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:
Full information on GeoAmericas 2016, including registration, venue, and social/networking opportunities can be found at www.GeoAmericas2016.org.
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.
Highlights for the event include:
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).
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.
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.
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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 the international exhibit hall.
Mining is one of the conference’s cornerstone topics.
Geosynthetic materials are essential to the economical and environmental performance of mining operations. Geosynthetic technologies can be used to enhance infrastructure and improve processes. They provide more productive and robust facilities with higher yields.
Geogrids efficiently improve the integrity of unpaved access roads to prevent costly failures under heavy loads and in poor weather.
Geomembranes increase the yield and flow from heap leach pads and liquor trenches.
Geotextiles, geocomposite drainage materials, geosynthetic clay liners, and other geosynthetics perform vital functions, enhance drainage and venting, improve the stability of berms around tailings, etc.
Attendees of GeoAmericas will learn why soil reinforcement is more important than ever to the success of mining and how geosynthetic liners and covers have dramatically and beneficially changed the economics and performance of heap leaching for gold, copper, uranium, and other materials. With multiple courses and sessions to draw upon, GeoAmericas gives participants ready-to-use strategies and access to geosynthetic designers, suppliers, and installers from throughout the Americas.
Highlights for mining professionals include:
Keynote lecture by Dr. Robert Koerner on “Lifetime Predictions of Exposed Geotextiles and Geomembranes”
Full information on GeoAmericas 2016, including registration, venue, and social/networking opportunities can be found at www.GeoAmericas2016.org.
The Young Professionals Program at GeoAmericas 2016 has announced its GeoPrediction Competition. This team-based event will focus on predicting the face displacement of an MSE wall constructed with poorly draining backfill. The objective of the GeoPrediction Competition is to develop an accurate prediction of the behavior of a geotechnical system involving geosynthetics, given detailed information regarding subsurface, boundary, and initial conditions, as well as the geotechnical, structural, and hydraulic loading.
The use of any available geotechnical software and empirical correlations is allowed, as is the development of a simple, accurate computer code for making this prediction.
Questions are welcomed. Email GeoAmericas2016youngmembers@gmail.com.
Eligibility, deadline, and the MSE problem description follows.
Eligibility: A Geosynthetics Prediction Team will consist of one or two younger members. There is no limit on the number of teams from a given institution or company.
Submittal: Each Geosynthetics Prediction Team will submit a Geosynthetics Prediction Report containing, a minimum, the following information:
Judging: The submitted Geosynthetics Prediction reports will be judged and ranked by a panel of geotechnical engineers. The judging will be based on the criteria listed below.
Announcement: The top three reports will be ranked by the panel and will be presented with awards during the IGS awards ceremony at GeoAmericas 2016.
Questions: Send any questions to GeoAmericas2016youngmembers@gmail.com.
PROBLEM DESCRIPTION & AVAILABLE DATA
A geotextile-reinforced prototype mechanically-stabilized earth (MSE) wall was constructed using wrap-around facing with a width of 4m, a height of 4m and a length of 4m. The wall was built with 10 geotextile layers evenly spaced at 0.40m vertically. The reinforcement length was equal to 3.0m. The MSE wall was constructed atop a firm foundation that can be assumed to be rigid with first geotextile layer placed at the ground level. In the design, the reduction factors against creep, durability and installation damage were taken as 1.0. The wrap-around system was assembled using metallic supports and wood boards, for a final angle of 78o from horizontal, resulting in a face slope of 5V:1H. The geotextile material used in the wall was a short-fiber needle-punched polyester non-woven geotextile with the following characteristics:
Backfill soil consisted of a fine to medium well-graded sand which was compacted using a vibratory plate hammer. The grain size distribution of backfill soil is presented in Figure 1. The maximum and minimum void ratios, emax and emin were 0.70 and 0.46. The backfill soil was compacted to a target relative density of 80% which corresponds to a void ratio of 0.51 and dry unit weight of 17.7 kN/m3. The backfill was placed in the field at a gravimetric water content of 5.0%. The soil has a drained friction angle of 33°.
Goal
Estimate the deflections of the wall face as a function of wall height due to the wall’s self-weight immediately after construction.
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VISIT THE GEOAMERICAS 2016 WEBSITE for more information on the Young Professionals Program, the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS), short courses, and much more.
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.
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)
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
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.
