NAGS Member Dr. John S. McCartney Receives 2013 President’s Leadership Award from ASTM

Prof. John S. McCartney – 2013 ASTM Award Winner

 

John S. McCartney, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo., has been announced as the recipient of the 2013 President’s Leadership Award from ASTM International. The President’s Leadership Award recognizes individuals early in their ASTM career who have significantly advanced the Society’s mission through extraordinary accomplishment, example and vision, and is presented to two ASTM members annually. This year’s other recipient is William C. Griese, standards development and green initiative manager at the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) in Anderson, S.C. McCartney has served on Committees D18 on Soil and Rock and D35 on Geosynthetics.

As well we are proud to have John as a long standing Member of NAGS and as the Co-Chair of the Student Activities for GeoAmericas 2016 – the 3rd Pan-American Regional Conference on Geosynthetics.  Congratulations and thanks to John from NAGS!

IGS Documents & Resources

International Geosynthetics SocietyA wide variety of information is available on the IGS web site many documents are publicly available others are available only to members.

In 2012 the IGS Technical Committee on Soil Reinforcement in conjunction with the IGS Website Task Force began an effort to digitize all of the IGS Proceedings (where copyright was attainable). This proceedings library is quickly being populated with the vast and expansive technical history of the IGS Conferences.   This Proceedings Library is available in the Members Only section of the IGS Website.  All NAGS members have unlimited access to this valuable resource!

In addition the resources segment of the IGS website has a good offering of technical leaflets, videos, power point presentations and other educational items.  To access a full list of these documents and presentations please visit the IGS Website Resources Section.

Some of the documents you will find there include:

Recommended Mathematical and Graphical Symbols
Geosynthetics in Seismic Applications
Geosynthetics Classification
Geosynthetics Functions
Specification Guide
Geosynthetics in Unpaved Roads
Geosynthetics in Road Engineering
Geosynthetics in Railroads
Geosynthetics in Walls
Geosynthetics in Slopes over Stable Foundations
Geosynthetics in Embankments on Soft Soils
Geosynthetics in Landfills
Geosynthetics in Wastewater Treatment
Geosynthetics in Hydraulics Projects
Geosynthetics in Drainage and Filtration
Geosynthetics in Erosion Control
Geosynthetics in Agricultural Applications

And much more!

To access a full list of these documents and presentations please visit the IGS Website Resources Section.

North American Geosynthetics Society 2012 Year-end Report

The year 2012 has been an active year for NAGS. We have co-hosted, with GMA, a series of regional short courses. We anticipate at least four of these sessions to be held during 2013.  

We have participated both with financial support, and attendance at, the Lobby Days organized through GMA and its lobbyists. There have been very positive results from that activity with a congressional mandated report by the Government Accounting Office was released in November on the benefits of using geosynthetics, as well as language in the transportation bill encouraging the use of innovative materials such as geosynthetics in the design and construction of transportation facilities. A copy of the report is available HERE

We worked with IFAI and GMA in conjunction with the Geosynthetics 2013 Conference to be held in Long Beach, CA. April 1-4, 2013. The conference is co-located with the FHWA Southwest Geotechnical Engineers, and the GRI 25 Conferences. We have agreed on the arrangements to participate in the Canadian Geotechnical Society Annual Conference to be held in Montreal in late September 2013.

In conjunction with the Geosynthetics 2013 NAGS will hold its biennial meeting where the new Board of Directors, including the new President, President-elect, and Board members will be introduced.

One of the Board of Directors’ initiatives for 2013 is recruitment of new members

While we have over 200 members now, growth in membership will allow us to pursue other activities that promote the use geosynthetics. In that regard we would like to ask your help. We encourage each member to recruit at least one new member. As an incentive to do this we are offering, compliments of IFAI/GMA, a one year subscription to “Geosynthetics” for any US or Canadian  member renewing for 2013 who recruits at least one new member.

A new website that incorporates many new features, including the ability to share news of members and the industry, a calendar of upcoming events, links to various other sites including the IGS site and a LinkedIn Group, pictures, and more, will be available during the first quarter of 2013. Watch for the announcement.  

Should there be any questions regarding anything about NAGS, please don’t hesitate to contact me. We are looking forward to another successful year in 2013, and it will be with your support that this will be possible.

L. David Suits, Executive Director

Transportation Research Board’s Book Pre-Order

Rockfall Characterization and Control

TRB has will be releasing it’s newest book, Rockfall Characterization and Control, on October 1, 2012. For more information about this book, please read this brochure. You can pre-order your copy today from the Transportation Research Board’s website with no shipping or handling fees charged for orders placed before October 1, 2012.

Order at: http://www.trb.org/main/blurbs/167065.aspx