Innovation and Collaboration in Technology and Practice
Geotechnical Frontiers 2017 is a must-attend event for the geotechnical, civil engineering, and geosynthetic communities.

The IGS-North America in concert with IFAI and the GeoInstitute will host Geotechnical Frontiers 2017.   This unique conference brings together professionals from three different, leading organizations in the geotechnical, geosynthetic and environmental engineering communities.  If you are looking for an event with an extensive technical scope and international networking this is the event for you!

IGS North America members receive discounted pricing, if your not a member Join Now to receive this benefit!

Connect with more than 2,000 geotechnical professionals representing all facets of the geotechnical industry during Geotechnical Frontiers 2017. Immerse yourself in a sea of knowledge through a full schedule of short courses, workshops, training lectures, plenary sessions, technical papers, and panel discussions presented by experts in the field. Walk the show floor to see the latest developments in geotechnical products and services offered by the industry’s top companies and organizations. Plan for plenty of opportunities to network and socialize.

The trade show and all of events and education will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, convenient to airports, hotels and major attractions.

Visit the conference web site to learn more: http://geotechnicalfrontiers.com

 

 

As 2016 draws to a close it’s time to start thinking about 2017 and the election of Members to serve on the next IGS North America Board. The Mission of IGS-NA is to provide leadership in advancing geosynthetics education and research to attain their appropriate and widespread use as engineering materials as the Chapter of the International Geosynthetic Society (IGS) for the United States of America and Canada.

2017 will be an exciting year with IGS-NA. If you are interested in helping to develop the programming, services and leadership offered by IGS-NA, I encourage you to consider standing for office.

Seats open for the upcoming election are:

• 1 Seat – President Elect, Each new President-Elect shall serve one 2-year-term of office in that capacity following which he/she shall serve one 2-year-term as President, followed by one 2-year-term as Past-President. As President-Elect, the successful candidate will be responsible for assisting the President and performing assignments directed by the President and/or Board.
• 1 Seat – Treasurer, The Treasurer will serve a 2-year-term. The Treasurer is responsible for managing the finances of IGS-NA.
• 3 Seats – Vice-President, Vice-Presidents will serve a 4 year term. Vice-Presidents are responsible for representing Members of IGS-NA and performing assignments directed by the President and/or Board.

 
Important Dates & Deadlines

• 04–18 November 2016 – Call for Nominations
• 01 December 2016 – Nominations Committee sends a slate of nominees to the Board for approval.
• By the end of December 2016 – The Ballot is developed and made ready for distribution to the membership.
• 01–27 January 2017 – Voting period on Candidates to be Board Officers and Board members.
• 01 February 2017 – Successful Candidates notified and announcement made.
• 12–15 March 2017 – Newly elected Board Members will take office at the next General Assembly of the IGS-NA to be held in Orlando Florida during Geotechnical Frontiers 2017.

 
To nominate someone or yourself please email the requested information to Info@IGS-NA.org. Please include your: name, title, company/institution/organization name, address, email address & phone number as well as a 150 word description about your involvement in the geosynthetics industry and your reason(s) for running for the seat.

If you have any questions or need more information please contact the Chairman of the IGS-NA Nomination Committee and Past-President Bob Mackey (bmackey@s2li.com).

Kind regards,
John Henderson
President – IGS North America
J.Henderson@Tencate.com

The IGS North America (IGS-NA) and the National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) are co-hosting an October 26 webinar. The topic: Segmental Retaining Wall Best Practices. The session will be held from 1:00 – 2:30 pm (EDT) and is worth 1.5 PDHs.

Scott Vollmer, P.E. (Oldcastle) will serve as the instructor. He brings an extensive background in retaining walls and geosynthetics, and he also is an educational leader, having regularly taught NCMA’s Level 1 SRW Contractor Certification Course.

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

SEGMENTAL RETAINING WALL BEST PRACTICES
The 90-minute presentation is based on NCMA’s recently released Segmental Retaining Wall Best Practices Guide. The webinar presentation will explore best practices for design, specification, construction, and inspection for segmental retaining walls. The work in the guide and which will be presented by Vollmer is based on over 20 years of industry experience.

The takeaways for webinar participants include:

• An understanding of the new recommendations for SRW Design and Construction
• Familiarity with new SRW detailing options
• Improved knowledge of material specifications for commercial SRW projects
• Enhanced understanding of key SRW construction practices

COST TO PARTICIPATE
IGS-NA, IGS, and NCMA members qualify for reduced registration fee: USD $50. The cost to non-members is USD $75.

Learn more and register at the IGS-NA website:

LEARN MORE

NCMA SRW BEST PRACTICES GUIDE
Want to get a jump on the webinar? Download a copy of NCMA’s Segmental Retaining Wall Best Practices Guide (PDF) now and get prepared for the webinar discussion.

Of the publication, NCMA writes:
This Guide ‡reflects a compendium of contemporaryŽ‡…•ƒ…‘’‡†‹‘ˆ…‘‡’‘ƒ› knowledge collected over several †decades that highlight proven solutions using segmental retaining walls (SRWs). The information and recommendations presented in this Guide are intended to augment the design practices and recommendations contained within NCMA’s Design Manual for Segmental Retaining Walls, but are equally applicable regardless of the design methodology selected. The creation of this resource was driven by the establishment of NCMA’s Zero Failures Initiative–an industry-wide program to educate owners, designers, site civil engineers, geotechnical engineers, and installers of SRW systems on the industry’s recommended practices and to promote a philosophy that strives for ensuring successful wall performance.

Learn more about NCMA at www.ncma.org.

Learn more about IGS North America.

The North American Geosynthetics Society and the Geosynthetic Materials Association co-sponsored a day and half seminar in Syracuse, NY on the design of waste containment systems on March 22 and 23rd. Over 100 attendees with representatives from the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, the New Jersey State Dept. of Environmental Protection, the Maryland State Dept. of the Environment, and US EPA’s Region 2 Headquarters, graduate students and their professor from Syracuse University, several landfill owners and operators, design consultants, contractors, and manufacturers/suppliers of various geosynthetic materials also participated.

Dr. Richard Brachman, Queen’s University, and president-elect of NAGS, was the lead lecturer. Robert Phaneuf, NYS DEC’s Division of Materials Management, presented overviews of the proposed revisions to New York State’s solid waste regulations, 6 NYCRR Part 360, as they relate to landfill liner and final cover systems. Mr. Phaneuf also provided a brief introduction of the points of interest from a New York State regulatory perspective for each of Dr. Brachman’s design topic lectures. Abigail Beck, TRI Environmental, provided information on electrical leak detection with a video demonstration of the test, and guidance in designing an electrical leak detection program. The program concluded with a panel representing three consultant firms presenting “Take Home Points” from the design consultant perspective. The panel members included Cory McDowell, representing Baron and Loguidice, D.P.C, Bradford Smith, representing GHD Consulting Services, Inc., and Mark Swyka, representing Cornerstone Environmental Group.

Providing sponsorships from the Geosynthetic Materials Association membership were GSE, Inc., Agru Americas, Titan, and Terrifix. Sponsorship included the opportunity for table top displays¸ along with a fifteen-minute time slot during meals to speak about projects that their companies had been involved with. Upon adjourning the seminar, Mr. Phaneuf expressed appreciation on behalf of the Division of Materials Management to the seminar sponsors (NAGS and GMA) for bringing this training opportunity to a New York State location and providing a venue where both regulators and design engineers have an opportunity learn together at a very reasonable cost.

Comments across the board from participants, whether from the youngest in regards to experience, or from the seasoned practitioner were that the seminar was timely and well worth the day and half. See the comment from the graduate students below.

“We found the technical seminar both comprehensive and enjoyable. As graduate students, it was stimulating as well as valuable to not only learn about the proper selection, design and construction of geosynthetic materials being used in today’s landfill liner and final cover systems but also be cognizant of the many reasons for failures encountered in real projects. The opportunity enabled us to widen our knowledge of the fundamentals when it comes to landfill engineering, design, and construction—while complementing that knowledge with the technological tools, techniques, and advances available to us today, as well as get the unique opportunity to understand the many regulatory concerns associated with each area of discussion.”

A comment from one of the regulators in attendance: “Simply the best professional technical training opportunity that I have had while being at the DEC”.

Instructor: GARY ROSS
Oldcastle APG
Wednesday, 13 April 2016 – 10:15 am – 1:15pm
“Smart Prospecting, Simplified”

When planning your staff travel, please consider which members would benefit from this complimentary, 3-hour sales workshop held immediately after the close of the exhibition.

GeoAmericas 2016 is proud to present a bonus session for exhibitors! Attend a 3-hour sales workshop led by Gary Ross, to be held immediately after the close of the exhibit hall.

Gary Ross is the Director of Sales Training & Coaching and is a Motivational Speaker for Oldcastle APG. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resource Management from Palm Beach Atlantic University, and earned his certificate in Supervisory Development from the University of Notre Dame.

Prior to his role as Director of Sales Training & Coaching, Gary was the Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Coastal, an Oldcastle Company based in Florida. He has over 38 years of sales experience including 13 years in Sales Management.

Gary resides in West Palm Beach, Florida with his wife, Daryl.

The Sales Workshop – “Smart Prospecting, Simplified” will focus on:

1. Developing a better message to get your prospect to call you back and schedule an appointment
2. The importance of being relentless in your follow up
3. The idea to Probe more, pitch less
4. The value of making one more sales call and who you should target

Full information on GeoAmericas 2016, including registration, venue, and social/networking opportunities can be found at www.GeoAmericas2016.org.
 

LEARN MORE ABOUT WORKSHOP

 

Full information on GeoAmericas 2016, including registration, venue, and social/networking opportunities can be found at www.GeoAmericas2016.org.

We open the week with an unexpected gift: The early registration discount for GeoAmericas 2016 has been extended to January 29. The conference, which is the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics, will be held 10 – 13 April 2016 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami.

REGISTER ONLINE

Highlights for the event include:

• 13 short courses
• 49 technical sessions, each of which averages 6 papers per 90-minute session
• Special sessions on mining, transportation engineering, coastal protection, installation, construction quality assurance, world case studies, soil reinforcement, barrier systems, and much more
• Young Professionals Program
• Keynote lectures from Dr. Robert Koerner, P.E. (Geosynthetic Institute); Dale Morris, Senior Economic Advisor at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington, DC, and Nathalie Olijslager-Jaarsma, Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Miami); and Mercer Lecturer Dr. Jorge Zornberg, P.E. (Immediate Past President, IGS).

Additionally, the conference will feature a large range of meetings from essential organizations in the geotechnical engineering field. They include the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) Council, the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI), the International Association of Geosynthetic Installers (IAGI), the Fabricated Geomembrane Institute (FGI), the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), the Erosion Control Technology Council (ECTC), the International Erosion Control Association (IECA) Ibero-American Chapter, and the Federation of International Geo-Engineering Societies (FedIGS).

VENUE: LOEWS MIAMI BEACH HOTEL

All activities for GeoAmericas 2016 will take place on Miami’s historic South Beach at the five-star Loews Miami Beach Hotel. The 790-room venue is just 20 minutes from Miami International Airport and 35 minutes from Fort Lauderdale International Airport. The Loews offers direct beach access and concierge service in multiple languages.

More than 60% of the room block has been reserved. Organizers encourage all bookings to take place online. The BOOK TODAY link on the GeoAmericas 2016 venue page should be used in order to get the special conference rate.

SPONSORSHIP & ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES

A few sponsorship and advertising opportunities are available. For questions regarding sponsorship and advertising opportunities with GeoAmericas 2016 or its publishing partner (Geosynthetica), contact André Lacerda, andre@geosynthetica.net, +1 561 570 1061.

**

Visit www.geoamericas2016.org for the latest conference information.

The 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics (GeoAmericas 2016) will be held 10 – 13 April 2016 in Miami at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. This quadrennial regional conference from the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) features 3.5 days of high-quality geotechnical and civil engineering short courses, technical sessions, panel discussions, training lectures, keynote addresses, and networking in a sold out international exhibit hall.

Geosynthetic materials are used extensively in coastal protection projects. The modern geotextiles industry, in fact, emerged in the 1950s in response to flooding in the Netherlands and tropical storm damage in the United States. Since then, a large industry and innovative coastal designs have come along. Geosynthetic tubes and containers provide dewatering and solids separation for large-scale dredging operations and the construction of artificial islands. They build up dune systems for hurricane defense and create artificial reefs. Geotextiles and affiliated gabion systems provide shoreline stabilization and erosion control. Geosynthetic bags provide scour protection for shorelines, infrastructure (e.g., ports), and even off-shore wind turbines. Geosynthetics reinforce levees, enhance the sustainability of waterfront construction, and provide highly effective, economical solutions to long-term coastal engineering goals.

GeoAmericas 2016 features multiple opportunities for coastal protection professionals. Just some of the technical offerings well suited to engineers working in coastal protection include:

• Keynote address discussing the history and future of climate change and coastal protection engineering from Dale Morris, Senior Economic Advisor at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington, DC, and Nathalie Olijslager-Jaarsma, Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Miami
• 11 presentations across two coastal protection sessions, including beach stabilization in Mexico, geotextile tube design, artificial reef performance, marine sediment management projects, geocontainers in Peru, dams using geosynthetic tubes, and much more.
• Training lectures on embankments on soft soils
• Half-day short course and a panel discussion on proper specification of geosynthetic materials
• Keynote lecture by Dr. Robert Koerner on “Lifetime Predictions of Exposed Geotextiles and Geomembranes”
• Affiliated technical sessions focused on soil reinforcement and ground improvement (37 presentations), testing of geosynthetic materials (17), drainage and filtration (15), and sustainability (7)
• International exhibit hall manufacturers and service providers who supply to coastal projection projects from northern Canada to the southern tip of South America.

Full information on GeoAmericas 2016, including registration, venue, and social/networking opportunities can be found at www.GeoAmericas2016.org.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

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:

• Use the special room rate link via the GeoAmericas 2016 website Venue Page
• Call the Loews Miami Beach Hotel directly: +1.615.340.5778

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.

WARNINGS & REMINDERS

• The Loews and GeoAmericas do NOT call exhibitors (or attendees) for the purpose of booking sleeping rooms.  NO service providers are sanctioned to either.
• Do NOT give out your credit card number to any caller claiming to be holding rooms for you at GeoAmericas 2016.
• Do NOT accept a caller claiming that the Loews is sold out. PLEASE KNOW that rooms are available at the Loews. Rooms have even been added.

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 2015 Student Paper Award, sponsored by the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), was presented to Daniel Jones from Queen’s University, Canada, at Geosynthetics 2015 in Portland, Oregon. Jones was presented with a USD $500 award and will also receive an invitation to present his winning paper in a special session at GeoAmericas 2016, the 3rd Pan-American Conference on Geosynthetics (10 – 13 April 2016, Miami, Florida).

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.