International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering
| Abbreviation | ISSMGE |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1936 |
| Type | NGO |
| Legal status | Charity |
| Purpose | Professional association |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: 51°31′38″N 0°06′08″W / 51.5273°N 0.1023°W |
|
Membership
|
19,000 |
|
Secretary General
|
Prof R.N. Taylor |
|
President
|
Jean-Louis Briaud |
|
Main organ
|
Council |
| Affiliations | International Union of Geological Sciences |
| Website | www |
|
Formerly called
|
International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering |
The International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) is an international professional association, presently based in London, representing engineers, academics and contractors involved in geotechnical engineering. It is a federation of 89 member societies representing 90 countries around the world, which together give it a total of some 19,000 individual members. There are also 38 corporate associates from industry. The current ISSMGE President is Professor Jean-Louis Briaud of Texas A&M University.
The ISSMGE originated in the International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, held in June 1936 at Harvard University as one of many events held to mark the university's 300th anniversary. Arthur Casagrande of the Harvard faculty gained university support for an international conference on soil mechanics and successfully persuaded Karl Terzaghi, who was then working in Vienna, to preside. The conference attracted 206 delegates from 20 countries. The success of the five-day conference led participants to decide to establish a quadrennial International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering (ICSMFE) as a permanent institution. An executive committee was set up, with Terzaghi as the first president, Casagrande as its first secretary, and Philip Rutledge, also of Harvard, as treasurer. Due to World War II, the second ICSMFE was not held until June 1948. The 1948 conference, held in Rotterdam, had 596 delegates. After the third ICSMFE was held five years later in Zurich in 1953, the organization settled into a pattern of meeting every four years. In the meantime, a first regional conference was held in Australasia in 1952.
Terzaghi was first president of the ICSMFE, serving until 1957 when he was succeeded by Alec Skempton. Casagrande succeeded Skempton, holding the presidency from 1961 to 1965.
A steering committee was established in 1981, and it became the Board in 1985. This meets annually; the Council meets every two years.
The current name, the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, was adopted in 1997.
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Wikipedia