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:

• 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.

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

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.

REGISTER ONLINE

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.
 

EVENT VENUE

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.
 

HIGHLIGHTS OF GEOAMERICAS 2016

• 13 short courses, including English and Spanish-language offerings. Topics include heap leach design, geosynthetic-reinforced soil in bridge construction, CQA, geomembranes in oil and gas operations, and more. Short courses are held on April 10 (Sunday) and will be followed by the official opening of the conference with a keynote address and an exhibit hall reception. Learn more about the short courses.
• 49 technical sessions, including training lectures from renowned experts; paper-driven technical sessions; and panel discussions on field-shaping topics (e.g., growth of geosynthetics in Latin America, predicting end of geomembrane service life)
• Special technical sessions will include coastal protection, sustainability, Best Journal Papers, and Student Awards
• Keynote Lectures from Dr. Robert Koerner, P.E. (Geosynthetic Institute); Dale Morris, Sr. Economic Adviser from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington DC and Nathalie Olijslager-Jaarsma, Kingdom of the Netherlands Consul General (Miami); and the Mercer Lecture with Dr. Jorge Zornberg, P.E. (IGS Immediate Past President, University of Texas at Austin)
• Industry meetings involving International Geosynthetics Society (IGS) Technical Committees, FedIGS, GMA, GSI, FGI, IAGI, and ECTC.
• Opportunities for young engineers, including the IGS Young Members  program with a pre-conference GeoPrediction competition, a digital scavenger hunt during the conference, a panel discussion with industry leaders, and a beach volleyball social event.
• Social programming and companion program including Exhibit Hall Opening Reception (Sunday evening, April 10), beach volleyball (Monday evening, April 11), and Havana Nights social event (Tuesday evening, April 12). Additional companion program events include an Everglades Adventure, an Art Deco District Walk, and a trip to the Villa Vizcaya.

MAJOR SPONSORS

• HUESKER (Platinum)
• Solmax (Platinum)
• TMP (Gold)
• Tencate (Silver)
• TRI Environmental (Silver)

 
In addition to the support for the conference, sponsors are also contributing to a unique construction project in Charlier, Haiti.

GEOAMERICAS 2016 REGISTRATION

www.GeoAmericas2016.org

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.