8
Geotechnical News • June 2018
CANADIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY NEWS
I invite you to engage and contribute
your comments about this by writing
to me c/o
or directly
conveying your thoughts to the CGS
representative of your local Section.
Now, let me present you with some
news updates. I expect that
Dr.
Thomas O’Rourke
(Cornell Univer-
sity, Ithaca, NY, USA) will have com-
pleted the Cross Canada Lecture Tour
(CCLT) as the Spring 2018 speaker
by the time this magazine reaches
your desk. Looking further down the
road, I am pleased to inform you that
Dr. Alex Sy
(Klohn Crippen Berger,
Vancouver, BC) has accepted the invi-
tation to be the Fall 2018 speaker. We
also have the relatively new CGS Col-
loquium Lecture Series (established
in partnership with the Canadian
Foundation for Geotechnique). This
is offered to the most recent Canadian
Geotechnical Colloquium Speaker to
cover travel expenses for delivering
the Colloquium lecture across Canada;
those Sections who wish to have this
presentation locally can contact the
Colloquium Speaker directly.
Once Again, we have performed very
well in relation to CGS members
receiving awards and honors from
the Engineering Institute of Canada
(EIC). In this, our members:
Delwyn
Fredlund
and
Catherine Mulligan
were awarded prestigious EIC Medals,
with
Kevin Biggar, Richard Brach-
man, Michel Julien, Robert Kenyon,
and Dharma Wijewickreme
each
inducted as Fellows of the EIC.
I am pleased to inform you that the
planning is well underway for the 71
st
Annual CGS Conference, GeoEd-
monton 2018, to be held September
23 - 26, 2018. The technical sessions
for the conference are expected to
reflect a high calibre content with over
500 approved abstracts. We again are
partnering with the International Asso-
ciation of Hydrogeologists - Canadian
National Chapter (IAH-CNC) in
organizing the event. Many thanks are
due to the
GeoEdmonton
Co-Chairs
Sean MacEoin
and
Don Lewycky
who along with their team are putting
in an immense effort organizing this
conference. Please visit the confer-
ence website
-
ton2018.ca
) for more details and
remember to mark your calendars to
join your colleagues in Edmonton in
the early days of Fall.
The 72
nd
CGS annual conference (Geo
St. John’s 2019) will be held in St.
John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
In addition to the technical value, the
conference will provide a great oppor-
tunity to visit the oldest and most
easterly city in North America!
Let me also take the opportunity to
congratulate and thank the organizing
committee of the Geohazards 7 Con-
ference led by
Michael Porter
, held
in Canmore, Alberta, between June 3
rd
and 6
th
this year.
We now have the updated Errata
for the 4
th
Edition of the Canadian
Foundation Engineering Manual
(CFEM) posted on the website. With
respect to the new online English
and French versions of the CFEM,
work is underway on the Limit States
Design Chapter, and we are actively
pursuing the Seismic Design chapter.
Once complete, these chapters will be
released as an update/addition to 4th
Edition while work continues on the
remaining chapters. The existing 4th
Edition, updated with new chapters as
they become available, will serve as
the main platform for the foreseeable
future. I would like express my sincere
thanks to
Suzanne Powell
(VP Tech-
nical) for extensive work on this task
in addition her numerous tasks related
to the other files on CCLT, Technical
Committees, conferences, etc.
As you may recall, a Financial Advi-
sory Task Force was established to
examine the ways to best invest the
CGS’ funds while keeping in line with
the government financial/tax regula-
tions; this task force has now finalized
their recommendations, and they will
be included in the new administration
manual after necessary approvals.
The intent is to provide incentive for
the development of novel ideas that
add value to CGS membership. The
details on this matter have already
been distributed to the membership
through the Board of Directors. It
is my pleasure to acknowledge the
leadership provided by
Kent Bannis-
ter
in accomplishing the above tasks
in addition to many other items in his
portfolio as the VP Finance.
The task force (TF) to develop a
solid Communication Strategy for the
Society is moving forward with many
action items. This important TF is led
by
Jean Coté
(VP Communications
and Member Services) who has been
working very hard with great support
from eight other CGS volunteers. The
subject of communications has many
facets; so, as the first step, the TF
defined specifically its objectives and
mandate, which are particularly aimed
at addressing short-term and long-term
CGS needs and members’ expecta-
tions. The communication topics
addressed range from the content/for-
mat for the CGS newsletter,
Geotech-
nical News
, website, and social media
portals. Moreover, a new Membership
Committee has been formed with
Sumi Siddiqua
serving as the Chair
with support from the National Office.
More information on these activities
can be found in the upcoming CGS
reports.
It is also important for me note that
Andrea Lougheed
,
Nicholas Vlacho-
poulos,
and
Maraika DeGroot
have
been making great contributions to
the Society as representatives for the
Sections, Divisions, and Young Pro-
fessionals, respectively. I want to wel-
come and thank these three volunteers
for their enthusiasm in their newly
assumed roles as the CGS Executive
Committee members.
The updated CGS Conference Manual
has been finalized, and thanks are
due to
Wayne Gibson
and
Michel
Aubertin
for their detailed contribu-
tions, and our Past President
Doug
VanDine
for undertaking a final
review.
