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Rock Mechanics
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About the Rock Mechanics Division
The Rock Mechanics Division (RMD) strives to develop, maintain and promote communications and cooperation between practitioners of rock mechanics and geotechnical rock engineering. It provides its members with opportunities to present the results of professional activities by organizing events and activities to facilitate knowledge, experience and information transfer and exchange. It also provides its members with opportunities to upgrade and update their professional knowledge and skills.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee of the Rock Mechanics Division consists of the following members:
Chair
Jonathan Aubertin
École de Technologie Supérieure
Montréal, QC
Jonathan.aubertin@etsmtl.ca
Co-chair
Jennifer Day
Queen's University
Kingston, ON
day.jennifer@queensu.ca
Past Chair
Jennifer Day
Queen's University
Kingston, ON
Vice Chair
Ghasem Shams
Secretary
Akram Deiminiat
Communication Representative
Abtin Jahanbakhsh-Zadeh
Member
Davide Elmo
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
delmo@mining.ubc.ca
Member
Biao Li
Concordia University
Montréal, QC
biao.li@concordia.ca
Member
Wenbo Zheng
University of Northern British Columbia,
Prince George, BC
wenbo.zheng@unbc.ca
Member
Eliane Cabot
Newmont
Communication Representative
John Nichols


Latest News

  • Nicholas Vlachopoulos was awarded the 2024 John Franklin Award at GeoMontreal 2024. Congratulations Nic for your contributions in the fields of rock mechanics and rock engineering!
  • The inaugural student rock mechanics student competition was a great success. The team from University of Saskatechewan won first place for this 2024 iteration of the competition.
  • The 23rd Canadian Rock Mechanics Symposium will take place from August 17th to 19th 2025 in Montreal. The conference will feature workshops on the 17th and technical sessions on the 18th and 19th. More information at www.rockeng2025.com
  • The RMD linkedin group is now live. You may ask to join the group via: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14501032/

 

 

Project and Initiatives

A number of projects and initiatives are underway. Below is a list of ongoing work and initiatives with RMD:

  • 2025/2026 rock mechanics student competition (in collaboration with CARMA and CIM RES)
  • Rock Mechanics Webinar, in collaboration with RES and CARMA.
  • Geotechnique Magazine article.
  • GeoManitobal special session with featured speakers (joint collaboration with the Engineering Geology and Geological Engineering Division)
  • GeoQuebec Workshop

 

Affiliations with Other Organizations

The Rock Mechanics Division is affiliated with the Canadian Rock Mechanics Association (CARMA). CARMA is the Canadian representative of the International Society of Rock Mechanics (ISRM). Becoming a member of the CGS Rock Mechanics Division automatically makes you a member of CARMA and the ISRM. CARMA members have access to past conference proceedings and other material through the CARMA website. Benefits given to ISRM members include:

  • 1 copy of the ISRM News Journal
  • ISRM Newsletter
  • Access to the members area in the website (download of Suggested Methods and Reports, Rock Mechanics lectures, videos, slide collection, etc.)
  • Right to participate in the ISRM Commissions
  • Registration with a 20% discount in the ISRM Congress, International and Regional Symposia and Specialized Conferences
  • Personal subscription to the International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences at a discounted price (see details).
  • Personal subscription to the Journal Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering at a discounted price.
  • Free download of up to 100 papers per year from the ISRM Digital Library at OnePetro.

 

If you are a CGS Rock Mechanics member and have not received your access information from CARMA and the ISRM, please contact admin@cgs.ca

 

For more information about CARMA, refer to the website http://www.carma-rocks.ca/

 

The joint RMD/RES webinars will make the presentations available online on the CARMA and RES website.

 

John A. Franklin Award

Established in 1993, the Award honours the past President of the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM), John A. Franklin, for his outstanding contributions to the Canadian and international rock mechanics community, and to the Canadian Geotechnical Society.

The award recognizes an individual who has recently made an outstanding and published technical contribution in the fields of rock mechanics or rock engineering in Canada and/or internationally. The eligibility for the award is restricted to either CGS members (need not be resident in Canada) or other individuals, resident in Canada, who have provided an outstanding service to the Canadian geotechnical community.

Nominations

The award nomination period for the Canadian Geotechnical Society is currently in progress. CARMA and CGS' Rock Mechanics Division are encouraging nominations for the John A. Franklin award recognizing outstanding contributions to the Canadian and international rock mechanics community.

The complete nomination process is as follow (as outlined in the CGS Awards Manual):

Nominations shall be submitted by email to the RMD chair (see RMD webpage) and CGS National Office (awards@cgs.ca).

Nomination packages must include:

i) Nomination letter(s), 2 pages maximum (each), 3 letters maximum.

ii) Summary of nominee’s most significant contributions to the field (4 pages maximum).

iii) Curriculum Vitae, 12 pages maximum, with the following sections: (a) education, (b) employment history, (c) research project / consulting experience, (d) contributions to the training and mentoring of highly qualified professionals, (e) professional affiliations and associated service records (including CGS membership status), (f) awards and distinctions, (g) list of publications and technical presentations.

Nominations can be made by the Nomination Committee or by any CGS member, except the Division Chair. Nominations are due May 15th.

Selection criteria:

For the publication(s) and/or outstanding contributions to the field which represent a high standard of scientific or applied research, rock mechanics and/or rock engineering in academia and/or industry, or technology transfer and education.

Previous Recipients of the John A. Franklin Award

 1994 P.K. Kaiser

 1996 Derek Martin

 1998 Maurice Dusseault

 1999 Michel Aubertin

 2001 John Hadjigeorgiou

 2003 Jean Hutchinson

 2005 R. Paul Young

 2007 Mark S. Diederichs

 2009 Douglas Stead

 2011 Peter F. Stacey

 2013 Erik Eberhardt

 2015 Hani Mitri

 2017 Ming Cai

 2019 Giovanni Grasselli

 2021 Rick Chalaturnyk

 2023 Joe Carvalho

 2024 Nicholas Vlachopoulos

 

Best Rock Mechanics Paper at the CGS Annual Conference

The best rock mechanics paper is awarded annually at the national CGS conference, in collaboration with the Canadian Rock Mechanics Association (CARMA). The paper is selected by the technical committee and the RMD chair (or a designated executive in case of conflict of interests).

 

Previously awarded papers:

Javaid, M.A., Harrison, J. P., Kasani, H. A., Mas Ivars, D., (2023). Analyzing in situ stress: challenges in quantifying stress domains. In Proceedings of GeoSaskatoon 2023. Saskatoon: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

Lin, C., Shen, X., Zou, D. H. S., (2024). Support Timing and Ground Stability Analysis for Mine Excavation Using Numerical Modelling. In Proceedings of GeoMontreal 2024. Montreal: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

 

Webinars





CIM CGS CARMA Webinar - Marco Quirion

 





RMD/RES webinar - Dr. Patrick Andrieux

 

CIM CGS Webinar - Kathy Kalenchuk 

Latest News
Reports / Documents
CARMA Best Paper Award 2023
CARMA Best Paper Award 2024
Upcoming Events

Year:

AUG
17-19
2025
RockEng 2025
Location:
Pavillon A of École de Technologie Supérieure, Montréal, Québec
Read More
SEP
21-24
2025
78th Annual Canadian Geotechnical Conference - GeoManitoba
Location:
Winnipeg, MB
Read More
Please contact the Rock Mechanics Division at info@cgs.ca if you have any comments or suggestions.
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