Suttisak Soralump
President of Southeast Asian Geotechnical Society

Opening session of Paris 2013 Conference in the great amphitheatre of the Palais des Congrès of Paris

Jean-Louis Briaud, President of ISSMGE (2009-2013)

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Harry G. Poulos
Senior Principal, Coffey Geotechnics, Sydney, Australia

1. INTRODUCTION

The Australasian region of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) and its predecessor, the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (ISSMFE) has been active since the 1950‟s. Given its relatively sparse population, this region has made some notable contributions to both research and practice in soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering. This brief paper attempts to identify some of the persons who pioneered the subject in Australasia and some of the outcomes that have led to the development of two of the most energetic national societies within ISSMGE, the Australian Geomechanics Society and the New Zealand Geotechnical Society.

Some brief statistics on the Australasian Societies will be presented first, and then the origins of the two Societies will be traced, together with their office-holders. Some brief comments on earlier influential personalities will be made, and then a summary will be presented of past conferences and Society awards that have been developed to recognise the achievements of the members of the Societies.

2. SOME STATISTICS

Figure 1 shows the number of members in the Australian and New Zealand Societies since the 1960‟s. Of particular note is the steep rise in membership since the late 1990‟s.

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REFLECTIONS ON ISSMGE PAST

Norbert R. Morgenstern
Distinguished University Professor (Emeritus)
University of Alberta

ABSTRACT

This presentation summarizes the evolution of ISSMGEE, from its first International Conference with 206 delegates to its current status with nearly 19,000 members. Three phases are defined: Infancy, followed by Adolescence and Maturity. Personal reflections accompany the discussion of each phase. On this 75th Anniversary of ISSMGE, the Society can look back on its achievements with considerable pride.

RÉSUMÉ

Esta presentación resume la evolución del ISSMGE, desde la primera Conferencia Internacional con 206
delegados, hasta su situación actual con casi 19,000 miembros. Tres fases son definidas: Infancia, seguida de Adolescencia y Madurez. La discusión de cada fase esta acompañada por reflexiones personales. En este 75 aniversario del ISSMGE, la Sociedad puede mirar atrás y contemplar sus logros con orgullo.

1 INTRODUCTION

The web site of our Society provides a brief summary of its history and its current status. It records that
206 delegates attended the First International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering held at Harvard in 1936. The Society now has 88 Member Societies worldwide representing nearly 19,000 individual members and operates 30 technical committees working on a wide range of topics. Its aim is, and has always been, the promotion of international cooperation amongst engineers and scientists for the
advancement and dissemination of knowledge in the field of geotechnics, and its engineering and
environmental applications.

On this occasion, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Society which is a matter of very considerable achievement. All of our membership has benefitted from the remarkable success of this organization and it is appropriate to take this opportunity to reflect on our history and recognize the contributions of those who have guided it through its continued success.

Table 1 lists the Presidents of ISSMGE and this chronology provides a useful reference basis for identifying key phases in the evolution of our Society. No less significant are those who have served the Society as Secretary/Secretary General and they are listed in Table 2.

My own involvement with the Society began in 1957 when I was a graduate student at Imperial College and attended the 4th International Conference. This was the last that Terzaghi attended and marked a significant new phase in the maturing of the Society. My sense of the phases are:
• 1936-1957 Infancy
• 1957-1977 Adolescence
• 1977-Present day Maturity
Reflections and reminiscences follow below under these headings.

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H. Brandl
Vienna University of Technology, Austria

ABSTRACT

This paper is a modification of the author‟s oral presentation at the 15th ECSMGE in Athens in 2011. It focuses on the European history of ISSMGE and underlines the interaction with other related societies. Presidents/chairpersons and founding data of the European Member Societies are listed, and several details to conferences are given. Though focusing on the Past, the paper illustrates also the links to the Present. A tribute to the late pioneers of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering will be given within an extended version of this paper (available at ISSMGE).

RÉSUMÉ

Cet article est une modification de la présentation faite par l’auteur présent à la 15e ECSMGE à Athènes en 2011. Il se concentre sur l’histoire européenne de la SIMSG et souligne l’interaction avec d’autres sociétés. Les présidents et fondateurs de données des sociétés membres de l’UE sont présentés, et plusieurs détails concernant les conférences sont aussi introduits. Bien que mettant l’accent sur le passé, le document illustre aussi les liens avec le présent. Un hommage aux récents pionniers de la mécanique des sols et de l’ingénierie géotechnique sera donné dans une version étendue de ce document (disponible auprès de la SIMSG).

1. INTRODUCTION

The history of ISSMGE was formed by outstanding personalities, by international committees and conferences, by particular member societies, and by the worldwide rise of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering since the 1930/1940ies. Nearly all early work was done by engineers rather than by geologists, for the simple reason that they were in every-day contact with engineering problems, and its value was obvious to them (R. Glossop in [6]). This situation has hardly changed during the decades, but the number of geotechnical engineers and scientists more interested in the solution of theoretical problems has clearly increased. This, on the other hand, has widened the gap between geotechnical practice and the academics.

In 2011 the 75th Anniversary of ISSMGE was celebrated at all Regional Conferences of ISSMGE. Consequently, this paper considers only the European Region, though close links and interactions have existed worldwide since the continental “ISSMGE Regions”, were set up. Moreover, many personalities changed from one continent to another, mainly from Europe to North America (e.g. K. Terzaghi, A. Casagrande, J. Hvorslev, G.G. Meyerhof, G.P. Tschebotarioff).

2. FOUNDATION OF ISSMFE (NOW ISSMGE) AND NAMES

The publication of Karl Terzaghi‟s fundamental book “Erdbaumechanik” with the addendum “aufbodenphysikalischer Grundlage” (Mechanics of Earthwork based on Soils Physics) published in Vienna, 1925, is considered worldwide as the birth of modern Science of “Soil Mechanics”. In 1929 K. Terzaghi (Fig. 1) was appointed full professor at the Technische Hochschule Wien (now Vienna University of Technology, i.e. TU Vienna), where he founded the Institute for Soil Mechanics and Ground Engineering as a new branch of the Department of Hydro Engineering. Hence, it was University-internally also called “Hydro-Engineering II”, and this underlined from the very beginning the close link and interaction between soil and water, or soil mechanics, hydrogeology and hydro engineering, respectively. Moreover, Arthur Casagrande (1902 – 1981) – Fig. 2, also Austrian citizen, had studied civil engineering at the TU Vienna, and he was assistant at the Institute for Hydro Engineering I. Road engineering was another topic of common interest of K. Terzaghi and A. Casagrande.

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Ground Improvement in Port of Brisbane (PoB) Clay

Jay Ameratunga, Cynthia De Bok
Coffey Geotechnics, Brisbane, Australia
Peter Boyle
Port of Brisbane Corporation, Fisherman Islands, Brisbane, Australia
Daniel Berthier
Menard Bachy, Sydney, Australia

The Port of Brisbane (PoB), located at the mouth of the Brisbane River at Fisherman Islands, is undertaking a reclamation expansion of a 235ha sub-tidal area using maintenance dredged materials from the adjacent river. The reclaimed site is underlain by soft dredged materials up to 9m thickness as well as soft to firm Holocene clays in the natural sea bed as deep as 30m. Extensive ground improvement is required for such deposits prior to releasing the land for development. A well planned set of ground improvement trials involving international operators were conducted to optimise and select suitable techniques prior to rolling out. The project won the Innovation Award in 2009 from the Institution of Engineers Queensland Division in Australia. This paper describes the project, characteristics of the PoB clay, the reasons for deciding on trials and a discussion of some results from the trials.

Port of Brisbane

Port of Brisbane (PoB) is the main container port of the State of Queensland on the east coast of Australia (Figure 1). It is located in the lower reaches of the Brisbane River on reclaimed land at the mouth of the river. The land reclamation had been in progress since the early 1980’s and the current Port footprint, now called Fisherman Islands, is almost entirely constructed in the adjacent Moreton Bay. Figure 2 shows the history of reclamation in Fisherman Islands and the gradual reclamation and development towards the northeast since 1958.

Figure 1: Site location (Courtesy of Port of Brisbane Corporation)

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