24
Geotechnical News • March 2019
CANADIAN GEOTECHNICAL SOCIETY NEWS
arrived, the atmosphere at the confer-
ence warmed and so did the weather.
By mid-conference the temperature
had risen to the mid teens and the
snow had melted into memory.
The conference was held in the
Shaw Conference Centre located in
downtown Edmonton. The building
itself is a geotechnical marvel. Built
in the early 1980’s with the help of
Dr. Norbert Morgenstern, it cascades
down the north river bank of the North
Saskatchewan River and is situated
on the backscarp of a massive transla-
tional landslide that occurred in 1901.
A perfect setting for the 71st CGS and
13th CGS/IAH-CNC Conference. The
theme of the conference was Trans-
portation Geotechnique - Moving For-
ward, a reflection of the importance
of the various pieces of transportation
infrastructure needed to tie such a vast
country together and to acknowledge
the numerous geohazards that plague
them.
As is tradition, the conference started
on Sunday with the annual CGS Board
Meeting. Concurrently, four short
courses were offered which attracted
an attendance of 73 delegates. At the
end of a busy first day, it was time to
relax and to rekindle old friendships
with good food and drink at the Ice
Breaker Reception. At this confer-
ence, the Local Organizing Committee
(LOC) wanted to make a special effort
to ensure that both students and young
professional just starting their careers,
were warmly welcomed into the CGS
family. This started with registration.
For the first time, student registrations
included admittance to all the social
functions at the conference. This was
possible through the generous dona-
tions from three diamond sponsors
(Clifton Associates, Mobile Augers
and Nilex). In addition, just prior to
the official ice breaker festivities, a
special mixer was arranged in the
exhibitor’s hall where our students and
young professionals were encouraged
to come specifically meet with some
of our more “seasoned” profession-
als, to talk informally and begin to
develop professional networks. This
was followed up with a panel discus-
sion chaired by
Emily Rowe
, where
Suzanne Powell
and
Kent Bannister
of the CGS and
Diana Allen
of the
IAH, offered their opinions, advice
and stories of the early days of their
careers to the young people in the
audience.
On Monday, the conference began
in earnest, starting with R.M. Hardy
keynote address delivered by
Derek
Martin
from the University of Alberta
and the 2018 Darcy Lecture, delivered
by
Masaki Hayashi
from the Univer-
sity of Calgary.
In addition to Monday’s regular slate
of paper presentations, the Profes-
sional Practice Committee in associa-
tion with the LOC, hosted a specialty
session focusing on Diversity and
Inclusion: Women in Engineering.
The session featured presentations by
six prominent female professionals on
inclusion and diversity in engineering
and academia, exploring the chal-
lenges and opportunities for building
more equitable workplaces. Following
their presentations,
Margaret-Ann
Armour, Gillian Ranson, Anjum
Mullick, J. Suzanne Powell, Gin-
ger Gibson
and
Ania Ulrich
all
participated in a moderated question
and answer period that was very well
received.
At Monday’s Legget Award Luncheon,
the 2018 inductee was named. This
year saw Michel Aubertin join the
list of distinguished geoprofessionals
who have received the CGS’s highest
recognition, the Legget Award.
The day closed with the 11th annual
CGS/IAH-CNC Awards Banquet
where many CGS and IAH members
were recognized for their meritorious
and professional service achievements.
Hosted by local media personality
Rob Christie
, the evening included
a fine meal and wine, featuring local
entertainment including the String
Beans string quartet and the headline
act, the world famous Shumka Dance
Company, who dazzled the crowd with
their breathtaking show of athleticism
and dance artistry.
Tuesday morning was highlighted by
two traditional plenary presentations.
The first was the CGS Colloquium,
given by
Matt Lato
. He was then fol-
lowed by the CGS Graduate Student
Paper, presented by
Bradley Forbes
.
Following the break after their
presentations, delegates were back
shuffling through the five concurrent
streams of presentations on various
geoscience themes. In total nearly 250
Left to right: Chris Bunce,
Derek Martin, David Elwood.
Diana Allen and Masaki Hayashi.
Dr. Matt Lato giving the CGS
Colloquium.
