A Message from the Vice President
By Dr. Dennis E. Becker
It is my distinct honour and privilege to serve as Vice President (VP) North America for one year, with my term ending in 2009. Normally a Vice President’s term is for four years. However, as Professor Hachich (VP South America) mentioned in his September 2008 “Message”, Mr. John Seychuk, P.Eng. from Canada, who was selected VP North America in 2005, resigned in August 2008 due to health reasons. John Seychuk’s enthusiasm, energy and “down to earth” (practical) style contributed significantly to the ISSMGE. It is quite apparent that I have “big shoes to fill” and that John is a “tough act to follow”. Therefore, there was also some trepidation, along with honour and privilege, when I accepted the VP North America position. I’m also privileged that I have known John as a close professional colleague, mentor and friend for more than 30 years. This past and continued relationship with John increases the honour of being selected to replace him. I acknowledge and thank the ISSMGE Board for the warm welcome and vote of confidence that they have extended to me.
The North American Region of ISSMGE consists of the three member (country) societies of Mexico, United States and Canada. It is a tradition that the VP North America be selected, upon agreement from the three countries, on a rotational basis. For the term 2005-2009, the Vice President is from Canada. For the term 2009-2013, the position will be filled by the selected representative from Mexico. As my first formal duty, I’m pleased to announce that Professor Miguel P. Romo has been appointed to serve as VP North America from 2009-2013. Based on his qualifications and track record, I am confident that Professor Romo’s contribution as VP North America will be noteworthy. His term will start following the XVII ICSMGE to be held in Alexandria, Egypt in October 2009.
There are approximately 4,000 individual ISSMGE members from North America (Mexico (395), United States (2,924) and Canada (680)), which represents about 23 % of the total individual memberships in ISSMGE. Each of the North American member societies have strong and active national geotechnical societies that serve and provide specific benefits to their members. A description of the three national societies and their activities can be found on their respective websites (Mexican Society for Soil Mechanics (http://www.smms.org.mx), Geo-Institute (http://content.geoinstitute.org) and Canadian Geotechnical Society (http://www.cgs.ca)).
Similar to the Australasian Region of ISSMGE, the North America Region, despite its small number of member (voting) societies and, hence a small regional “voice”, contributes significantly and substantially to the international geotechnical community. This is achieved through active participation of individual members who assist in organizing international workshops, symposia and conferences, attend international events, publish papers and books, and participate on the various Technical Committees (TC) and Joint Technical Committees of the ISSMGE and sister societies of ISRM and IAEG. The North America Region has membership in all of the Technical Committees, including the Chair and Core Group members in about a third of the TCs. A complete list of the TCs and their membership can be found on the ISSMGE website.
In addition to annual conferences, specialty workshops, symposia, seminars and lecture series are organized each year by the respective member societies. As recent examples, the Mexican Society for Soil Mechanics held their XXIV National Conference in Aguascalientes City, Mexico in late November 2008. A Mexican National Conference of Soil Mechanics is held every two years, and includes special events such as the Nabor Carrillo Lecture, Manual Gonzales Flores Award and General Assembly Meeting. In Canada, the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS) held their 61st annual conference in Edmonton, Alberta, in September 2008.
Download ISSMGE Bulletin – Volume 2 Issue 4 (pp. 1-2)
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