CGS News

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS – CGS PRESIDENT ELECT

The next President-Elect for the Canadian Geotechnical Society will be appointed January 1, 2016 and this individual will become President for 2017 and 2018. The process leading to this appointment, which will be confirmed at the 68th Canadian Geotechnical Conference (GeoQuébec 2015) in Quebec City on September 20-23, 2015, has now begun.

In accordance with the CGS By-Law, a Nominating Committee was formed in 2014 to propose a suitable candidate. It consisted of then President Richard Bathurst as chair, Bryan Watts (then Past-President), Lee Barbour and Heinrich Heinz (general members of CGS).

That committee has put forward the name of Dr Dharma Wijewickreme. Dr Wijewickreme has agreed to be a candidate, and his statement of qualifications and objectives for the Society follows. Other candidates, however, are also welcomed. Any general member of the CGS may nominate a candidate for the position of President-Elect. Nominations must be received in writing by CGS Headquarters by June 15, 2015. They must include the printed names, signatures and CGS member numbers of at least 18 general members, and a statement by the candidate expressing a willingness to serve as President-Elect and then President, if elected. For further information contact CGS Headquarters.

If there are no additional candidates, Dr. Wijewickreme will be acclaimed at the Board of Directors Meeting in Quebec City this fall. If additional candidates are nominated, the selection of the President-Elect will be by a general members’ ballot during the summer of 2015.

President-Elect Nomination Statement of Dr. Dharma Wijewickreme

I am honoured to have been chosen by the Nominating Committee of the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS) as the Society’s President-Elect in 2016 and it is with pleasure that I accept this nomination. If elected, I look forward to serving the CGS as President for a two-year term commencing January 2017.

I have actively participated in a wide range of CGS activities in various roles. The latest is the start of a second two-year term as your Vice President Finance. My other contributions to the CGS have included being the Technical Co-Chair of the 59th Canadian Geotechnical Conference in Vancouver (2006); Regional Director for B.C. (2004-2005); a founding member of the Technical Committee on Mining Geotechnique (2012-2014); a member (2004 to 2010) and then Chair of the National Education Committee (2007-2010); Member of the Geotechnical Research Board (2011-2012) and the Membership Task Force Committee (2010). My contributions to the CGS at local and international levels through the Vancouver Geotechnical Society (VGS) and International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), include being the Co-chair of the14th VGS Symposium (2000); Program Director for the VGS (2000-2001); Conference Co-Chair of the 3rd International Conference on the Performance Based Design in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering under the auspices of the Technical Committee ISSMGE-TC-203 on Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Associated Problems (2017); and Member of the TC-203 (since 2011) and Technical Committee ISSMGE-TC-29 on Laboratory Stress Strain Strength Testing of Geomaterials (2003-2010). I’m also a member the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.

My professional activities over the last 25 years comprise 11 years in industry and 14 years in academia. At present, I am a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Before joining UBC in 2001, I worked in geotechnical consulting practice with Golder Associates, where I became an Associate (Partner) of the firm in 1997. At UBC, I conduct research which focuses on pipeline and earthquake geotechnical engineering. With industry funding, I have contributed to establishing a new Pipeline Integrity Institute (PII) at UBC, created to champion pipeline practice and innovation through research and training. My research on soil liquefaction contributed to the seismic design guidelines in the Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual CFEM (2007) and the Task Force Report on Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Design in Greater Vancouver, with application in major earthquake engineering projects. I have served on the Editorial Boards of the Canadian Geotechnical Journal since 2008 and the ASTM Geotechnical Testing Journal since 2005. In 2013 I was the recipient of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Horst Leipholz Medal for outstanding contributions to Engineering Mechanics and Practice in Canada. I was also elected a Fellow of both the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering in 2013.

Through its leadership and the tremendous efforts of past and current volunteers, the CGS can proudly state with pride that our learned Society’s membership is both growing and that its finances are strong. The annual CGS conference, local section involvement, Cross Canada Lecture tours, the addressing of technical issues through our Divisions, the publication of the CFEM, along with the linkage with the Canadian Geotechnical Journal, all form the basis of the CGS’ deliverables to the profession as a learned society.

Our membership has been the key to the Society’s success, but we need to better involve young professionals. The importance for collaboration between academics and practitioners, and the need for increased involvement in policy and regulatory deliberations in relation to the geotechnical profession has also been identified. Continuing these important issues involve activities that extend well beyond the time spans of the recent and current CGS administrations. The challenge is to find the most effective ways of implementing the tasks identified on an ongoing basis. I believe that there is a need to increase the involvement of our membership in the implementation of identified tasks. In other words, we need to find ways get the Society’s action items into the routine “things-to-do list” of our general membership. This will likely involve new ways of recognizing and rewarding our members for their efforts at the grass-roots level.

As we move forward, there is an increased need to be mindful of the rapidly changing value systems in the world. It is my opinion that further effort should be placed to convey our learned Society’s contributions to society-at-large, especially to the school-age population. We will need to develop outreach activities extending beyond the traditional professional realms that are often used, while capitalizing on the readily available forms of modern communication tools. Of course, our approaches in this regard must be developed to be compatible with our volunteer-based frameworks and resources.

I believe that the experience gained through my voluntary contributions to the CGS, VGS, and ISSMGE, combined with my professional activities in both industry and academia, positions me well to provide leadership to our Society in 2017-2018. In addition, my intimate familiarity of the CGS’ finances, operations, and protocols provides me the opportunity to directly focus on action-oriented tasks.

The Canadian Geotechnical Society, now nearly 70 years since its formation, is founded on “solid and competent ground.” We have established an international reputation that is second to none. If elected as your President commencing in 2017, it would be my honour to lead and contribute to the profession and the society-at-large.

Call for Nominations for CGS Awards

Look around. We all know at least one deserving geotechnical professional deserving of recognition!

The CGS wishes to again recognize the considerable contributions and achievements by geotechnical professionals in Canada and abroad in a family of awards, many of which will be presented during the Awards Ceremony at the CGS Annual Conference in Quebec City – GeoQuébec 2015 (September 20-23, 2015). Funding for many of these awards is provided by the Canadian Foundation Geotechnique, so remember to also support your Foundation! The various awards and the list of past recipients are provided at www.cgs.ca/awards.php?lang=en, or for more information contact CGS Headquarters.

If you know of someone deserving of any of the CGS Awards, nominate them by June 1, 2015. If you wish to make a submission for a Student Award, it must be received by May 21, 2015. Send your nominations to CGS Headquarters at:

The Canadian Geotechnical Society
8828 Pigott Road
Richmond, BC, V7A 2C4, Canada
Fax: (604) 277-7529
E-mail: cgs@cgs.ca

Nominations should include the name and contact information of the nominator, a resume or curriculum vita of the nominee, and a letter highlighting the contributions and achievements that make the nominee a worthy candidate for that specific award. Letters of support from others, CGS members and non-members, are encouraged. If possible, nominations should include an appropriate head and shoulders photo of the nominee.

Call for Nominations for 2015 Awards and Fellowships
Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC)

As a constituent Society of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), CGS members are eligible for awards and fellowships of the EIC which are summarized below. CGS members are encouraged to submit EIC nominations of fellow members to CGS Headquarters by July 15, 2015.

Nominations must include:

1. a completed EIC Nomination Form which is available from http://eic-ici.ca/honours_awards/)

2. a nomination letter

3. the nominee’s CV, and

4. supporting letters from colleagues, preferably Fellows of the EIC (FEIC)

It is recommended that nominators review the awards details and criteria prior to preparing nominations. For more information contact CGS Headquarters at:

The Canadian Geotechnical Society
8828 Pigott Road
Richmond, BC, V7A 2C4, Canada
Fax: (604) 277-7529
E-mail: cgs@cgs.ca

Past CGS member recipients of EIC Awards and Fellowships can be found on the CGS website www.cgs.ca/awards.php?lang=en.

Canadian Foundation for Geotechnique
2015 Michael Bozozuk National Graduate Scholarship

Dr. Dennis Becker, President of the Canadian Foundation for Geotechnique is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 8th annual Canadian Foundation for Geotechnique National Graduate Scholarship.

The scholarship, valued at $5,000, was established by the Canadian Foundation for Geotechnique in 2007, on the occasion of the 60th Canadian Geotechnical Conference in Ottawa. The 2015 scholarship will be presented at the Canadian Geotechnical Conference, in Quebec City, Q.C. this fall.

Any Canadian or permanent resident, entering or registered in a Canadian university Masters or PhD program that is directly related to an identified field of geotechnique, is eligible. Programs include geotechnical engineering, geological engineering, mining engineering, geoenvironmental engineering or geoenvironmental geoscience, engineering geology and hydrogeology. Nominees must have high academic standing and preference will be given to those who have some practical experience and are active, or show leadership, in the geotechnical community.

Nominations are limited to one per academic department and require a letter, accompanied by rationale, written and signed by the graduate supervisor. Rationale should include evidence of academic standing, research output, contributions to practice, and leadership/activity in the geotechnical community. A nomination package is limited to five pages. For award ceremony purposes, the nomination package should also include a digital image (300 dpi) of the nominee.

Nominations for the 2015 Scholarship will be accepted by the Canadian Geotechnical Society’s Scholarship Selection Committee Chair, Dr Paul Simms (c/o Carleton University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa ON. K1S 5B6, telephone (613) 520 2600 ext. 2079, paul_simms@carleton.ca) up until May 1, 2015. If submitted by email, nominations must be signed by the supervisor and include the words “Canadian Foundation for Geotechnique National Graduate Scholarship” in the subject line.

For further information, refer to the Foundation’s website www.cfg-fcg.ca or contact Dr. Dennis Becker, (403) 260 2253, dennis_becker@golder.com.