On October 2nd and 3rd I had the opportunity to represent CFES at the GeoVancouver 2016, the 69th Canadian Geotechnical Conference, organized by the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS) in collaboration with the Vancouver Geotechnical Society (VGS). The theme of this year’s conference was “History and Innovation” and included a broad technical program which covered various topics such as “Risk and Reliability”, “Engineering Geology and Geomorphology”, “Pipelines and Tunnels” and “Climate Change Floods and Landslides”, keynote speakers, various social activities as well as an exhibition with over 60 exhibitors.
I attended the ice-breaker reception on Sunday evening, where Lisa McJunkin (Director, Communications and Member Services) introduced me to Doug VanDine (President) and Catherine Mulligan (VP Communications) among others. I also had a good discussion with Nicholas Vlachopoulos, who represents CGS on the CFES council. I had met Nicholas for the first time during the CFES AGM in Ottawa last April.
During the Opening Ceremony on Monday morning I gave a brief presentation about CFES, highlighting who we are and some of the work we do. The ceremony was well attended, with the hall almost full. At this time I also met Michel Aubertin (CGS Executive Director) and Dharma Wijewickreme (VP Financial). I also attended some talks during the morning session. Coming from a geophysics background, it was interesting for me to learn how some elements of geophysics that I am familiar with are used in the geotechnical world. I finally attended the awards luncheon before heading back to the airport.
I understood from several people that this year’s conference was a huge success, with 759 delegates and 68 exhibitors. For me, it was great to be able to attend the conference, meet some of the participants and learn more about the work of our member societies, while highlighting some of the work of CFES!