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Proceedings of the 18
th
International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Paris 2013
Appendix 8: Board Level Committee Progress Report: SYMPG
Comité de haut niveau du Conseil Rapport d'étape: SYMPG
J.E. Nicks
Chair, SYMPG
ABSTRACT: The Student and Young Member Presidential Group (SYMPG) was initiated in 2009 by the 2009-2013 ISSMGE
President, Professor Jean-Louis Briaud. It consists of 18 members from 6 regions (3 from each region) who were nominated by the
regional Vice Presidents of ISSMGE based on their interest and involvement in the ISSMGE and their national societies. The mission
of the SYMPG is to increase the attractiveness of the ISSMGE for the next generation of geotechnical engineers and get more
students and younger members (S/YM) involved in their professional family. Over the four year term of the the first group of SYMPG
members, many products were implemented, including development of a web-based survey, the new “Outstanding Young
Geotechnical Engineer Award”, a database of known international and regional younger member events, unlimited corresponding
members on technical committees for younger members, and inclusion of young member events at the 19ICSMGE, among others.
RÉSUMÉ : Le Groupe présidentielle étudiants et les jeunes membres (SYMPG) a été lancé en 2009 par l'2009-2013 ISSMGE
Président, le Professeur Jean-Louis Briaud. Il se compose de 18 membres provenant de six régions (3 par région), qui ont été nommés
par les vice-présidents régionaux de ISSMGE en fonction de leur intérêt et leur implication dans la ISSMGE et leurs sociétés
nationales. La mission de l'SYMPG est d'accroître l'attractivité de la ISSMGE pour la prochaine génération d'ingénieurs
géotechniques et obtenir plus d'étudiants et de jeunes membres (S / YM) impliqués dans leur famille professionnelle. Au cours de la
période de quatre ans du premier groupe de membres SYMPG, de nombreux produits ont été mis en œuvre, y compris le
développement d'un sondage en ligne, la nouvelle "Ingénieur prix Outstanding Young géotechnique", une base de données des
événements connus de membres plus jeunes internationales et régionales, illimité membres des comités techniques pour les membres
les plus jeunes, et l'inclusion des jeunes événements des membres à la 19ICSMGE, entre autres correspondant.
KEYWORDS: students, young members, SYMPG, BLC
1
TERMS OF REFERENCE
The Student and Young Member Presidential Group (SYMPG)
was initiated in 2009 as an ISSMGE Board Level Committe
(BLC) by the 2009-2013 ISSMGE President, Professor Jean-
Louis Briaud. The mission of the SYMPG is to increase the
attractiveness of the ISSMGE for the next generation of
geotechnical engineers and get more students and younger
members (S/YM) involved in their professional family. This is
accomplished through the cooperation and exchange of ideas
from students and younger members across the world.
2
MEMBERSHIP
The SYMPG includes 18 members from 6 regions (3 from each
region) who were nominated by the regional Vice Presidents of
ISSMGE based on their interest and involvement in the
ISSMGE and their national societies. The term of reference for
the original members was four years; however, note that
SYMPG membership has changed throughout its term, with 5
of the original members either resigning of being removed due
to inactivity. They were subsequently replaced with
corresponding members from the same region, nominated by
SYMPG leadership and approved by the Regional Vice
President. The final list of SYMPG membership as of 2013 is
(in alphabetical order):
Felix AYEH, Ghana
Mahnoosh BIGLARI, Iran
Joost BREEDEVELD, Netherlands
Lucy COE, New Zealand
Colin DICKSON, Australia
Leonardo DORADOR, Chile
Silvia GARCIA, Mexico
Trevor GREEN, South Africa
Marcelo HEIDEMANN, Brazil
Erdin IBRAIM, UK
Daniel JIRÁSKO, Czech Republic
Young-Hoon JUNG, Korea
Xiaojun LI, China
Marcos MONTORO, Argentina
Jennifer NICKS, USA
Imen SAID, Tunisia
Brendan SCOTT, Australia
Yonghui SONG, USA
2.1
SYMPG Leadership
Professor Jean-Lous Briaud appointed Jennifer Nicks as the
Chair of the SYMPG. Elections within the group determined the
other members of the SYMPG leadership team. Mahnoosh
Biglari was selected as Vice-Chair and Silvia Garcia was
selected as Secretary. Meetings were held via internet phone
services and correspondence occurred via e-mail. The first face-
to-face meeting for the SYMPG was on August 30, 2013 before
the iYGEC and ICSMGE events.
2.2
Corresponding Members
In addition to the full members, the SYMPG also has many
more corresponding members from around the world. There are
77 corresponding members total; 8 from Africa, 13 from Asia, 5
from Australasia, 39 from Europe, 5 from North America, and 7
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