call for requests for proposals (RFPs) focusing on innovative geosynthetics research and development projects. There will be numerous awards given, each for $5,000 (Note that this is a change from previous years of the program in that the terms are different and that the students can be pursuing either masters or doctoral degrees). Emphasis will be placed on relevant topics of interest and/or concern to the geosynthetics community. A list of possible topics (there are obviously many others) is available upon request. The proposals must be submitted in the following four page format (with no exceptions).
The RFPs for the 2015-2016 academic year must be submitted to the undersigned by e-mail by June 12, 2015. Awards will be announced on, or before, July 30, 2015. Review of the proposals is by the nine-person Board of Directors of GSI. For information on the Geosynthetic Institute and past recipients, visit us at the following website: www.geosynthetic-institute.org/gsifellows.htm
-Jamie R. Koerner, Special Projects Coordinator, jrkoerner@verizon.net
Daniel Jones, Department of Civil Engineering, Queen’s University
The GeoAmericas invite will include a free full registration to the event plus a USD $1000 stipend towards travel expenses.
The paper was titled “Hydration of Geosynthetic Clay Liners in Antarctica.” Jones co-authored the work with Dr. R. Kerry Rowe (Department of Civil Engineering, Queen’s University) and Dr. Rebecca McWatters (Australian Antarctic Division, Department of the Environment, Austrlian Government), the latter of whom was honored with a NAGS Student Paper Award in 2009.
Jones presented the paper in Portland, in line with the rules of the NAGS Student Paper competition.
Selection of the winning paper is based on both the written paper and its oral presentation at a conference chosen by NAGS.
NAGS is not the only International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) chapter conducting a student paper competition. Each IGS chapter in the Americas is holding one, and the winner of each chapter competition will be invited to present at GeoAmericas 2016. They too will be offered a free full registration to GeoAmericas and USD $1000 travel stipend.
GeoAmericas 2016 (www.GeoAmericas2016.org) is being hosted by the North American Geosynthetics Society. This marks the first time the Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics will be held in the United States.
NAGS is pleased to announce their new Board of Directors.
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We are the North American Chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), serving and representing infrastructure and sustainability professionals in Canada and the United States.
