Distinguished Colleagues, Dear Friends,
This is my twenty seventh progress report after 820 days as your President. Note that previous reports are on the ISSMGE web site (http://www.issmge.org/) under “From the President” if you need them. In this report, I would like to talk to you about your Season Greetings, the next webinar, the page allocation for papers at the 2013 ICSMGE in Paris, a report on the ISSMGE Foundation, and an update on the ISSMGE song.
Well wishing notes for Christmas and New Year. I have received a very large quantity of cards and emails wishing me well for Christmas and the New Year. The quantity was beyond my ability to respond to all of you individually but I want to tell you how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness for me and my family. With this much good wishes packed in my suitcase, I start the year full of energy and good will. Thank you very much for your support.
Webinar. Our next ISSMGE webinar will be on the topic of Risk Assessment in Geotechnical Engineering. The 90 minute webinar will take place on 24February2012 at 15h00 UTC. The speakers will be Zenon Medina-Cetina of Texas A&M University, USA and Marco Uzielli of Georisk Engineering, Italy. The following webinar will be on the behavior of composite liners for waste disposals and the following one on unsaturated soils for the practicing engineer. Some of the topics are very broad and we are considering having series of webinars on one topic rather than limit it to only one. As always your comments are most welcome so we can respond better to your needs. For more information on webinars contact my assistant Hanna Prichard at hprichard@civil.tamu.edu
Page allocation for the 2013 ICSMGE in Paris. This is a reminder for the Member Societies leaders who have received a letter from Neil Taylor explaining what the allocation to their society was for the proceedings of the Paris ICSMGE. The letter stated the allocation and explained that Member Societies can request additional pages if they feel that their allocation is insufficient. The deadline for this request is 23Jan2012. The additional pages come from the Presidential special allocation and I will make a decision shortly after 23Jan2012. As you can imagine it is unlikely that I will be able to satisfy all request but I will try to be fair to all.
Update on the ISSMGE Foundation. Harry Poulos along with Paloma Peers and Hanna Prichard prepared a report on the ISSMGE Foundation. I attach this report but here is a brief summary. We have raised a total of US$ 121,401 contributed by 14 organizations and individuals. Their names are acknowledged in the report as well as on the ISSMGE website, in the Bulletin, and in all my presentations about ISSMGE. I am very appreciative of our donors generosity. Over the last year, the Foundation has helped 7 people from 4 countries with a grant total of US$2317.34. I consider the ISMGE Foundation to be underutilized at this time. The application form and guidelines are on the ISSMGE website at http://www.issmge.org/web/page.aspx?refid=563. If you know someone who might need help, please relay that information to them. If you know someone who wishes to contribute please ask them to contact me.
Song. Our friend Jana Frankovska was not satisfied with the quality of the first recording so she sent me a new one which we uploaded on You Tube with a more complete series of photos of you taken during my trips to various parts of the world. Here is the new link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga82VfjN8dg
Best wishes,
Jean-Louis BRIAUD, PhD, PE
President of ISSMGE
International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
Professor and Holder of the Buchanan Chair
Zachry Dpt of Civil Engineering
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-3136, USA
Tel: 979-8453795
Cell: 979-7771692
Fax: 979-8456554
Email: briaud@tamu.edu
URL: http://ceprofs.tamu.edu/briaud/
