The AGS National Committee approved a draft of the competencies and eligibility criteria for registration of geotechnical engineers and engineering geology professionals to be sent to the National Engineering Register for consideration. The AGS working group on the registration of geotechnical professional has been led by Darren Paul, Immediate Past Chair. It is expected that process will be finalised in 2018.
The following two themed issues of Australian Geomechanics are planned for 2018: The March 2018 issue will be dedicated to ‘Expansive soils’ and will be coordinated by the AGS Victoria Chapter. Please submit your abstracts to Daniel King on any related topic including characterisation of expansive soils, foundations, retaining structures and ground improvement applications, measurements and use of soil suction in design, slope stability and case histories. A call for papers with additional details is included in this issue. The September 2018 issue will be focused on ‘Digital Geotechnics: applications, opportunities and risks’. Topics to be addressed include: the application of three dimensional models to design, construction and monitoring; innovative uses of GIS and BIM; innovative uses of Smart Phones…
During November 2017 Scott Anderson presented the keynote lecture prepared for the Sydney Symposium in Brisbane, Newcastle and Melbourne. You can view the presentation below if you have logged into the AGS website. Details of distinguished speaker tours for 2018 are being finalised and will be announced soon. Natural hazards, risk, and the resilience of U.S. transportation infrastructure presentation Recorded at the Queensland Chapter Presentation 7 November 2017 (Only members who have logged-in will be able to see this video)
The 12th ANZ Young Geotechnical Professionals Conference will be held in Hobart, Tasmania on 7 – 8 November 2018. Dr Hong Liu (University of Tasmania) is leading the organisation of the event. A Call for Papers is available on event page. The 13th Australia New Zealand Conference on Geomechanics, regional event of ISSMGE for the Australasian region, will be held in Perth on 1-3 April 2019. A first notice with general information is available. The Chair of the Local Organising Committee is Michael Smith.
Nominations are still open for the 2017 E.H. Davis Memorial Lecture and the John Jaeger Memorial Award. Please forward nominations to your chapter committee or directly to the AGS Secretariat no later than 1 February 2018.
Dr John Simmons has worked in the area of open cut coal mine geotechnical engineering for over 25 years. He obtained a first class honours degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Queensland, before completing an MSc at the University of Alberta in1974 and a PhD at the University of Alberta under the supervision of Professor Norbert Morgenstern in 1981. In his early career, he worked briefly for the Irrigation and Water Supply Commission in Brisbane, and Golder Associates in Canada, before teaching Civil Engineering and Geomechanics, and researching tropical soils at James Cook University, North Queensland. In 1990 he joined BHP Engineering in Brisbane where he was responsible for all geotechnical activities of their Queensland-based operations. In 1995…
