Geotechnical News June 2011
7
CGS NEWS
1986 Leggett Award winner, Mr. Fred
Matich, started Geocon in the 1950s.
The EIC awards are among the most
prestigious engineering honours in
Canada. The CGS actively promotes
its members for EIC awards through
its participation in the EIC. The IEEE
Canada, also a member of the EIC, has
over 15,000 members while the CGS
has 1,200 members. Although much
smaller than many other constituent
societies of the EIC, the CGS has rep-
resented its members well over the de-
cades. Do not forget to nominate your
deserving colleagues for these EIC
awards!!
Coming back from the EIC awards
dinner, I became interested in how
many Canadian geotechnical engineers
had received the Order of Canada,
our country’s most prestigious ser-
vice award. Among those who have
received the Order of Canada in no
particular order are: Dr. Robert Leggett
(d.), Dr. G.G. Meyerhoff (d.), Dr. Rob-
ert Hardy (d.), Dr. Jack Clark (d.), Dr.
Del Fredlund, Dr. Norbert Morgen-
stern, Dr. Jack Mollard, and Mr. Hec-
tor Jacques. That so many geotechnical
engineers have won this distinguished
award is emblematic of our proud CGS
traditions and the important role of
geotechnical engineering in Canada.
The CGS will be sponsoring three
important conferences in 2011. At the
time of publication, the first confer-
ence, 5
th
Canadian Conference on Geo-
technique and Natural Hazards will al-
ready have happened in Kelowna. The
next is the Slope Stability Conference
in September in Vancouver. A univer-
sity colleague of mine, Dr. John Sim-
mons who did his PhD at the University
of Alberta in the 1970s, will be making
the trek from Queensland to present a
paper. This underscores the dual pur-
pose of our conferences; dissemination
of the latest technical advances and the
renewing friendships and technical col-
laboration. Following that will be the
PanAm-CGS Conference in Toronto,
perhaps the most important conference
sponsored by the CGS in the last cou-
ple of decades. Our organizing com-
mittee is working hard and expects a
successful Conference. Even so, this
conference will be an opportunity to
showcase Canadian capabilities in geo-
technique. If you are choosing among
international conferences to attend this
year, this should be your choice.
Come out to your local section’s
presentations to learn about new tech-
nology and exchange ideas. I hope to
see CGS members in large numbers at
the PanAm-CGS Conference and trust
that you are finding our new website as
effective as we hope it to be.
Le Message du président
Ceci est mon deuxième message aux
membres du CGS en tant que votre
président. Notre nouveau Comite
Exécutif (CE) est désormais bien dans
leur quatrième mois de leur mandat de
deux ans et, au moment de l’écriture, se
préparent pour la première réunion CE
a Calgary le 9 Avril, 2011. Au cours de
cette période de réchauffement initial,
nous comptons beaucoup sur notre
Secrétaire General, Dr. Victor Sowa, et
notre Administrateur, Wayne Gibson.
