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Geotechnical News • December 2013
www.geotechnicalnews.com
CANADIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY NEWS
5
th
iYGEC and 18
th
ICSMGE
Two Young Geotechnical
Engineers’ Perspective
The 5
th
International Young Geo-
technical Engineers’ Conference (5
th
iYGEC) was held from August 31
to September 1, 2013 at École des
Ponts ParisTech in Marne-la-Vallée,
France. We,
Nicholas Beier
(Univer-
sity of Alberta) and
Vincent Gore-
ham
(Dalhousie University/Stantec
Consulting), were selected by the
Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS)
to attend the conference. Both the
CGS and the Canadian Foundation for
Geotechnique provided us financial
aid to attend. The 5
th
iYGEC was held
in conjunction with the 18
th
Interna-
tional Conference on Soil Mechanics
and Geotechnical Engineering (18
th
ICSMGE), held from September 2 to
6, 2013 in Paris, France which also
allowed us the opportunity to attend
that conference.
The 5
th
iYGEC was attended by 164
delegates from 57 countries, with
roughly equal representation between
academia and practicing members. For
the first time, the conference invita-
tion was extended beyond selected
society members and allowed any
young geotechnical engineer to attend
the conference. This change nearly
doubled the attendance from the 4
th
iYGEC held in Alexandria, Egypt in
2009. All delegates were required to
submit a short technical paper and to
deliver a presentation.
The technical discussions covered a
broad range of geotechnical topics
including foundations, slope stability,
modeling, soil behaviour, contami-
nant transport, remediation and case
studies. Many presentations generated
significant discussion and fostered col-
laborations and sharing of ideas. This
discussion also provided insight and
perspective into geotechnical practice
from the around the world. A social
gala held after the first day allowed
the delegates to continue the discus-
sions and develop friendships that will
undoubtedly continue into the future.
Since 2009, the International Society
for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical
Engineering (ISSMGE) formed the
„Student and Young Member Presi-
dential Group“. The purpose of this
group is to enhance the membership
and participation of that demographic
within ISSMGE conferences and tech-
nical committees. All young geotech-
nical engineers are encouraged to join
(refer to
for more
information).
Highlights of the 18
th
ICSMGE
included
Suzanne Lacasse’s
delivery
of the Terzaghi Oration,
Protecting
Society from Landslides – the Role
of the Geotechnical Engineering
and
the first R. Kerry Rowe Lecture by
Charles Shackelford
,
The Role of
Diffusion in Environmental Geotech-
nic.
Attending the 5
th
iYGEC and the 18
th
ICSMGE provided us a rare opportu-
nity to develop contacts and friend-
ships with geotechnical engineers
throughout the world as well as to
broaden our perspective on geotech-
nical engineering. We would like
to thank the CGS and the Canadian
Foundation for Geotechnique for this
unique and memorable experience.
caption: Attendees of the 5
th
iYGEC.
Submitted by Vince Goreham and
Nicholas Beier
Canadian Geotechnical Journal
Celebrates Golden Jubilee
It is both a pleasure and privilege to
write this note at the end of 50 years
of the Canadian Geotechnical Journal,
a milestone that is much easier to be
excited about than my own 50
th
birth-
day a few years ago!
Contributions to the first volume
included those from a number of
Canadian practitioners and research-
ers whose names are now commemo-
rated with awards from the Canadian
Geotechnical Society and associated
organizations (
Bozozuk, Hardy,
Leggett, Lo, Meyerhof, Quigley and
Stermac
). The first volume was pre-
sented in four issues during 1963 and
1964, with sixteen articles, 4 discus-
sions, 4 news articles, and one review
published over 244 pages. In contrast,
volume 49 of the journal published in
2012 contained 90 articles, 17 notes,
and 17 discussions and closures, form-
ing a total of 1447 printed pages.
In his introduction to the first issue,
Dr Leggett expressed the objectives of
the new publication: “The Journal is
intended to provide a medium for the
publication of papers in the applied
geotechnical field. It is anticipated
Delegates to the 5th. iYGEC and 18th. ICSMGE in France.