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Proceedings of the 18
th
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to date, and explained that the task had been split into the
following subgroups:
-
Innovator of the year (now part of the AWAC charge);
-
Webinars – this project had already started, and there
was expected to be a significant increase in the
following year;
-
Lexicon – A number of languages had been added, so
that currently there were 17 languages included.
Dimitrios Zekkos asked that if anyone could add a new
language to the ones already available, to contact him.
He acknowledged the huge effort and assistance from a
number of colleagues who had helped inputting the
information.
-
IT in Geotechnical engineering – This subgroup had
been involved with setting up GeoWorld, a professional
networking tool for geotechnical engineers, by which
users can easily set up profile pages, and promote their
professional information. GeoWorld would also be
useful for TC organisation, and for the promotion and
dissemination on information of geotechnical interest.
It was hoped to integrate GeoWorld, the webinars, and
the website, and eventually the International Journal of
Geoengineering Case Histories. So far, there had been
800-1000 new profile pages created in GeoWorld, and
feedback had been very positive.
The President wished to acknowledge the tremendous amount
of work that had been put into this initiative by Dimitris Zekkos
and his team, and asked if there were any questions or
comments from the floor.
Georg Heerten (Germany) asked if GeoWorld was open to all,
or whether the user had to be a member of ISSMGE. Dimitrios
Zekkos replied that anyone could use it. ISSMGE had entered
into a contract with Geoengineer.org, and invested USD25000
to help get the new website written and launched and this was
felt to be excellent value. The President asked if there was any
data on the age of the people joining, and was informed that
currently that sort of data was not being collected, but it would
be possible to do so in the future.
Flor de Cock (Belgium) thought that such systems could
become annoying and may lead to an increase in unwanted
emails. Dimitrios Zekkos stated that the intention was to have
GeoWorld integrated with the ISSMGE website information
and there should not be a flood of emails as a result. He also
pointed out that while the ISSMGE website held information
that was controlled, GeoWorld was interactive, and with
universal access.
13.2
Membership, Practitioners and Academicians Committee
(MPAC)
Luiz de Mello made the MPAC presentation on behalf of Harry
Poulos (whose report is presented here as Appendix 5). He
reported that, once the Terms of Reference had been discussed,
and that the term “Corporate Associate had been defined”, the
MPAC was eager to establish the benefits that would be given
to the Corporate Associates. These had to be clear, and
beneficial, otherwise the Corporate Associates would fall away.
Currently there were in the order of 30 Corporate
Associates, and it was important to promote these both within
the Society and the Technical Committees, and stimulating
interaction amongst each other as this would encourage the
current Corporate Associate to pass the word along, and
increase their number. Luiz de Mello commented that the focus
currently was not on recruiting new Corporate Associates,
which was also being made more difficult by the current
recession, but on consolidating the existing ones.
Reviewing the current distribution, Luiz de Mello noted that
companies in Africa had not yet seen the benefits of becoming
corporate associates, though many foreign companies were
currently working there. He pointed out that Corporate
Associates could well be representing the Head Office, but that
regional branches could also be represented. The aim of the
MPAC was to have 50 Corporate Associates by the end of the
current presidential term, as well as to closely monitor the level
of satisfaction of the current associates. The current list of
Corporate Associates was presented as well as the list of donors
to the ISSMGE Foundation, for which the MPAC had an
overseeing role in making awards to applicants.
In discussion, Georg Heerten (Germany) asked for an
update on the Foundation, The President reported that it had
raised approximately USD110000 and had spent less than
USD10000. He acknowledged that the Foundation was
probably not yet well known, and he was hesitant to seek more
funding as he felt not enough had been spent. Georg Heerten
asked whether delegates to the Baltic conference could be
helped financially, and the President said they should be
encouraged to apply.
The President thanked Luiz de Mello for presenting the
report, and commended him on his energy and efforts in
increasing the number of Corporate Associates from Brazil.
13.3
Technical Oversight Committee (TOC)
Suzanne Lacasse gave the presentation on behalf of the
Technical Oversight Committee, describing its mandate,
organisation and composition, and stressing that the she had
tried to choose people from all regions to assist on the
Executive Committee. She reported that the new TCs had been
organised into groups: Fundamentals, Applications and Impact
of the Profession on Society. A report from the TOC is given in
Appendix 6.
On the whole most Technical Committees were working
well: there had been some issues, but these were being dealt
with, and the role of the TOC was to encourage those who were
maybe not performing as best they could. There were some
changes coming up; e.g. The TC on Zero Level Cities had been
cancelled, but a new proposal from Russia was expected.
Suzanne Lacasse had a series of observations based on her
presentation.
•
The Terms of Reference of the TCs varied greatly in
ambition, which may be due to cultural reasons, or even
habit.
•
There was evidence of ineffective delegation of
responsibilities by the Chairman in certain TCs.
•
The issue of inactive members of TCs needed to be
resolved.
•
TCs needed to have appropriate geographical activity.
•
The excessive bureaucracy in establishing a TC and its
membership needed to be countered.
•
A suitable and efficient mechanism for TC reporting
was required.
•
The new Honours Lectures needed to be promoted.
•
The role of Corresponding Member, a new category
added to allow greater participation without excessive
representation in meetings from an individual Member
Society, needed to be more widely known.
Suzanne Lacasse considered that these issues could be dealt
with by appropriate revision of the TC Guidelines, which she
and the TOC would undertake in the near future. In addition,
she felt that the Conference Manual needed to be updated (for
June 2012) to include conference liaisons.
In discussion, Georg Heerten (Germany) enquired about the
role of the Core members. Suzanne Lacasse said that the TCs
only had Chairs, Vice Chairs, and Secretaries and that the word
“Core” should not be used and that it had been removed from
the Guidelines. Instead, the chairs of task groups within the TC
would be part of the Executive Group of the TC.
Ikuo Towhata (Appointed Board Member) asked if there
was a time limit (or life span) of the TCs, and how they would
be affected by the change in presidency. Suzanne Lacasse
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