Geotechnical News • December 2018
19
Don Lewycky.
and running this event, I successfully
coordinated the “Wall Building Con-
test” held at the 61
st
CGS Conference
in Edmonton (2008).
During the past decade at UAlberta,
I have been heavily involved in the
planning of several high-impact
international conferences that present
state-of-the-art research in oil sands
and mine waste management. I was
part of the organizing and technical
committees for the CGS-endorsed
Tailings and Mine Waste Confer-
ence (2009, 2013, 2017), the CGS-
sponsored David C. Sego Symposium
(2012) and the International Oil Sands
Tailings Conference (2008-2018), and
have been an editor for eight of these
conferences’ proceedings. I was also
invited to participate on the organizing
committee for the Canadian YGEGC
held in Vancouver (2016).
I have co-authored several articles in
Geotechnical News over the years and
am excited to now join the editorial
board as the editor of the CGS News
section. CGS News is a valuable
source of information that serves to
enhance members’ knowledge and
interests in the Society and promote
the CGS to the geotechnical com-
munity. It is also a great medium for
the recognition of awards and honours
for our members. I plan to continue
with the level of excellence that Don
has set and to put forward a CGS
News section that is captivating and
informative to our regional, national
and international readers. I also hope
to reach out to, engage and encourage
students and young professionals to
get involved in the CGS.
Until next time,
Nicholas Beier, PhD, PEng
Edmonton, AB
E-Mail:
The Last Word
One of the privileges of being the
CGS News Editor for the Geotechni-
cal News is that I always have the
opportunity to get in the last word
with each submission. As noted in
Dharma Wijewickreme’s
president’s
message and in
Nicholas Beier’s
pre-
vious introduction, you are now aware
that my second term as the CGS News
Editor is coming to a close and this
represents my 24
th
and last submission
to Geotechnical News as CGS News
Editor.
I’m pleased to see that Nicholas Beier
from the University of Alberta will be
taking over the editing duties of the
CGS News, beginning in January of
2019. To help him in the transition,
we have already met and discussed
the duties of the CGS News Editor
and I transferred files and templates
to help him start his first few submis-
sions in 2019, before he starts placing
his own stamp on subsequent issues.
We also discussed the new and excit-
ing changes that are coming in how
the CGS will communicate with its
members in the near future. He will
be telling you much more of what is
coming in future issues of Geotechni-
cal News.
As I started to collect the CGS materi-
als that I had accumulated over the
years to hand over to Nicholas, it sud-
denly struck me that I have been on
the CGS Board in various capacities
for some 13 years! I have now served
under seven different presidents and
worked with four Secretary/Execu-
tive Directors. In the case of
Michel
Aubertin
, I have had the privilege of
being both his Vice President Finance
and working with him in his current
capacity as Executive Director. The
CGS Board has in effect become my
second, very large extended family
with members across the country and I
will cherish the many friendships that
I have developed with various Board
members over the years.
I wish to extend a very special thanks
to
Lisa McJunkin
, who, along with
Michel, have helped in getting mate-
rial translated into French with very
short notice and supplying me with
information on the Society’s activities.
Finally, I have to acknowledge all the
patience shown me over the last six
years by my Managing Editor,
Lynn
Pugh
. I’m sure she is more than happy
to see me leave, along with all my last
minutes edits. I will certainly miss
working with her and wish her all the
best in the future.
So what’s next for Don? Well for start-
ers, I have to finish the final closure
of the activities for GeoEdmonton
2018 and I’ve also promised Nicholas
a conference report for inclusion in
the March 2019 issue of Geotechnical
News. I will also will be acting as the
temporary chair for the Transporta-
tion Committee. Apparently I won an
election for the position by a landslide,
but I suspect collusion between the
incoming CGS President Mario Ruel
and the Russian government and I’m
demanding a full investigation into
the entire election process. I’ve also
offered Lisa McJunkin any help I can
provide as she moves the Geotechnical
News into a new era. Finally, I’m still
on the Executive for the Geotechnical
Society of Edmonton for at least one
more year, so I won’t be disappearing
entirely, just yet.
Again, I would like to express my
thanks for the many contributions
made by a host of CGS and Board
members over the last six years. It has
been an interesting, sometimes frus-
CANADIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY NEWS
