The Victorian Chapter of the Australian Geomechanics Society (AGS) is pleased to announce the 2020 AGS Victorian Symposium titled “Sustainable Geotechnics – Excellence in Planning, Design and Construction” to be held on 30 September 2020.
The Symposium forms part of the continuing programme of events organised by the Victorian Chapter of the AGS. Its purpose is to provide a forum for the dissemination of technical information in relation to sustainable geotechnical engineering practice, with a specific focus on sustainable planning, design and construction approaches.
The Event
At the start of a new decade, our society faces many challenges of which engineers and geo-professionals are at the forefront. These challenges include managing our limited resources, finding new sources of energy generation, minimising waste, managing contaminated sites, and the risks and hazards associated with a changing climate. Addressing these challenges requires the innovative use of optimised and lean investigation, design and construction methods, use of alternative or recycled products, and finding ways to “do more with less”.
This Symposium will present overviews of current state-of-the-art practices, innovation, new research results and case studies related to sustainable practice in geotechnics, with a specific focus on planning, design and construction activities. Sustainability is often not explicitly discussed in our industry – this Symposium provides geo-professionals with an exciting opportunity to help define what it means for our profession.
The Symposium will bring together professional engineers, geologists, geophysicists, researchers, specialist contractors, regulators, educators and students to share and discuss their experiences on the topic of sustainable geotechnics. Best practices, case histories and innovative solutions for dealing with these challenges will be presented and discussed, with an emphasis on the geotechnical challenges affecting the Melbourne region and regional areas of Victoria.
This Symposium is aimed at professionals across the entire geotechnical industry, and participation is particularly encouraged from practitioners working in small to medium contractors and consultancies, along with those in larger firms or academia.
Nominations
The Victorian Chapter of the AGS invites local and national practitioners to submit abstracts on a topic related to sustainable geotechnics. Abstracts should be no more than 300 words and prepared in accordance with the abstract submission guidelines outlined below. Completed abstracts should be sent to Andrew Lochaden by 13 March 2020 for consideration by the organising committee.
Abstracts will be selected based on their quality and relevance to the topic of sustainable geotechnics with the successful authors invited to submit a six-page paper for presentation at the Symposium. We encourage submissions from practising engineers as well as academia.
Topics should align with the general themes of the ISSMGE TC307 – Sustainable Geotechnics and include:
- Innovative, environmentally friendly and/or energy-efficient aspects of site investigation, design and construction, including monitoring and ground improvement techniques;
- Sustainable use of geotechnical systems and materials, including retrofitting and reuse of waste materials, foundations and other geotechnical structures;
- Use and reuse of underground space, including for the storage of energy and carbon dioxide;
- Geotechnical considerations for managing or mitigating the effects of contaminated materials or sites;
- Geotechnical techniques involved in the exploitation of renewable energy sources, such as shallow and deep geothermal, solar and wind energies;
- Development of sustainability indicators and assessment tools in geotechnical engineering; and
- Geohazard (man-made and natural) vulnerability and mitigation, including the effects of global climate change and multi-hazards.
Cost
The cost of the Symposium is to be confirmed. Presenters (one per paper) will enjoy free entry to the Symposium with discounts for co-authors.
Important dates and submission
- 13 March 2020 – Abstract submission
- 06 April 2020 – Notification of accepted abstracts
- 10 July 2020 – Full paper submission
- 31 July 2020 – Paper acceptance notifications
- 28 August 2020 – Final paper submission and early bird registration deadline
Abstract submission
Please submit a word document with the following information for abstract submission:
- Authors’ full names: (i.e. Bob A. Smith, David S. Smith. Font type: Times New Roman, font style: regular, font-size: 10) (Please underline the presenting author)
- Authors’ full affiliation (Position, name of company/university, email address and contact number): (font type: Times New Roman, font style: regular, font-size: 10)
- Title of paper, maximum of 100 characters (font type: Times New Roman, font-style: bold, font-size: 12)
- Abstract text, maximum 300 words (font type: Times New Roman, font style: regular, font-size: 10