international society for rock mechanics news j … · preservation of natural stone monuments ......

Volume 8 • Number 3 November 2004

NEWS J URNALINTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR ROCK MECHANICS

S o c i é t é I n t e r n a t i o n a l e d e M é c a n i q u e d e s R o c h e s

I n t e r n a t i o n a l e G e s e l l s c h a f t f ü r F e l s m e c h a n i k

Message from the ISRM PresidentNielen van der Merwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Rocha Medal Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Leopold Müller Award. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9ISRM & the World Stress Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Reports from ISRM Vice Presidents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North & South America

SINOROCK2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

ARTICLES

Corporate Members . . . . . . . .Inside Cover

ISRM Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Commission Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Application of Geophysics to Rock Engineering,Education, JTC-1, Maintenance and Repair ofUnderground Structures in Rock Masses,Preservation of Natural Stone Monuments

News from the Secretariat . . . . . . . . . . .22

Listing of National Groups . . . . . . . . . . .25

Coming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Back Cover

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Will this be a historical moment? The Presidents of the Sister Societies sign an agreement to pursue collaboration, Lisbon,January 2004. Left to right: Michelle Deveughèle (Secretary General, IAEG), Niek Rengers (President, IAEG), William van Impe(President, ISSMGE), Nielen van der Merwe (President, ISRM), Luís Lamas (Secretary General, ISRM), Maria de LourdesEusébio (Executive Secretary, ISRM) and Neil Taylor (Secretary General, ISSMGE).

All Corporate Members of the ISRM are listed in every issue of the NewsJournal, under headings that describetheir main activities. If you wish to belisted under another category (or cate-gories) please contact the editor.

A – SUPPLIERS OF ROCKMECHANICS EQUIPMENT ANDMATERIALSFATZER AG GEOBRUGG; ROMANSHORN,SWITZERLAND

GEOTECHNICAL SYSTEMS AUSTRALIA PTYLTD.; BAYSWATER, AUSTRALIA

GLÖTZL; RHEINSTETTEN, GERMANY

INTERFELS; BAD BENTHEIM, GERMANY

LABORATÓRIO NACIONAL DE ENGENHARIACIVIL (LNEC); LISBON, PORTUGAL

MESY GEO-MESS SYSTEME GMBH; BOCHUM, GERMANY

MTS SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EDENPRAIRIE, USA

OYO CORPORATION; TOKYO, JAPAN

ROCTEST LTD.; MONTREAL, CANADA

SLOPE INDICATOR CO.; SEATTLE, USASOL EXPERT INTERNATIONAL; NANTERRE, FRANCE

SOLEXPERTS AG; SCHWERZENBACH,SWITZERLAND

B – SUPPLIERS OF ROCKMECHANICS SERVICESBERGAB AB; GÖTEBORG, SWEDEN

COYNE ET BELLIER; PARIS, FRANCE

ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM & SERVICES;RICHMOND, AUSTRALIA

FATZER AG GEOBRUGG; ROMANSHORN, SWITZERLAND

GEOSCIENCE LTD.; FALMOUTH, UKGEOSOLVE—SOLUÇOES DE ENGENHARIA

GEOTECNIA E TOPOGRAFIA, LDA;LISBOA, PORTUGAL

INGENIEURSOZIETAT PROF. DR.KATZENBACH; FRANKFURT AM MAIN,GERMANY

LABORATOIRE CENTRAL DES PONTS ETCHAUSSÉES; PARIS, FRANCE

LABORATÓRIO NACIONAL DE ENGENHARIACIVIL (LNEC); LISBON, PORTUGAL

LEHRSTUHL FÜR INGENIEURGEOLOGIE UNDHYDROGEOLOGIE; AACHEN, GERMANY

MÉCASOL; PARIS, FRANCE


OYO CORPORATION; TOKYO, JAPAN

ROCTEST LTD.; MONTREAL, CANADA

SLOPE INDICATOR CO.; SEATTLE, USASNOWY MOUNTAINS ENG. CORPORATION;COOMA NORTH, AUSTRALIA

SOL EXPERT INTERNATIONAL; NANTERRE,FRANCE

SOLEXPERTS AG SCHWERZENBACH;SWITZERLAND

TOKYO CIVIL CONSULTANT; TOKYO, JAPAN

C – CONSULTANTSAMBERG INGENIEURBÜRO; REGENSDORF-WATT, SWITZERLAND

CARL BRO TEKNIKKONSULT AB;ESKILSTUNA, SWEDEN

CHUO KAIHATSU CORPORATION; TOKYO,JAPAN

COYNE ET BELLIER; PARIS, FRANCE

DIA CONSULTANTS CO. LTD.; TOKYO,JAPAN

ELECTRICIDADE DE PORTUGAL;LISBON, PORTUGAL

GEODATA SRL; TORINO, ITALY

GEOSCIENCE LTD.; FALMOUTH, UKGEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING OFFICE; KOWLOON, HONG KONG

GRIDPOINT FINLAND OY; ESPOO, FINLAND

HANSHIN CONSULTANTS CO. LTD.; OSAKA, JAPAN

HOKKAIDO ENGINEERING CONSULTANT CO.LTD.; HOKKAIDO, JAPAN

IDOWR ENGINEERING CO. LTD.; TOKYO,JAPAN

INGENIEURSOZIETAT PROF. DR.KATZENBACH; FRANKFURT AM MAIN,GERMANY

ITASCA CONSULTING GROUP INC.; MINNEAPOLIS, USA

KAWASAKI GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING; TOKYO, JAPAN

KISO-JIBAN CONSULTANTS CO. LTD.; TOKYO, JAPAN

LAHMEYER INTERNATIONAL GMBH; FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY

LEHRSTUHL FÜR INGENIEURGEOLOGIE UNDHYDROGEOLOGIE; AACHEN, GERMANY

MÉCASOL; PARIS, FRANCE

MEIJI CONSULTANTS CO. LTD.; TOKYO,JAPAN


MULTICONSULT AS; OSLO, NORWAY

NEWJEC, INC.; OSAKA, JAPAN

NIPPON KOEI CO. LTD.; TOKYO, JAPAN

NITRO CONSULT AB; STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

PROF. DIPL. ING. H. QUICK; DARMSTADT,GERMANY

SIMECSOL; PARIS, FRANCE

SLOPE INDICATOR CO.; SEATTLE, USASNOWY MOUNTAINS ENG. CORPORATION;COOMA NORTH, AUSTRALIA



SP SWEDISH NATIONAL TESTING ANDRESEARCH INSTITUTE; BORAS, SWEDEN

STEFFEN, ROBERTSON & KIRSTEN INC.; JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

SUMIKO CONSULTANTS CO. LTD.; TOKYO,JAPAN

SUNCOH CONSULTANTS CO. LTD.; TOKYO,JAPAN

TYRÉNS; SUNDBYBERG, SWEDEN

WEST JAPAN ENGINEERING CONSULTANTSINC.; FUKUOKA, JAPAN

YACHIYO ENGINEERING CO. LTD.; TOKYO,JAPAN

D – CONTRACTORSBESAB BETONGSPRUTNINGS AB; GÖTEBORG, SWEDEN

BESIX S.A.; BRUSSELLS, BELGIUM

CETU CSE CO.; BRON, FRANCE

EIFFAGE CONSTRUCTION G.D.; VELIZY-VILLACOUBLAY, FRANCE

FUJITA CORPORATION; TOKYO, JAPAN

GEOSCIENCE LTD.; FALMOUTH, UKHAZAMA-CORPORATION IBARAKI, JAPAN

INDUBEL-INDUSTRIAS DE BETAO S.A.; LISBON, PORTUGAL

JAPAN UNDERGROUND OILS; TOKYO, JAPAN

KAJIMA CORPORATION; TOKYO, JAPAN

MITSUI CONSTRUCTION CO. LTD.; TOKYO, JAPAN

NISHIMATSU CONSTRUCTION CO. LTD.; TOKYO, JAPAN

NITTOC CONSTRUCTION CO. LTD.; TOKYO, JAPAN

OBAYASHI CORP.; TOKYO, JAPAN

SATO KOGYO CO. LTD.; TOKYO, JAPAN

SHIMIZU CORPORATION; TOKYO, JAPAN

SKANSKA AB; DANDERYD, SWEDEN

SLOPE INDICATOR CO.; SEATTLE, USASNCF; PARIS, FRANCE



TAISEI CORPORATION; TOKYO, JAPAN

THE ZENITAKA CORPORATION; OSAKA,JAPAN

TOBISHIMA COPORATION; TOKYO, JAPAN

TODA CONSTRUCTION CO. LTD.; TOKYO,JAPAN

E – ELECTRICITY SUPPLYCOMPANIESCHUGOKU ELECTRIC POWER CO. INC.;HIROSHIMA, JAPAN

ISRM Corporate Members

continued on inside back cover

ELECTRICIDADE DE PORTUGAL; LISBON, PORTUGAL

ELECTRIC POWER DEVELOPMENT CO. LTD.; TOKYO, JAPAN

HOKURIKU ELECTRIC POWER CO. INC.; TOYAMA, JAPAN

KYUSHU ELECTRIC POWER CO. INC.; FUKUOKA, JAPAN

NATIONAL THERMAL POWER CORPORATION LTD.; STATE-UTTARPRADESH, INDIA

POWER REACTOR & NUCL. FUEL DEV. CO.; TOKYO, JAPAN

SHIKOKU ELECTRIC POWER CO. INC.; KAGAWA, JAPAN

THE CHUBU ELECTRIC POWER CO. INC.; NAGOYA, JAPAN

THE HOKKAIDO ELECTRIC POWER CO. INC.; SAPPORO, JAPAN

THE KANSAI ELECTRIC POWER CO. INC.; OSAKA, JAPAN


TOHOKU ELECTRIC POWER CO. INC.; SENDAI, JAPAN

TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER CO. INC.; TOKYO, JAPAN

TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER SERVICES CO. LTD.; TOKYO, JAPAN

F – MINING COMPANIESCSIR MINING TECHNOLOGY; AUCKLAND PARK, SOUTH AFRICA

LKAB; LULEÅ, SWEDEN

MINES DE POTASSE D’ALSACE; WITTELSHEIM, FRANCE

MITSUI MINING & SMELTING CO. LTD; TOKYO, JAPAN

NITTETSU MINING CO. LTD.; TOKYO, JAPAN

SOMINCOR CASTRO; VERDE, PORTUGAL

G – PUBLISHERS

H – RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONSBHP STEEL; WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA

BRGM; ORLEANS, FRANCE

CENTRAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY;CHIBA, JAPAN

CSIRO DIV. OF GEOMECHANICS; MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

FGU; ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

LABORATOIRE CENTRAL DES PONTS ET CHAUSSÉES; PARIS,FRANCE

LABORATÓRIO DE ENGENHARIA DE MACAU

LABORATÓRIO NACIONAL DE ENGENHARIA CIVIL (LNEC); LISBON,PORTUGAL

LEMO; OELIRAS, PORTUGAL

NORWEGIAN PUBLIC ROADS ADMINISTRATION; OSLO, NORWAY

SKB; STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

SLOPE INDICATOR CO.; SEATTLE, USASOLEXPERTS AG; SCHWERZENBACH, SWITZERLAND

SP SWEDISH NATIONAL TESTING AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE;BORAS, SWEDEN

SUMIMOTO MITSUI CONST. CO. LTD.; CHIBA, JAPAN

SWEDISH ROCK ENGINEERING RESEARCH — SVEBEFO;STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

I – GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTSGEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING OFFICE HONG KONG

INSTITUT NATIONAL DE L’ENVIRONNEMENT INDUSTRIEL ET DESRISQUES (INERIS); VERNEUIL EN HALATTE, FRANCE

LABORATÓRIO DE ENGENHARIA DE MACAU

LABORATÓRIO NACIONAL DE ENGENHARIA CIVIL (LNEC); LISBON,PORTUGAL

LULEA TEKNISKA UNIVERSITET; LULEA, SWEDEN

ORDEM DOS ENGENHEIROS DE ANGOLA; LUANDA, ANGOLA

PAT LABORATORIO GEOTECNICO SERVIZIO GEOLOGICO; TRENTO,ITALY

ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY - KTH; STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

SKANSKA AB; DANDERYD, SWEDEN

SWEDISH NUCLEAR FUEL & WASTE MANAGEMENT CO-SKB;STOCKHOLM SWEDEN

UNIVERSIDADE DE AVEIRO — SERVIÇOS DE DOCUMENTAÇAO;AVEIRO; PORTUGAL

J – OTHER CORPORATE MEMBERSANTEA; ORLEANS, FRANCE

BASISSOFT INC.; SEOUL, KOREA

CSIRO PETROLEUM; SYNDAL, AUSTRALIA

DAELIM INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.; SEOUL, KOREA

DAEWOO ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION CO., LTD.; SEOUL,KOREA

DOOSAN INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CO.; SEOUL, KOREA

DREDGING INTERNATIONAL N.V.; ZWIJNDRECHT, BELGIUM

EURODRIL BELGIUM S.A.; BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

GEOMAX CO., LTD.; KYEONGGI-DO, KOREA

GEOSIGMA AB UPPSALA, SWEDEN

HAN-GU ENGINEERING CO., LTD.; SEOUL, KOREA

HEE SONG GEOTEK CO., LTD.; DAEJEON-SI, KOREA

HYUNDAI DEVELOPMENT CO.; SEOUL, KOREA

HYUNDAI ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION CO., LTD.;SEOUL,KOREA

INSTITUIÇÃOCIDADE

PAÍSHAN-GU ENGINEERING CO. LTD.; SEOUL, KOREA

ISSEP; LIÈGE, BELGIUM

JDC CORPORATION; TOKYO, JAPAN

KOKUSAI KOGYO CO.; TOKYO, JAPAN

KOLON ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION CO., LTD.; KYEONGGI-DO, KOREA

KOREA HIGHWAY CORPORATION; YEONGGI-DO, KOREA

KORYO NOBEL EXPLOSIVES CO., LTD.; BUSAN, KOREA

KUMHO CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING, INC.; SEOUL, KOREA

KUMAGAI GUMI CO. LTD.; TOKYO, JAPAN

LG ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION CORP.; SEOUL, KOREA


NMC RESOURCES ENG. CO., TOKYO, JAPAN

OKUMURA CORPORATION. OSAKA, JAPAN

SADE; PONTHIERRY, FRANCE

SAMBO ENGINEERING CO.; LTD.SEOUL, KOREA

SAMSUNG CORPORATION; YEONGGI-DO, KOREA

SAMSUNG HEAVY INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.; SEOUL, KOREA

SANHA ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION CO.; SEOUL, KOREA

SK ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION CO.; LTD.; SEOUL, KOREA

SMET-F&C N.V./S.ª; SLEUWAEGEN, BELGIUM

TAISEI CORPORATION; TOKYO, JAPAN

TOA GROUT KOGYO LTD.; TOKYO, JAPAN

UNICEM; PARIS, FRANCE

YOOSHIN ENGINEERING CORPORATION; SEOUL, KOREA

WS; STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

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Volume 8, Number 3 • November 2004Senior Editor

Prof. Nielen van der MerwePresident ISRMHead of Department of Mining EngineeringUniversity of Pretoria 0002Republic of South AfricaTel: (+27) 12.420.2443Fax: (+27) 12.420.4242E-mail: [email protected]

Managing EditorJennifer Bartholomew2112 Drew Avenue SouthMinneapolis, MN 55416 USATel: 1.612.926.8196E-mail: [email protected]

Contributing EditorSend news of meetings and publications to:N. F. GrossmannISRM Secretariat, c/o LNEC101 Avenida do BrasilP-1700-066 Lisbon, PortugalTel: 351.21.844.3385Fax: 351.21.844.3026

ISRM SecretariatSend articles, advertising and other material to:Dr. Luis Nolasco LamasSecretary-GeneralE-mail: [email protected] de Lourdes EusébioExecutive SecretaryE-mail: [email protected] ISRM Secretariat, LNEC101 Avenida do BrasilP-1700-066 Lisbon, PortugalTel: 351.21.844.3419Fax: 351.21.844.3021

ISRM Homepagehttp://www.isrm/net

Back issues ($8) are available from the Secretariat.

NEWS J URNALINTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR ROCK MECHANICS

S o c i é t é I n t e r n a t i o n a l e d e M é c a n i q u e d e s R o c h e s

I n t e r n a t i o n a l e G e s e l l s c h a f t f ü r F e l s m e c h a n i k

Rocha Medal

ABronze Medal and cash prize has beenawarded annually since 1982 by the ISRM to

honour the memory of Past President ManuelRocha and to recognize outstanding youngresearchers in the field of Rock Mechanics.

The award shall be for an outstanding doctoralthesis in rock mechanics or rock engineering. Thethesis must have qualified the candidate for a doc-torate or the equivalent. To be considered for theaward, a candidate must be nominated within twoyears of the date of the official doctoral degreecertificate. The nomination should be submitted tothe appropriate ISRM Regional Vice-President byregistered letter, and may be presented by thenominee, the nominee’s National Group or someother person or organization acquainted with thenominee’s work. The nomination should includethe following supporting information:v A one page curriculum vitae (include the

name, nationality, place and date of birth ofthe nominee; also position, address, tele-phone & fax numbers);

v A thesis summary in one of the official lan-guages of the Society, preferably English, ofabout 5,000 words, detailed enough to conveythe full impact of the thesis, and accompaniedby selected tables and figures, with headingsand captions also in English;

v One copy of the complete thesis and one copyof the doctoral degree certificate;

v A letter of copyright release, allowing the ISRMto make copies for review & selection purposes.

Nominations for the 2006 Medal must be received by31 December 2005.Supplementary details of the selection procedure, conferring of theaward, etc., are provided in ISRM By-Law No. 7, found on pages30–31 of the ISRM Directory for 2000. National Groups andCorresponding Members will be officially reminded by the Secretariatas the deadline approaches, but are encouraged to consider possiblenominees and to recommend names to the appropriate ISRM RegionalVice-President as early as possible.

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ISRM MembershipAre you a member of ISRM? If not, here is aneasy way to join.Individual Membership: For just US $25 youand/or your colleagues can receive a one-yearIntroductory membership which allows you to buyISRM goods, attend ISRM symposia, and receive theISRM News Journal.

Corporate membership ($200/year) provides yourorganization with up to three yellow-pages listingsof your services or products in the ISRM List ofCorporate Members, with access for advertising toa select international market of more than 5,000rock engineers and scientists.

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Please complete the order form below and mail or fax it, together with your payment, to:Dr. Luis Lamas, Secretary-General, ISRM; LNEC, 101 Avenida do Brasil; P-1700-066 Lisboa, Portugal Fax: 351.21.844.3021 • E-mail: [email protected]

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The first year of my term of office has beencharacterised by more than expected timedemands, balanced by much more than

expected pleasures. The time demands all arisefrom the fact that we are now on the brink of anew era for the ISRM, with regard externally toour relationships with our Sister Societies andinternally with regard to our offering to members.Over the past decades, a number of developmentshave taken place culminating in the need foraction right now. I will say a few words aboutthese, and how we tend to mold the ISRM to fitthe demands of our times and to capitalise on thepotential benefits.

But first, the pleasures. These all arose fromthe opportunity to meet many of our members indifferent places all over the world and to be hon-estly impressed by what people are capable of

doing and prepared to do in order to providesomething of value for others.

SINOROCK 2004First, there was the SINOROCK 2004 Symposiumin China at an impressive venue, the Three GorgesDam site near Yichang in the Hubei Province. Thesymposium took place in what could be called aconstruction camp, but certainly one with a differ-ence. The office buildings, as everything else,were built with a view to being suitable for holi-day purposes later. So, the hotel was more thanjust convenient for a technical conference, it hadall the facilities a holiday maker could want. Andof course, it is situated in one of the world’s morescenic environments.

The symposium itself was a major success, dis-playing none of the drawbacks one would expectof an event jointly organised by a person in theUK, John Hudson, and one in China, Xeng

Message from the ISRM President

Borehole core too small to reveal information about vertical joints? Drill a bigger hole – Mike Robertsof the CSIR in South Africa at the special core drilled for the Three Gorges Dam.

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Xiateng (bear in mind that China and the UK spanmore than a quarter of the globe). As a RegionalSymposium of the ISRM, the international atten-dance exceeded that of several international sym-posia. The papers and the presentations were ofvery high standard and the overall organisationwas excellent.

Everything about the Symposium was superla-tive. On the way there, one could see what an 8%growth rate looks like—everything is under con-struction, from highways and subways in the citiesto new houses, roads and shops in the rural areas.A guide said that the yellow crane is the newnational bird of China—if it isn’t, the constructioncranes certainly dominate every horizon. The damis the largest in the world. The dam area is 700 kmlong.

This was also the source of one of the hottestenvironmental debates in recent times. It is truethat more than a million people had to be relocat-ed in order for the dam to be built. The opponentsof construction, however, neglect to mention thatthe dam will protect more than 50 million peoplefrom the disastrous effects of the all too commonfloods of the Yangtze River and provide environ-mentally friendly electricity from which all willbenefit. The relocated people were not simply

ordered to evacuatetheir areas, they weregiven at least thesame, and more oftenbetter, accommodationin safer areas. Fromthe time of conceptionof the idea to build thedam, to the currentstage of completion ofStage 2 of the project,took more than 70years. It is incredibleto think that not onlywas it completed intime, it was also com-pleted with a saving of10% on the budget.The final phase, whichis the construction ofthe second power gen-eration plant, will befunded with incomefrom the first powerhouse’s electricitysales.

It was here that the idea for a Commission onthe Environment was born. We need not only to beas environmentally sensitive as we already are, wealso need to be seen to be so and we need a visibleinternationally acceptable environmental protocolin the ISRM. As engineers, we can sometimes beincredibly politically naïve. This Commission willbe presided over by Professor John Gale ofCanada.

4th International Symposium onLandslidesThe second major event was the 4th InternationalSymposium on Landslides in Rio de Janeiro,ISL2004. This was even more important whenseen against the background of the desire for col-laboration between the Sister Societies. TheInternational Symposia on Landslides are jointlyorganised by the so-called Joint TechnicalCommittee 1 (or JTC1) of all three of the SisterSocieties, presided over by Professor Robin Fell ofAustralia.

As with the SINOROCK Symposium, this con-ference demonstrated the power of modern com-munication facilities. The organising committeewas predominantly Brazilian, but actively assistedby members spread around the globe. The quality

Relaxing before a special lunch consisting of the famous “Fat Fish” in Yichang

5

of the presentations and the overall organisation,were equally good. As for the venue of course, itwas Rio—certainly one of the most beautifulcities in the world.

SANIRE Annual SymposiumThe third event was one that for a change did notinvolve extensive travel, being the local annualsymposium of the South African National Institutefor Rock Engineering, SANIRE. Here, the topicwas mining and the challenges posed by new leg-islation. It is a strange world. While most of thecountry rejoices in the recent recovery of the localcurrency, the mining industry, being heavilydependent on exports, is in mourning. Also, itcomes with technical challenges because mostmines react to short term income losses by con-centrating on the mining of higher grade reserves,which of course throws carefully-designed mineplans out the window. When the situation reverses,lower grade ores are again mined to keep the high-er grade areas in reserve for bad times. In situa-tions where the mining sequence is one of themajor tools to control seismicity, this poses inter-esting challenges for the rock engineer and itemphasises the impact of external forces on techni-cal matters.

Eurock 2004 — SalzburgThe fourth event was one with perhaps the oldesttradition in the fraternity of rock mechanics. Itwas the Eurock 2004 conference in the delightful

city of Salzburg, combined with the 53rdGeomechanics Colloquy. This is remarkable, bear-ing in mind that the ISRM is only 42 years old—the Colloquy thus preceded the creation of theISRM. This event was another outstanding suc-cess, attended by more than 900 delegates.

Salzburg, where Leopold Müller was instru-mental in creating the ISRM, is the permanentvenue of the Colloquy and there are deeply rootedtraditions associated with it. One is the ChamberConcert preceding the banquet. Salzburg, ofcourse, is also the birthplace of WolfgangAmadeus Mozart, as well as the famous conduc-tor, Herbert von Karajan. According to anotherstalwart ISRM member, Horst Wagner, who grewup in Salzburg, von Karajan and Müller were atschool together. Müller’s first ambition was to bea musician while von Karajan wanted to be anarchitect…

These four events were totally different in char-acter, shaped by the specialist topics of the discus-sions and the local culture and traditions. One cannever divorce the consideration of the local culturefrom the nature of the technical solution to prob-lems. For instance, would it have been possible torelocate over a million people to build a dam in acountry like the USA? For the Chinese people, ofcourse with the necessary compensatory mea-sures, it was an acceptable solution for the com-mon good.

National Group representatives during the visit of the ISRM President to the region, to participate inthe IX International Symposium on Landslides, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (June 2004).

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Yet, there were more important commonalities.One was the common strive to understand the fun-damentals of the earth’s physical character better,be it in Yichang, Potchefstroom, Salzburg or Rio.The second was the demonstrated need for scien-tists and engineers to have face to face communi-cation and their willingness to put their ideas onthe altar for all to discuss, question and criticise.This must never be forgotten. Even while we areworking hard to improve our electronic communi-cation in the ISRM, it can never replace person toperson contact. The cyber route will always besupplementary and should be used to enhance faceto face communication, it can never replace it.

Perhaps the most important common aspectwas the hospitality and the warmth displayed bythe people. From Yichang to Potchefstroom to Riode Janeiro to Salzburg, there were friends in abun-dance everywhere. Eda de Quadros, Bingjun Fu,Wulf Schubert, all gave their personal time tomake these visits truly unforgettable and to justimpress once more that the real reason we have anISRM is because there are human beings involved.

E-CommunicationsIt has been said that John Franklin was thePresident who brought the ISRM into the electron-ic age by arranging for its first computer foradministration. Since that time, the ISRM hasgrasped the opportunities offered by computerdevelopment and extended it to communication bycreating a web page. Now the time has come to

convert our communication means to the electron-ic. Discussions about a new web page and in facta whole new philosophy of communication startedsome time ago and I am pleased to report that weare now on the brink of releasing the new webpage. A contract has been awarded to a developerand the basic architecture has been designed. It isnow being populated and will hopefully be com-pleted by the end of the year.

This will not merely be a place to get informa-tion like announcements of conferences, thestatutes, etc, it will be an active communicationtool. There will be a public area and a private areareserved for members. There will be even moreprivate work spaces, similar to chat rooms, forCommissions, the Interest Groups, the Board, etc.

This year, already, the Board has been active allthe time (and not just at the time of annual meet-ings) by “round robining” suggestions prior tofinalisation. For instance, decisions regarding thenature of discussions and strategies with the SisterSocieties, approvals of commissions, terms of ref-erence of commissions, selection of commissionpresidents, proposals for by-law amendments, etc,were debated electronically. Had it not been forthis, implementation of some of the measuresalready in place could have been delayed for up totwo years. While the method worked, it could haveworked substantially better with a dedicated areaon a website. The reason I mention this is becauseI can see the same benefits for the modus operan-di of Commissions and other groups.

Of course, these are additional benefits to themost important benefit of general communicationoffered to members. The News Journal will infuture be an electronic publication, supplementedby an annual hard copy that will replace some ofthe items previously contained in the Directory,which was only published once every four years.

Collaboration with Sister SocietiesThe other topical issue is the nature of collabora-tion with our Sister Societies. The desire to collab-orate has been in circulation for a very long timeand limited measures have been implemented. Forinstance, the series of International Symposia onLandslides is overseen by a Joint TechnicalCommittee, the Presidents have reciprocal invita-tions to Council Meetings and they have intermit-tent other meetings.

This is not enough. Together, the SisterSocieties can have a much greater impact on thepolitical arena to get due recognition of our relat-

Chairperson of the Organising Committee forEurock 2004, Wulf Schubert, sharing a lightmoment with delegates.

7

ed and overlapping sciences than each on its own.We deal with the same fundamentals on the sameprojects and there is much to be learnt scientifi-cally by standing a bit closer than we do at themoment.

There are also one or two pitfalls to be mindfulof, not the least important one being the loss ofidentity of one or more of the Societies if weallow one to dominate the collaboration. Thismust never happen, each has the right to theirunique character.

This year, there have been two positive andconstructive meetings of the three Presidents onthe issue of collaboration. Itis clear that each is sensitiveto the concerns of the others,yet there is an overridingdesire to move into a posi-tion where the benefits ofreal collaboration can bereaped without in the processcausing damage to any oneof the Societies.

A Joint Task Force (JTF)consisting of the SecretariesGeneral and three other rep-resentatives of each of theSocieties has been created.The ISRM team consisted ofLuís Lamas, Luís Ribeiro eSousa, Claus Erichsen andMarc Panet. Their first meet-ing was held in Athens, fol-lowing which they proposeda basic structure for aFederation, to be called theFederation of InternationalGeo-Engineering Societies(FIGS). Each of the membersocieties would retain its unique identity and ownstructure with its own secretariat. The FIGS wouldbe governed by a President and a Board, withmembers being nominated in equal numbers bythe Sister Societies.

Following the report of the JTF, the Presidentsmet again in Paris and decided in principle toaccept the recommendations and to continue withthe work of the JTF. It was agreed that the JTFshould proceed to quantify the financial impact ofthe FIGS on the Sister Societies and to begin workon a draft constitution.

Approval will be sought from the ISRMCouncil in Kyoto to continue with these negotia-tions. Obviously, no agreements can or will beentered into without the approval of Council. Itcould take another year to two years to finalise thework before any firm recommendation can be pre-sented to Council for discussion.

Fee StructureAnother important matter relates to the fee struc-ture of the ISRM. ISRM members in small groupspay disproportionally more than members in largegroups to belong to the ISRM, because there is astandard fee for National Group affiliation, irre-

spective of the size of thegroup. Members in thelargest group effectivelypay an amount of just overUSD10 per year, while amember in the smallestgroup pays USD60 peryear. Council approval willbe sought in Kyoto toredress this obvious imbal-ance in order to bringrelief to members in thesmall groups.

Interest GroupsThe one issue that needsurgent attention is the cre-ation of Interest Groups inthe ISRM. One of thestrengths of the ISRM isthe diversity of interestareas that it covers, fromdeep level mining to shal-low tunnels and dam foun-dations. This is also one ofits weaknesses, as it isvery difficult for a special-

ist in any of these areas to have contact with col-leagues in other parts of the world. How does oneidentify others amongst the 5,000-odd membersspread all over the globe who have similar inter-ests? How does one make contact in order to shareexperience or ask advice? Only a relatively smallnumber of our members are in the fortunate posi-tion of being able to travel and meet others face toface, and even then it is difficult to find the oth-ers, as all are strangers to one another at thebeginning of a conference.

The one issue that needs urgent attention is the

creation of Interest Groups in the ISRM.…

How does one identify others amongst the

5,000-odd members spread all over the globe

who have similar interests? How does one make

contact in order to share experience or ask advice?

Report from the President, continued on page 8

8

One solution is to create Interest Groups withinthe nationally-oriented structure of the ISRM.Members with similar interests can join these andthen have the necessary contact via a special areain the Website. Interest Groups will cut acrossnational boundaries. Workshops can be arrangedto coincide with International Symposia of theISRM, resulting in the double benefit of attendingan international event to learn about the latestdevelopments in the fundamental sphere and hav-ing the specialist contact internationally. We havethe ISRM, the new communication facility is onour doorstep, let us use it to make special contactwithout losing the benefit of our wide range ofactivities.

Anyone who has the desire to create such agroup, is invited to contact me so that we canmake the necessary arrangements and get the jobdone.

— Nielen van der MerwePresident ISRM

Head of Department of Mining EngineeringUniversity of Pretoria 0002

Republic of South AfricaTel: (+27) 12.420.2443Fax: (+27) 12.420.4242

E-mail: [email protected]

The Rocha Medal is awarded annually forthe best Ph.D. thesis submitted to the ISRM.Nominations from the regions are received

and ranked by the Vice Presidents, followingwhich the Rocha Medal Award Committee selectsthe best thesis. There are thus three screening lev-els, from national to regional to international.

The 2003 Award was made to Dr. LindsayLinzer of CSIR Mining Technology in SouthAfrica.

Lindsay was born in Windhoek, Republic ofNamibia and went to school in Pretoria, SouthAfrica. She graduated from the University ofNatal, majoring in geology and physics. She thencompleted an Honnours degree in geophysics atthe University of the Witwatersrand, moving on tothe award winning Ph.D. in geophysics, also at theUniversity of the Witwatersrand.

She has been with the CSIR MiningTechnology since 1995 where she has beeninvolved in several research projects. The researchtopics ranged from her thesis work to practicalapplication of seismic knowledge to mine andsupport design. During 2000 she spent time on amine to gain practical experience.

When not contributing to the field of geo-physics, Lindsay enjoys listening to a wide rangeof music, re-learning to play the piano, oil paint-ing, jewellery creation and gardening.

The title of her award winning thesis was “ARelative Moment Tensor Inversion Techniqueapplied to Seismicity induced by Mining.” Thefull paper is to be published in Rock Mechanicsand Rock Engineering.

Lindsay Linzer, Rocha Medal Award recipient

Lindsay Linzer — Rocha Medal Award 2003

Report from the President, continued from page 7

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The coveted Leopold Müller Awardwas awarded to Charles Fairhurst atthe ISRM Congress in Johannesburg,

in September 2003. This is the prime inter-national recognition in Rock Mechanics andis only awarded once every four years. Therehave been three previous recipients, EvertHoek, Neville Cook and Herb Einstein.

Few have made the magnitude and diver-sity of contribution to Rock Mechanics thatCharles has, none have continued at hislevel of activity and support of the ISRMover so long a period.

Charles was born and educated inEngland, crowning his early years with aPh.D. in mining engineering from SheffieldUniversity in 1955. A year later he moved tothe USA, taking up a position as ResearchAssociate in the School of Mines at theUniversity of Minnesota, where he was tospend the next several decades. During histime there he mentored and advised 23 doc-toral and more than 30 masters students.

During his stay at the University ofMinnesota, he was inter alia Head of theSchool of Mining and Metallurgy and Headof the Department of Civil and MiningEngineering. He is a member of twoAcademies of Engineering (USA andSwedish) and received four honorary doctor-ates.

Charles was always at the cutting edge, atrue pioneer in rock mechanics. He wasinstrumental in the development ofhydraulic fracturing as a stress measurementtechnique at great depth, determination ofpost peak failure response of rock usingservo controlled testing machines, the dis-tinct element method to model the behaviourof blocky rock masses and several others.

One of the founder members of the ISRM in1962, he has always supported the ISRM and waspresident from 1991 to 1995. He still is active inthe Society and attends meetings whenever he can.He has a passion for innovative research, new

ideas and consistently emphasises the applicationof rock mechanics principles to rock engineering.

It is no exaggeration to state that CharlesFairhurst has devoted a lifetime to rock mechanicsand its application, rock engineering. The ISRM isproud to be in a position to honour a person of hiscalibre.

Charles Fairhurst — 2003 Leopold MüllerAward Winner

Charles Fairhurst where he loves to be: underground.The picture was taken in a mine in the Lorraine Districtof France during 2003.

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Call to Enhance Shallow Rock StressInformation

Information on rock stress is required for awide spectrum of engineering problems suchas stability of underground structures, design

of rock support systems, assessment of rock bursthazard, fluid flow, fracturing and fracture propaga-tion. In most cases, a campaign for rock stressestimation has to be set up on the site of construc-tion. In order to develop a suitable approach strat-egy, information on the far field tectonic stressfield and at the local scale are required.

The World Stress Map (WSM) database is theglobal source to contemporary tectonic stress data.From its very beginning, the WSM contained a

large number of shallow rock stress data since oneof the first major contributions to the WSM wasthe Fennoscandian Rock Stress database. TheWSM provides orientations and magnitudes ofprincipal stresses or maximum horizontal stressorientations world wide. Furthermore, the WSMprovides report and paper citations from disparateand difficult to find sources, and thus acceleratesaccess to the original data.

The World Stress Map is a research project ofthe Heidelberg Academy of Science andHumanities. Currently the WSM database containsmore than 13000 quality-ranked data sets, primari-ly from earthquake focal mechanism solutions,borehole breakouts, overcorings, hydraulic fractur-ing and geological indicators. The WSM databaseis updated annually and can be downloaded free ofcharge from the WSM website http://www.world-stress-map.org. Users can create their own stressmap (adding their own data) using the CASMO(Create A Stress Map Online) web tool.

The WSM is a widely used resource in theearthquake research and petroleum communities.However, the value of this resource for shallowcivil engineering applications largely depends onthe amount and density of shallow stress data

ISRM and the World Stress Map — An OldLove Rekindled

Please contact: Dr. John ReineckerWorld Stress Map Project of the Heidelberg

Academy of Sciences and HumanitiesGeophysical InstituteUniversity of KarlsruheHertzstrasse 1676187 Karlsruhe, GermanyE-mail: [email protected]: http://www.world-stress-map.org

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from overcoring and hydraulic fracture test datawithin the WSM database. Yet, despite the largeamount of measurements world wide, only mini-mal amounts of shallow rock stress data flow intothe WSM and thus, these data are poorly repre-sented. This joint initiative of ISRM and WSMaims to improve the value of the WSM for rockmechanics applications. Both the WSM and theISRM are committed to aiding and providinginformation for assessing problems in rockmechanics. Therefore, the key components of thisinitiative are to:

• increase the amount of “shallow” (<200 m)rock stress data in the WSM database in orderto make it more relevant to the rock engineer-ing community;

• provide a long-term, safe repository for shal-low rock stress data, and;

• enhance the service provided by the WSM forthe specific needs to assess stress relatedproblems in rock mechanics.

Our idea is to develop a global network on thebasis of ISRM contacts. Partners of this network

would routinely contribute rock stress data to theWSM and thereby ensure continuous growth ofthe near-surface stress database. The ultimateambition of this initiative is to compile detailedstress maps worldwide, thus creating an invaluableresource for all rock engineers and other WSMusers.

What we want from you – the potential WSMuser – now is:

• take a few minutes to have a look at the WSMhomepage: www.world-stress-map.org;

• check the database structure and the WSMservices for their application to rock mechan-ics, and;

• contact us and let us know your needs!

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Africa – Martin J Pretorius, ISRMVice President for AfricaMarketing: Investment in Africa Congress

The Organising Committee of the Investment inAfrica Congress that is held annually in Cape

Town, South Africa, was contacted with the objec-tive to introduce the ISRM and the discipline ofrock engineering to potential exploration compa-nies, mine developers, investors and consultingcompanies. This opportunity is also viewed as atool to re-organise the geotechnical and rock engi-neering related disciplines on the African conti-nent.Communication/NetworkingCommunication was initiated in order to establisha forum where practising engineers from the dif-ferent countries in Africa outside the Republic ofSouth Africa may have the opportunity to networkand share know-how and local experience. To datevery little progress has been made on this due tothe low number of practising engineers, poor com-munication and travelling distances between thedifferent countries.SANIREThe Rock Engineering fraternity that is related tothe mining industry in South Africa is very active.The newly elected Council started on a relativelyhigh note after the success of the ISRM Congressthat was held in Sandton, Johannesburg duringSeptember 2003. The same level of activity isunfortunately not true for the civil industry inSouth Africa due to the relatively low level ofactivity in this field. We are optimistic that sometunnelling work will be generated with the con-struction that is planned with the so-calledGautrain surface and underground rail network inthe Gauteng Province. It is foreseen that this infra-structure will be competed before the SoccerWorld Cup in 2010.

The main activities of SANIRE for the pastyear can be summarised as:Annual Symposium: The annual SANIRE sym-posium with the theme: “The miner’s guidethrough the earth’s crust” was held inPotchefstroom during September 2004. This sym-posium was a major success and was attended byapproximately 180 delegates from different disci-plines and companies serving the South African

mining industry. An Organising Committee wasput together for the Regional Symposium to beheld during 2005. One of the objectives of thissymposium is to involve members from Africancountries outside the borders of South Africa.Professional RegistrationThe SANIRE Council, under the leadership ofProfessor Mathew Handley, plays a very activerole in the professional registration of the mem-bers of SANIRE. This is quite a complex issuedue to the different levels of academic backgroundof rock engineering practitioners in South Africa.Qualifications/SAQAMembers of SANIRE Council are involved indeveloping levels of qualifications related to exca-vation stability for the South African miningindustry. Input is being given with the develop-ment of unit standards that are related to stratacontrol and rock engineering and form the basis ofMQA (Mines Qualifications Authority) The MQAis a subset of SAQA (South African QualificationsAuthority) and applicable to the mining industry.Rocha Medal NominationDr Alan Bye was nominated by South Africa forthe Rocha Medal Award. His thesis was titled:“The development and application of a 3D geot-echnical model for mining optimisation, SandslootOpen Pit Platinum Mine, South Africa.”

Asia – Jhian Zhao, ISRM VicePresident for AsiaOctober 2003 – September 2004

At present, the Asian region has 10 nationalgroups (China, India, Iran, Japan, Korea,

Nepal, Singapore, SE Asia, and Vietnam). In year2003-2004, there is a marked increase of over 100ISRM memberships in the region, and increase ofactivities.International and Regional ConferencesThree international and regional conferences wereheld in Asia, organized or sponsored by ISRMNational Groups and/or ISRM Commissions:

• ISRM Regional Symposium, SinoRock-2004International Symposium, 18–22 May 2004,Yichang, China, organised by the China NG.

• International Symposium on Protection of theLong-You Grottoes, 18–20 September 2004,Longyou, China, co-organised by the China

Reports from the ISRM Vice Presidents

13

NG and Commission on Preservation ofNatural Stone Monuments.

• International Symposium on the FusionTechnology of Geosystem Engineering, RockEngineering and Geophysical Exploration,18-19 November 2003, Seoul, Korea, organ-ised by Korea NG.

Several international and regional conferenceswill be organized by the ISRM National Groupsor ISRM Commissions in Asia:

• 3rd Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium(ISRM International Symposium) inNovember 2004 in Kyoto, organized by JapanNG.

• 4th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium (pro-posed ISRM International Symposium) inNovember 2006 in Singapore, organized bySingapore NG.

• 5th Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium in2008, to be decided at a later date.

• 12th ISRM Congress in 2011, in Seoul (pro-posed by Korea NG) or in Beijing (proposedby China NG jointly with Singapore NG).

In addition, there are many national and localconferences and symposiums planned by theNational Groups and Commissions.ChinaThe Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics andEngineering, ISRM China NG, has 12,500 localindividual members, 217 individual and 7 corpo-rate ISRM members. It hosts 2 ISRMCommissions: Case Histories in RockEngineering, and Education. It organized morethan 50 local symposiums by sub-committees andregional branches, including the 8th NationalCongress in October 2004, and Symposium onGeological Treatment for Radioactive WaterStorage in July 2004. It also published 19 issuesof the Chinese Journal of Rock Mechanics andEngineering, 4 issues of News Magazines and abook “Achievments of Rock Mechanics andEngineering in China in the 20th Century.”India Society for Rock MechanicsIndia National Group organized the Conference onLarge Dams and Hydropower Development inMay and distributed 2 issues of Newsletters.Iranian Society for Rock MechanicsISRM Iran NG, is organizing the 2nd IranianRock Mechanics Conference in November 2004,organized bi-month seminars and issuedNewsletters.

Israel Rock Mechanics AssociationISRM Israel NG organized two special rockmechanics sessions were held during the annualmeeting of Israel Geological Society in March, onunderground space technology and theoreticalaspects of rock mechanics and earthquake risks. Italso organised a workshop on new results on frac-ture, faulting, and brittle deformation of rocks inMay.Japanese Committee for Rock MechanicsISRM Japan NG has 345 individual and 48 corpo-rate ISRM members, and hosts 3 ISRMCommissions: Swelling Rocks, Application ofGeophysics to Rock Engineering, andPreservation of Natural Stone Monuments. It isorganising the 3rd Asian Rock MechanicsSymposium in November 2004, published “RockMechanics ‘02 CD-ROM” (containing rockmechanics publications in Japan), and 3 issues ofNewsletters. It also plans to set up the Rock Net topromote international exchange with other Asiancountries.Korean Society for Rock MechanicsIRSM Korea NG has 1231 individual and 23 cor-porate local members, 81 individual and 20 corpo-rate ISRM members. It organized the 2004National Congress in April, a workshop on“Numerical analyses in rock mechanics—newdevelopment and case studies” and a seminar on“Changes in underground hydraulic conditionaccording to excavation and its impact on theenvironments,” a workshop on “Mechanical tun-neling technologies in hard rock and soft ground.”It published Tunnel and Underground Space jour-nal, 6 issues of KSRM magazine.SingaporeSingapore National Group co-hosted a local con-ference, “Underground Singapore 2003” inNovember, jointly organised a monthly seminar onunderground technology and rock engineering,and a workshop on “Oil and Gas Storage in RockCaverns” in May.

Australasia – John St George, ISRMVice President for Australasia

In February 2004, Auckland New Zealand hostedthe 9th Australia New Zealand Conference on

Geomechanics which, although not a ISRM spon-sored event, attracts a lot of interest from the rockmechanics community. One of the highlights ofthe conference was the John Jaegar Memorial

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Lecture presented by Professor Ted Brown on themechanics of discontinua.

There have been some positive moves toencourage membership from fractional technicalgroups associated with mining to the SisterSocieties (mainly ISRM). Dr Meyers (VP nomineeAustralia) made a presentation to the East CoastStrata Control Group in an attempt to persuadethem to join ISRM. At this stage they have pre-ferred to align with the mining institute AusIMM.

A number of local technical committees andgroups are working on matters related rockmechanics: ground anchors, slope stability andlandslide risk management.

The National Groups in both Australia andNew Zealand have published a collection of theirJournal and News publications.

The collection of the Australian GeomechanicsSociety Journal and News 1971 – 2003 64 issues(2 CD set).

New Zealand Geomechanics News Collection,1970 – 2003, Vol 1-66, (CD)

Europe – ISRM Regional SymposiumEUROCK 2004 & 53rd GeomechanicsColloquy

The EUROCK 2004 conference this year washeld in Salzburg, Austria from October 7th to

October 9th in conjunction with the traditionalGeomechanics Colloquy, organized by theAustrian Society for Geomechanics.

A total of 65 papers were presented orally inseven sessions, while about 100 papers were pre-sented as posters.

The conference attracted 935 participants from32 countries. Forty companies took the opportuni-ty to present their products and services at thetechnical exhibition.

Social functions included a welcome receptionat the conference centre, a buffet dinner at the tra-ditional Salzburg Residence, and a chamberorchestra concert. An accompanying persons pro-gram and field trips to two railway tunnels com-pleted the programme.

North America – Francois Heuze,ISRM Vice President for NorthAmericaCANADA (with input from Professor John,Hadjigeorgiou, CARMA President)

Background

In Canada, the ISRM National Group is theCanadian Rock Mechanics Association

(CARMA). Membership to CARMA is througheither the Rock Mechanics Committee theCanadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy(CIM) or the Rock Mechanics Division of theCanadian Geotechnical Society (CGS). Current SituationMembership to the Canadian GeotechnicalSociety includes in its fee structure for the auto-matic adhesion to an international society of theirchoice. In 2003 50 people identified CARMA,and by consequence the ISRM, as the society ofchoice, and another 60 identified Rock Mechanicsas a second division choice (without membershipto CARMA & the ISRM).

Members of the Canadian Institute of Miningindicate a field of interest (Metal Mining, MineralEconomics Society, Maintenance Engineering,Rock Mechanics etc.). Currently only RockMechanics members of the CIM have an option tojoin an international society. This costs an addi-tional 30$Cnd for CARMA and ISRMMembership (including the ISRM quarterly NewsJournal). In 2003 598 people indicated rockmechanics as their area of interest and are mem-bers of the rock mechanics committee. Further115 paid the additional fees for membership toCARMA and by consequence to the ISRM.

So, the ISRM membership from Canada cur-rently stands at 165.

The last few years have seen a big dissatisfac-tion of members of the CIM Rock MechanicsCommunity with the ISRM. This escalated to thepoint where the Canadian Institute of Miningquestioned the practice of facilitating adhesion tothe ISRM. All complaints were related to theISRM Journal: irregular dates of publication,wrong addresses. The CIM Rock MechanicsCommittee refunded members who should have,but did not receive the Journal.

Currently, there is a degree of dissatisfaction onthe part of both CIM and CGS members over thelast paper issue of the Journal (lack of technicalcontent). The same complaints begin to resurfaceabout the Journal not being available on a regularbasis. Further complaints have focused on theISRM web page. If the ISRM Journal is to beavailable to all surfers over the web, what do pay-ing members gain with adhesion? Unless theseissues are resolved in the immediate future the

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number of Canadians who also are ISRM mem-bers is expected to further decline.CARMA ActivitiesIn 2004 CARMA cooperated with the AmericanRock Mechanics Association (ARMA) in theorganization of the North American RockMechanics Symposium in Houston. CARMAmembers have also contributed in the developmentof Rock Mechanics Sessions during the CanadianInstitute of Mining & Metallurgy, Annual GeneralMeeting in Edmonton (May 2004) and theCanadian Geotechnical Conference in QuebecCity (October 2004).MexicoOver the past two years, numerous attempts havebeen made by the VP North America (VPNA) andthe ARMA staff to establish contact with a personspeaking for Mexico with regard to ISRM. Theseattempts did not establish a viable correspondent.Mexico, a country of 105 million people has fivemembers in ISRM.

In August 2004, the VPNA wrote a message toMr. Carlos Garcia, President of the MexicanSociety for Rock Mechanics, highlighting the factthat Mexico was long overdue in its ISRM duesand informing him of the options that the ISRMBoard was offering to such countries to remedytheir situation. He was also informed that, in caseof further delinquency, Mexico could be expelledfrom ISRM. Although the receipt of that messagewas acknowledged, to this day there has been noother response to these communications. This does

not bode well for the future of Mexico withinISRM.United States of America (USA)ARMA is the National Group for the USA. TheVPNA is also the current President of ARMA.The USA now has 352 ISRM members, a signifi-cant increase from the previous year.

ARMA organized a North American RockMechanics Symposium (NARMS) in Houston,Texas, in June 2004. This NARMS was supposedto be organized in and by Mexico. When Mexicodefaulted, the U.S. stepped in. Mexico having alsodeclined to hold the next NARMS, in 2006, theBoard of ARMA terminated the 3-country(Canada, Mexico, U.S.) NARMS agreement. Itthen established a new joint Symposium processwith Canada (CARMA), 2 years in the U.S. and 1year in Canada over each 3-year cycle.

The 2005 US/Canada Rock MechanicsSymposium will be held in June 2005, inAnchorage, Alaska. The 2006 US/Canada RockMechanics Symposium will be held in Golden,Colorado, This will be the 50th/golden anniver-sary of the first U.S. Rock Mechanics Symposiumthat was held in Golden in 1956. The 2007Canada/US Rock Mechanics Symposium will beheld in Canada.

South America – Eda F. de Quadros,ISRM Vice President for SouthAmericaRegional and International Conferences

Participants of the IX International Symposium on Landslides, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (June 2004).

16

Some important events occurred during this lastyear involving the rock mechanics community:

firstly the II National Congress in GeotechnicalEngineering — II COPAINGE 2003, inAsunción, Paraguay and the SINERGIA 2004(National Congress in Argentine) held in the his-torical city of Córdoba (October, 2004). The Vice-President were invited to participate in both eventsby the Presidents of the Organizing Commissions– Prof. Michel Stanischevsky and Prof. RobertoTerzariol, respectively. The third event was the IXInternational Symposium on Landslides – IXISL, which the President of ISRM (Prof. Nielenvan der Merwe) attended. During his stay inBrazil, he participated in profitable meetingsinvolving representatives of ISRM SouthAmerican NGs.

SINERGIA 2004, was a multidisciplinaryevent enclosing the areas of soil and rock mechan-ics, dam engineering, environmental and geotech-nical mapping.

A remarkable aspect was the involvement ofthe Academy in the whole event. CórdobaUniversity is one of the three oldest in theAmericas (~400 years). A well deserved title of“Dr. Honoris Causa” was given for the first timein the area of Geotechnics to Dr. Nick Barton,one of the prominent members of ISRM.

The title was given as a recognition of his greatcontribution to the development of the RockMechanics Science and application of concepts inthe field of Rock Engineering, in a traditional cer-emony and Aula Magna, which was given in thepresence of the Dean, the highest level Professorsof the University of Córdoba and invited profes-sionals.

There is a proposal in development for the VISouth American Congress in Rock Mechanicsin 2006, to be organised by one of the ISRM NGsin the region.

During this year, the Vice-President was alsoinvited to participate in the IX GeotechnicalPortuguese Congress (Aveiro, Portugal) and inthe Chinese International Symposium on RockMechanics (SINOROCK, 2004).

Recently, following the international trend forstrengthen the collaboration during the event SIN-ERGIA 2004 in Córdoba, the three Vice-Presidents of ISSMGE, IAEG and ISRM signed aterm of compromise establishing an agreementamongst the three sister societies in the continenttermed “Declaration of Córdoba.” This docu-

ment contains some principles of collaborationand states the creation of “Joint South AmericanWorking-Groups” (JWSGs), as well as the cre-ation of a Council formed by the Vice Presidentsand Past Vice Presidents in the Region.Some Considerations about the RegionThere are eleven Geotechnical Societies in SouthAmerica belonging to ISSMGE. The ISRM RockMechanics Groups are in general a branch (or acommittee) in those Societies.

There is an expected potential for future mem-berships from the mining and petroleum commu-nities. Due to the circumstances linked to politicalrestraints in the region and smaller demand forrock mechanics works, it might be realistic tothink of an increased number no more than ~10-20% if the Vice-President succeeds in her effortsfor new countries to be affiliated to ISRM in thecontinent. In negotiation at this moment is thereturn of Chile and Peru.

Cooperation with ISSMGE and IAEG is oneof the main goals of this Regional Vice President.In South American Region, the Vice Presidents ofthe three sisters societies are very keen to promotecommon links and the “Córdoba Declaration”referred to before shows their wish toward that.

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Our aim in organizing thefirst SINOROCK sympo-sium on “Rock

Characterization, Modelling andEngineering Design Methods,”held on 18-21 May 2004, was tohighlight the characterization,modelling and design sequence inrock engineering. Too often, thesethree components have been con-sidered as separate disci-plines, rather than as a uni-fied rock engineering designprocess.

Because there is probablymore rock mechanicsresearch and more rock engi-neering construction takingplace in China than in anyother country, the venue atthe Three Gorges DamProject on the Yangtze River,Hubei Province, seemedhighly appropriate for such a Symposium. TheThree Gorges Project is the largest engineeringscheme of its kind in the world and the consider-able infra-structural development at the siteincludes the Three Gorges Project Hotel where theSINOROCK symposium was held.

Following the naming style of its predecessors,i.e., the EUROCK and INDOROCK symposia,this symposium was named using the prefixSINO—meaning “pertaining to China.” TheSymposium was organized by the InternationalJournal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences(based in the UK) and the Chinese Academy ofSciences, through the Institute of Rock and SoilMechanics at Wuhan, thus a Sino-British initia-tive.

Three Short Courses preceded the Symposium:

• “Q rock mass classifica-tion, tunnel engineeringand water flow,” NickBarton and Eda Quadros; • “Itasca numerical pro-grammes: updating infor-mation,” Roger Hart,Christine Detournay andDr. Huanchun (Peter) Zhu;and • “Environmental issues inrock mechanics and engi-neering,” Lanru Jing, John

Hudson, Xia-Ting Feng, Wulf Schubert andOve Stephansson.

The subjects of these three Short Courses rep-resented the two main methods of rock engineer-ing design and the relatively recent emphasis onthe need to include consideration of environmentalfactors.

SINOROCK2004 was well attended by about250 registrants from 21 countries, with approxi-mately equal numbers of Chinese and non-Chinese delegates. There were 149 papers present-ed in English (selected from the more than 350submitted abstracts) and 34 presented in Chinese,comprising an excellent suite of technically andgeographically diverse papers. The abstracts of theEnglish papers can be found in the hard copy ver-sion of the SINOROCK Special Issue of theInternational Journal of Rock Mechanics andMining Sciences, (41-3, April 2004). Abstracts andfull papers can also be found at sciencedirect.com.

East meets West and West meets East:A review of the ISRM SINOROCK2004 Regional Symposium held in China,May 2004by John A Hudson* and Xia-Ting Feng** Co-Chairmen, SINOROCK2004

*Imperial College and Rock Engineering Consultants, UK([email protected])**Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academyof Sciences, Wuhan, China ([email protected]) SINOROCK, continued on page 32

Hubei Province

18

Commission on Application ofGeophysics to Rock EngineeringProfessor Koichi Sassa, CommissionPresidentJuly 2003 to October 2004

(1) The Suggested Methods for LandGeophysics in Rock Engineering had beenapproved by ISRM as the ISRM SuggestedMethods in 2003. This ISRM SuggestedMethods had been published in theInternational Journal of Rock Mechanics andMining Sciences, Volume 41, Number 6,September 2004.

(2) The core members in the working group onstandardization of geophysical methods forrock engineering in this commission are nowdrafting the first draft of the SuggestedMethods for Borehole Geophysics in RockEngineering. The first draft will be circulatedin the working group members and also in thecommission members for revision shortly.

(3) The 6th International Workshop on theApplication of Geophysics to RockEngineering is scheduled to be held onMonday, 29 November 2004, in conjunctionwith the 2004 ISRM InternationalSymposium (3rd ARMS). The contents areshown in the web page of the commission. Asshown in the program, the commission report,twelve papers and also a preliminary draft ofthe Suggested Methods for BoreholeGeophysics in Rock Engineering will be pre-sented at the workshop. The proceedings ofabout 80 pages will be published. Any onewho want to purchase it (hard copy or CD-R),please make contact with Dr. YoshinoriSanada ([email protected]).The price is JPY 3,000 excluding postage.

(4) Publication of the special issue onGeophysical Methods as applied to tunnelingin the Rock Mechanics and Rock EngineeringJournal is being discussed with the commis-sion members and also Professor GiovanniBarla at Politecnico di Torino in Italy.

(5) All information regarding commissionactivities are shown on our web page: http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/people/sassa/).

Commission on EducationProfessor Meifeng Cai, CommissionPresident September 2004

The present and future activities of ISRMCommission on Education are:

(1) To reestablish the membership of theCommission. Invitation e-mails have beensent to each member due the Commission onEducation in hope they could continue beingthe member in the new session. Since a fewpersons may not be ready and willing to con-tinue their work as the Commission members,I asked them to recommend a new member totake over the membership for your country orregion.

(2) To organize a Workshop on Education. Bytaking the opportunity of the 3rd ARMS,November 28-30, 2004 in Japan, a Workshopon Education has been proposed and will be

Commission Reports

Commission President Koichi Sassa and his wife

19

held during the symposium. Letters and e-mails have been sent to invite each member ofthe Commission on Education to attend.

(3) Plans are underway to hold an InternationalSymposium on Education of Rock Mechanicsand Doctoral Forum of Rock Mechanics andEngineering in 2006, in Beijing.

(4) We are planning to write a new textbook ofRock Mechanics and Engineering by mem-bers of the Commission for both undergradu-ate and graduate students.

(5) To up-date the education information pre-sented on ISRM web, including theUniversities, material (books, software, video-tapes and slides), and persons involved ineducation of rock mechanics.

(6) To collect doctoral thesis all around theworld and publish the abstracts through theISRM website.

JTC-1 Joint Technical Committee onLandslides and Engineered SlopesProfessor Robin Fell, CommissionPresident1. Date and Venue of Last Meeting27th June 2004, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in con-junction with the International Symposium onLandslides. The meeting was attended by 12 mem-bers, 7 persons formally representing other mem-bers, and 10 observers including Dr. Nielen vander Merwe.2. Date and Venue of Next MeetingMonday, 30th May 2005 in Vancouver, Canada, inconjunction with the International Conference onLandslide Risk Management.3. Committee Activities since Last Report(September 2003)In this period we have:

(a) Had our second committee meeting in Riode Janeiro

(b) Held the International Symposium onLandslides in Rio de Janeiro. Xian in Chinawas selected as the venue for ISL 2008.

(c) Finalised arrangements for an InternationalConference on Landslide Risk Managementwhich is to be held in Vancouver, Canada,from 31st May to 3rd June 2005. TheConference will include 8 State of the ArtPapers and four invited papers, which will bepublished in a book which we see will be theauthoritative text on the subject. The

Canadian Geotechnical Society is running theConference.

4. Planned Activities(a) JTC-1 is organising a Workshop on the

mechanics and prediction of velocity of verylarge landslides to be held in Longarone, Italyin May 2006. This workshop will be attendedby 25-30 invited experts. The workshop willconcentrate on the following questions:

(i) What methods are there available todetermine whether a large (>1 millionm3) landslide will travel rapidly or slowlyand how reliably can this be done?

(ii) What methods are there to predict thetime of collapse or rapid reactivation of alarge landslide, and how reliable arethese? These should concern, reactivatedand active landslides.

(iii) What research is needed, and coordi-nation between researchers is possible todevelop these areas, and where are thesesources of good data and possible fund-ing for such research.

(b) JTC-1 is developing a register of trainingcourses in landslides and related matters. Wewill be developing a web page through ISS-MGE, with links from/to ISRM and IAEG.

(c) ISL 2008. We are beginning the planning ofthis Symposium and will determine themes atthe meeting in Vancouver.

5. Other IssuesI have written to ISRM, IAEG and ISSMGE inrespect to committee membership, the tenure ofthe chair, and fees to be paid to the InternationalSocieties for Conferences organised by JTC-1. Welook forward to a response on these issues.

Commission on Maintenance andRepair of Underground Structures inRock MassesProfessor Luís Ribeiro e Sousa,Commission PresidentActivities in 2004Objectives of the Commission

To perform a synthesis of the main questionsregarding maintenance and repair of under-

ground structures in rock masses.To analyse and investigate several topics,

namely:

20

• deterioration of rock masses, main anomaliesand their causes;

• modelling of masonry linings and grouting;• methodologies of inspection and safety con-

trol;• maintenance software and artificial intelli-

gence techniques;• road and railway tunnels–specific problems

and case histories;• underground hydraulic and hydroelectric

schemes–specific problems and case histories.To establish guidelines for inspection, safety

control, modelling and repair of undergroundstructures in rock masses.Task List (tentative)

Task 1. Collection of case histories – road, rail-way, hydraulic and hydroelectric tunnels

Task 2. Deterioration of rock masses and lin-ings – main anomalies and their causes

Task 3. Guidelines for inspection and safetycontrol of underground structures

Task 4. Guidelines for repair of undergroundstructures

Task 5. Final report to be published as a ISRMdocument

Task 6. Specialised Workshop at ISRMCongress, Lisbon, 2007

Meeting at ISRM Symposium, KyotoThe first meeting is planned for 29 November2004 during ISRM Symposium to be held inKyoto, where activities will be planned. Membersfrom ISRM NG Japan will participate.Appendix 1 — Commission Membership12 members from Brazil, China, France, Germany,Japan, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and USA.Nielen van der Merwe ISRM President, Pretoria University, South Africa (By-Law no. 3), [email protected] ErichsonISRM VP Europe, WBI, Germany (By-Law no.3), [email protected] TanimotoWest Japan Railway Company, Japan, [email protected] ChoquetCETu, Bron, France, [email protected]

Edna Maria FrazíllioMaubertec and Frazilio e Ferroni Informática, SãoPaulo, Brasil, [email protected] TononUniversity of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA,[email protected] ManchaoChina University of Mining and Technology,Beijing, China, [email protected] PetersenCAN Consulting Engineers, Minneapolis, USA,[email protected]ís Nolasco LamasLNEC, Portugal, [email protected]ís Ribeiro e Sousa (Commission President)ISRM VP at Large, LNEC, Portugal,[email protected] AsakuraKyoto University, Kyoto, Japan,[email protected] of ISRM NG SpainTo be designated by NG of Spain

Commission on the Preservation ofNatural Stone MonumentsProfessor Chikaosa Tanimoto,Commission PresidentReport on Activities in 2004

This commission has been restarted with thenew commission members since July 2004.

The tasks have been modified as follows: Insteadof carrying out the standardized weathering tests,the commission concentrates on collecting casehistory, organizing workshops & conference andpublication. Through eight years of experience ithas been recognized that, although the interests ofISRM members in the preservation works of stonemonuments seem to be high, I cannot help feelingthat people’s interest remains at a level of curiosi-ty, for example, there were too few participants atthe commission and workshop meetings inMadison, New York, Cancun, and Beijing. Ofcourse, it was fully the commission president’sresponsibility.

For the period of 2004-2007, the commissionpresident should try to indicate more objectivetasks including the reconstruction of fundamentalconcept and commission members who are suit-able for actual contribution to monuments sites. Itmeans that a commission member is desirable tohave been involved in some actual project and to

21

be able to bring his/her own case history into thecommission activities. However, judging from thepresent situation, the commission may obtain onlyseveral people in its activities. In addition to actu-al involvement, the commission puts its objectiveon studying rock weathering mechanism and itsreality.

Fortunately, Chinese Society for ISRM hasbeen supporting the commission activity verymuch, and the workshop in Dunhuang and theinternational symposium on Protection ofLongyou Grottoes could be materialized inSeptember 2001 and September 2004, respective-ly. Both were very successful. The commissionpresident would like to express his special thanksto Chinese ISRM for their kind and steady coop-eration.

The responsibility of the commission presidentshould be extended to not only Asia but also otherareas. The commission needs more support forfinding appropriate members and projects. At thelast the commission organizes the internationalworkshop on Preservation of Natural StoneMonuments and Rock Weathering on November29, 2004, in conjunction with the 3rd ARMS. Thespecial gratitude should be given to the organizingcommittee.

22

Membership

The total number of National Groups is now 46.The table attached presents the situation

regarding ISRM membership, per country and perregion, in September 2004. The present numbersof individual and corporate members are:

When compared with the previous year, thiscorresponds to an increase of 84 individual mem-bers and to a decrease of 6 corporate members. Itshould be mentioned that the decreasing trend incorporate membership was compensated by 20new corporate members from Korea.

The graphics at the bottom of the page presentthe evolution of the number of ISRM members inthe last 9 years.

AwardsThe 22nd Rocha Medal was conferred on Dr.Lindsay Marguerite Andersen for her thesis “ARelative Moment Tensor Inversion TechniqueApplied to Seismicity Induced by Mining” on theoccasion of the 10th ISRM International Congressheld in Sandton, South Africa, in September 2003.

The Award Committee selected, as the winnerof the 23rd prize, the thesis submitted by Dr.Giovanni Grasselli entitled “Shear Strength ofRock Joints based on the Quantified Surface

Description.” This work, selected from amongseven outstanding shortlisted theses for 2004, wasapproved in 2001 by the Civil EngineeringDepartment, EPF Lausanne, Switzerland. Theaward will be conferred during the KyotoSymposium this November.

Development of the New ISRM WebsiteAt its meeting in Sandton, South Africa, inSeptember 2003, the ISRM Board approved thefollowing motions regarding the use of informa-tion technologies:

The main method of future communicationbetween the ISRM and its members will be elec-tronic, including:

i) development of an interactive website; ii) distribution of the News Journal; iii) availability of abstracts of all ISRM spon-

sored conferences, commission and interest groupreports.

The Secretariat is instructed to find an appro-priate IT service provider within easy access, butpreferably within Lisbon, Portugal, for the cre-ation and maintenance of the new ISRM website.

The first phase of the work consisted of prepar-ing the terms of reference for a consultation withseveral IT service providers, selecting one compa-ny and preparing a first proposal for the develop-ment of an Internet-based, information and com-munication system for the ISRM. This proposalgenerated comprehensive discussions in the ISRMBoard and a final document was approved.

The following main objectives for the new sys-tem were defined by the ISRM:

• To promote the ISRM: To make available tothe technical community, through a new website,

News from the Secretariat

Members Individual CorporateAfrica 340 3Asia 889 74Australasia 328 2Europe 2625 47N America 517 4S America 140 0

Total 4839 130

Individual members Corporate members

23

detailed information on the activi-ty of ISRM, with the aim to beuseful to rock mechanics practi-tioners and researchers, toincrease the interest in rockmechanics and to attract new indi-vidual and corporate members tothe ISRM.

• To serve the ISRM members:To make available to ISRM mem-bers, through a password protectedarea of the ISRM website, specificinformation, which should justifybeing a member, such as newslet-ters and other publications, direc-tory of members and a virtuallibrary.

• To support the ISRM activity:To improve ISRM efficiency byusing specific IT tools for com-munication between Board mem-bers, Secretariat, National Groups,Commissions and Interest Groups,so as to stimulate electronic com-munication and to allow a betterallocation of resources.

The autonomy of ISRM asregards introduction of new con-tents and maintenance of the sys-tem was considered as one of thepriorities.

With the launching of the newISRM website, the rock mechan-ics practitioners will have a newtool where they can find all sortsof information about the Society,its organisation and history, con-ferences and meetings, commis-sions and interest groups, awards,corporate members, suggestedmethods and other publications. Ina restricted area, ISRM memberswill find materials of their inter-est, such as the News Journal anda virtual library, or may wish toparticipate in discussion forums.Board members will have accessto working areas and new servicesthat will facilitate their routinework.

Launching of the system isforeseen for the end of 2004 and

Countries OrdinaryMembers

CorrespondingMembers

CorporateMembers

Argentina 9 1 0

Australia 259 3 2

Austria 202 2 1

Bahrain 0 1 0

Belgium 48 0 4

Brazil 68 0 0

Bulgaria 0 2 0

Canada 176 1 1

China 200 6 6

Colombia 23 0 0

Costa Rica 0 4 0

Croatia 56 0 0

Czech Rep. 23 0 0

Denmark 3 0 0

Egypt 0 1 0

Finland 67 0 1

France 173 0 9

Germany 337 1 5

Ghana 41 0 0

Greece 99 2 0

Hong Kong 0 5 1

Iceland 7 0 0

India 70 1 0

Indonesia 0 5 0

Iran 85 1 0

Ireland 0 3 0

Israel 25 0 0

Italy 223 4 2

Japan 344 0 47

Jordan 0 2 0

Korea R 48 0 20

Malaysia 0 1 0

ISRM Membership in September 2004

24

will be followed by continuousimprovements that will prove neces-sary. It is hoped that this new systemwill be positively received by therock mechanics community. Feedback from the users is essential, sothat the system may become a usefulworking tool for all those involved inrock mechanics or in the activities ofthe ISRM.

Countries OrdinaryMembers

CorrespondingMembers

CorporateMembers

Mauritius 0 1 0

Mexico 13 0 0

Nepal 6 0 0

Netherlands 26 0 0

New Zealand 65 1 0

Norway 230 1 0

Panamá 0 1 0

Paraguay 11 0 0

Peru 0 2 0

Poland 42 0 0

Portugal 158 0 9

Russia 35 2 0

Saudi Arabia 0 3 0

Singapore 12 0 0

Slovakia 20 0 0

Slovenia 26 0 0

South Africa 281 0 3

SE Asia 50 0 0

Spain 145 3 0

Sweden 130 0 12

Switzerland 167 1 3

Taiwan 0 2 0

Turkey 70 1 0

United Kingdom 315 1 1

USA 323 4 3

Venezuela 20 1 0

Vietnam 22 0 0

Zambia 16 0 0

Total 4769 70 130

25

ARGENTINASOCIEDAD ARGENTINA DEINGENIERIA GEOTÉCNICAGrupo Argentino de Mecânica

de RocasPablo Mirizzi 471B. Parque Velez Sarsfield5016 CordobaARGENTINATel.: (+54) 351 468 5073Fax: (+54) 351 468 5073E-mail: [email protected]: www.saig.org.arPresident: Prof. Emilio R.

RedolfiSecretary: Prof. Ricardo J.

RoccaAUSTRALIAAUSTRALIAN GEOME-CHANICS SOCIETYPO Box 6238Kingston ACT 2604AUSTRALIATel.: (+61) 2 6270 6558Fax: (+61) 2 6273 2358E-mail:

[email protected]: www.australiangeome-

chanics.orgPresident: Mr. Andrew

LeventhalSecretary: Ms Valerie Lee

AUSTRIAÖSTERREICHISCHEGESELLSCHAFT FÜR GEO-MECHANIK (ÖGG)Bayerhamerstrasse 145020 SalzburgAUSTRIATel.: (+43) 662 875519Fax: (+43) 662 886748E-mail: [email protected]: www.oegg.atPresident: Dipl.-Ing. Dr.mont.

Georg Michael VavrovskySecretary: Mrs Christine Santos

Martinez

BELGIUMGROUPEMENT BELGE DEMECANIQUE DES ROCHES(GBMR)Faculté Polytechnique de Mons

– MécarochesRue du joncquois 537000 MonsBELGIUMTel.: (+32) 65 37 45 18/19Fax: (+32) 65 37 45 20E-mail: jean-

[email protected]: www.geotechbel.comPresident: Dr Christian

SchroederSecretary: Dr J.P. Tshibangu K.

BRAZILCOMITÊ BRASILEIRO DEMECÂNICA DAS ROCHASand the ASSOCIAÇÃOBRASILEIRA DEMECANICA DOS SOLOS EENGENHARIAGEOTÉCNICA, ABMS –CBMRIPT – Instituto de Pesquisas

Tecnológicas do Estado de S.Paulo

Cidade Universitária Armandode Salles Oliveira

Caixa Postal 7141ButantãCEP 05508 – 901 São Paulo SPBRAZILTel.: (+55) 11 268 7325Fax: (+55) 11 268 7325E-mail: [email protected]

or [email protected]: www.abms.com.brPresident: Dr Sérgio A.B.

FontouraSecretary: Dr Anna Laura L. S.

Nunes

CANADACANADIAN ROCKMECHANICS ASSOCIA-TION (CARMA)Attn.: Dr. Jean HutchinsonQueens UniversityDept. of Geological Sciences

and Geological EngineeringMiller 228Kingston, OntarioCANADA K7L 3N6Tel.: (+1) 613 533 6183Fax: (+1) 613 533 6592E-mail: [email protected]

su.caWebsite: http://www.cgs.ca/eng-

lish/rockmechanics/rmd.htmlPresident: Dr Hani MitriSecretary: Dr Jean Hutchinson

CHINACHINESE SOCIETY FORROCK MECHANICS ANDENGINEERINGAttn: Prof. YANG ZhifaInstitute of GeologyChinese Academy of SciencesPO Box 9825Beijing 100029CHINATel.: (+86) 10 62008072Fax: (+86) 10 62040574E-mail: [email protected]: www.csrme.comPresident: Prof. Dr. QIAN QihuSecretary: Prof. YANG Zhifa,

Prof. LI ZhongkuiAdvisor: Prof. FU Bingjun

COLOMBIASOCIEDAD COLOMBIANADE GEOTECNIAApartado Aereo 057045Santafé de Bogotá, D.C.COLOMBIA S.A.Tel.: (+57) 1 412 3300 Ext. 465

/2200287Fax: (+57) 1 424 4592E-mail: [email protected]: www.scg.org.co

ISRM NATIONAL GROUPS

President: Prof. Adolfo Alarcon-Guzman

Secretary: Mr Hugo E. Acosta-Martinez

CROATIACROATIAN SOCIETY FORROCK MECHANICSHrvatska udruga za mehaniku

stijenaCivil Engineering Institute of

CroatiaAttn: Prof. Ivan VrkljanJ. Rakuse 1, P.B.O. 28310 000 ZagrebCROATIATel.: (+385) 1 6136 444Fax: (+385) 1 6144 732E-Mail: [email protected]: Prof. Ivan VrkljanSecretary: Dr Trpimir Kujundzic

CZECH REPUBLICOKD, DPB PASKOV a.s.Rudé Amrmády 637739 21 PaskovCZECH REPUBLICTel.: (+420) 596263080Fax: (+420) 658671588E-mail: [email protected]: Dr Georges TaklaSecretary: Dr Richard Snupárek

DENMARKDANSK GEOTEKNISKFORENINGAttn: Mr John Frederiksen,

SecretaryMaglebjerg vej 1PO Box 119DK-2800 LyngbyDENMARKTel.: (+45) 45 88 44 44Fax: (+45) 45 88 12 70E-mail: [email protected]: www.danskgeoteknisk-

forening.dkPresident: Mr Carsten S.

SørensenSecretary: Mr M.E. Jens Brink

Clausen

FINLANDSUOMEN KALLIOMEKANI-IKKATOIMIKUNTAThe Finnish National Group of

ISRMC/o Helsinki University of

TechnologyLaboratory of Rock EngineeringPO Box 6200FIN-02015 HUTFINLANDTel.: (+358) 9 451 2803Fax: (+358) 9 451 2812E-mail: [email protected]:

www.hut.fi/~jantikai/isrm-fin.html

President: Prof. Erik JohanssonSecretary: Dr Jukka Pukkila

FRANCECOMITÉ FRANÇAIS DEMÉCANIQUE DES ROCHESC/o BRGM/CDG/MABP 600945060 Orleans cedex 2FRANCETel.: (+33) 2 38 64 38 77Fax: (+33) 2 38 64 33 61E-mail: [email protected]: www.geotechnique.orgPresident: Prof. Jack-Pierre

PiguetSecretary: Dr. Sylvie Gentier

GERMANYDEUTSCHEGESELLSCHAFT FÜRGEOTECHNIK e.V.Hohenzollernstrasse 52D-45128 EssenGERMANYTel.: (+49) 201 782723Fax: (+49) 201 782743E-mail: [email protected]: www.dggt.dePresident: Prof. Manfred

NussbaumerSecretary: Dr. Kirsten

Laackmann

GHANAGHANROCKC/o Geotechnical Engineering

DepartmentAshanti Goldfields Company

Ltd.PO Box 10, ObuasiGHANATel.: (+233) 582 40494, ext.

1199Fax: (+233) 582 40268E-mail: [email protected]:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ghanrock

President: Mr Seth Owusu-Sarpong

Secretary: Mr Aboagye Ohene-Adu

GREECEHELLENIC SOCIETY OFSOIL MECHANICS ANDFOUNDATION ENGINEER-INGNational Technical University of

AthensDepartment of Geotechnical

Engineering9 Iroon Polytexneiou15780 ZografuAthensGREECETel.: (+30) 210 7723434 or 210

7723420Fax: (+30) 210 7723428E-mail: [email protected]: Dr S. CavounidisSecretary: Prof. A.

Anagnostopoulos

ICELANDISRM NATIONAL GROUPOF ICELANDC/o Björn Stefansson, SecretaryLandsvirkjunHáaleitisbraut 68103 ReykjavikICELANDTel.: (+354) 580 8100Fax: (+354) 580 8101E-mail: [email protected]: Mr Birgir JonssonSecretary: Mr Björn Stefansson

26

27

INDIAINDIAN NATIONAL GROUPOF THE ISRMAttn.: Mr. G.N. MathurCentral Board of Irrigation and

PowerMalcha Marg, ChanakyapuriNew Delhi 110021INDIATel.: (+91) 11 2611 5984 or 11

2611 1294Fax: (+91) 11 2611 6347E-mail: [email protected] or

[email protected] [email protected]

Website:www.cbip.org/ISRM.htm

President: Dr A. VaradarajanSecretary: Mr G.N. MathurTreasurer: Dr A.S. Chawla

IRANISRM NATIONAL GROUPOF IRANC/o Dr. Morteza AhmadiDept. of Mining EngineeringFaculty of EngineeringTarbiat Modares UniversityTehranPO Box 14115-314IRANTel.: (+98) 21 8011001, ext.

3351Fax: (+98) 21 8005040E-mail: [email protected]: Dr Mojtaba GharaviSecretary-General: Dr. Morteza

AhmadiTreasurer: Hamed Soroush

ISRAELISRAEL ROCK MECHAN-ICS ASSOCIATION (IRMA)Dept. of Geological and

Environmental SciencesBem-Gurion University of the

NegevPO Box 653Beer Sheva84105 ISRAELTel.: (+972) 8 647 2621Fax: (+972) 8 647 2997E-mail:

[email protected]: Dr. Yossef HatzorSecretary: Mrs. Rivka Einy

ITALYASSOCIAZIONE GEOTEC-NICA ITALIANAViale Dell’Università 1100185 RomaITALYTel.: (+39) 06 4465569Fax: (+39) 06 44361035E-mail: [email protected]: www.associazione-

geotecnica.itPresident: Prof. Giovanni BarlaSecretary: Ing. Claudio

Soccodato

JAPANJAPANESE COMMITTEEFOR ROCK MECHANICS(JCRM)c/o The Japanese GeotechnicalSocietySengoku 4-38-2, Bunkyo-kuTokyo 112-0011JAPANTel.: (+81) 3 3946 8677Fax: (+81) 3 3946 8678E-mail: [email protected]: wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/isr-mjp/index-e.htmlPresident: Prof. Yuzo OhnishiSecretary: Mr. MiyakiMatsumoto

KOREAKOREAN SOCIETY FORROCK MECHANICSMain 810Korea Science & Technology

Center635-4 Yeoksam-dong Kangnam-guSeoul, 135-703KOREATel.: (+82) 2 558 1896Fax: (+82) 2 558 1897E-mail:

[email protected] [email protected]

Website: www.ksrm.or.krPresident: Mr Sang-Yeul Choi,

P.E.

Secretary: Dr Seokwon Jeon

MEXICOSOCIEDAD MEXICANA DEMECANICA DE ROCAS, A.C.Attn: Mr Hector Bonilla CuevasCamino a Santa Teresa 187Col. Bosques del Pedregal(Atrás Villa Olímpica)C.P. 14020Mexico, D.F.MEXICOTel.: (+52) 5 528 2089Fax: (+52) 5 601 1065E-mail: [email protected]: Mr Ismael Sanchez

MoraSecretary: Mr. Hector Bonilla

Cuevas

NEPALNEPAL GEOTECHNICALSOCIETYG.P.O.Box 20360KathmanduNEPALTel.: (+977) 1 417271E-mail:

[email protected]:

www.geocities.com/ngeotech/President: Dr R.K. PoudyalSecretary General: Mr B.R.

Shahi

THE NETHERLANDSNATIONAL GROUP OF THENETHERLANDS, ISRMAttn.: Ir. M. Huisman, ITCMijnbouwstraat 1202628 RX DelftTHE NETHERLANDSTel.: (+31) 15 2786024Fax: (+31) 15 2784891E-mail: [email protected]: Ir. M. Huisman

NEW ZEALANDNEW ZEALAND GEOTECH-NICAL SOCIETY INC.C/o Institution of ProfessionalEngineersPO Box 12-241Wellington

28

NEW ZEALANDTel.: (+64) 4 473 9444Fax: (+64) 4 473 2324E-mail: [email protected]:

www.nzgeotechsoc.org.nzPresident: Mr John MarshManagement Secretary: Ms

Imrana Azimullah

NORWAYNORSKBERGMEKANIKKGRUPPEDepartment of Geology and

Mineral Resources EngineeringAttn: Mrs. Guro GrønengNTNU7491 TrondheimNORWAYTel.: (+47) 73591172Fax: (+47) 47597740E-mail:

[email protected]:

www.bergmekanikk.comPresident: Dr Jan K. RohdeSecretary: Mrs Guro Grøneng

PARAGUAYSOCIEDAD PARAGUAYA DEGEOTECNIAAv. Espana 959Casilla de Correo 336Asuncion, PARAGUAYTel.: (+595) 21 202 424Fax: (+595) 21 205 019E-mail: [email protected]:

www.orionconsult.com/spg/html/historia.html

President: Mr Efraím de BarrosBarreto

Vice President for Rocks: Mr.Cesar López Bosio

Secretary General: Mr HugoCacace

POLANDPOLISH SOCIETY FORROCK MECHANICSC/o Silesian University of

TechnologyFaculty of Mining and Geology2, Akademicka Street

PL-44-100 GliwicePOLANDTel.: (+48) 32 2372550Fax: (+48) 32 2371238E-mail: [email protected]: Prof. Bernard DrzezlaVice-President: Dr Marek

KwasniewskiSecretary: Prof. Jan Zych

PORTUGALSOCIEDADE PORTUGUESADE GEOTECNIA (SPG)LNECAv. do Brasil, 101P 1700-066 LisboaPORTUGALTel.: (+351) 21 8443321Fax: (+351) 21 8443021E-mail: [email protected]: www.lnec.pt/spgPresident: Prof. António Gomes

CorreiaSecretary: Dr António José

Roque

RUSSIARUSSIAN GEOMECHANICSASSOCIATIONBranch Geodynamic Research

CentreAttn: Dr. A. ZamakhaevC/o “Hydroproject” Institute2, Volokolamskoe shosseMoscow 125933RUSSIATel.: (+7) 95 155 38 40Fax: (+7) 95 158 06 79E.mail: [email protected]: Academician E.I.

ShemyakinSecretary: Dr A.M. Zamakhaev

SINGAPOREISRM Singapore NationalGroupC/o Underground Technology

and Rock Engineering ProgramSchool of Civil and

Environmental EngineeringNanyang Technological

UniversityBlock N1 Nanyang AvenueSingapore 639798 SINGAPORE

Tel.: (+65) 6790 6442Fax: (+65) 6792 1650E-mail: [email protected] or

[email protected]: Prof. Yingxin ZhouHonorary Secretary: Dr. Jun

Gang Cai

SLOVAKIANational Group of the SlovakRepublic of the ISRMFaculty of Mining, Ecology,

Process Control andGeotechnologies

Letná 904200 Kosice, SLOVAKIATel.: (+421) 95 6022950Fax: (+421) 95 633 6618E-mail: [email protected]: Prof. B. DuroveSecretary: Prof. Michal Maras

SLOVENIASLOVENIAN GEOTECHNI-CAL SOCIETYUniversity of LjubljanaFaculty of Natural Sciences and

EngineeringDept. of Geotechnology and

MiningAskerceva 121000 Ljubljana, SLOVENIATel.: (+386) 1 4704500Fax: (+386) 1 2524105E-mail: [email protected]: Dr Ana GabercSecretary: Dr Jakob Likar

SOUTH AFRICASOUTH AFRICAN NATION-AL INSTITUTE OF ROCKENGINEERING (SANIRE)PO Box 91230Auckland Park2006 JohannesburgSOUTH AFRICATel.: (+27) 11 358 0301Fax: (+27) 11 482 1250E-mail: [email protected]: www.sanire.co.zaPresident: Dr Francois Malan

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SOUTHEAST ASIASOUTHEAST ASIAN GEOT-ECHNICAL SOCIETY(SEAGS)Attn: Prof. Dennes T. BergadoAsian Institute of Technology

(AIT)PO Box 4Klong LuangPathumthani 12120 THAILANDTel.: (+66) 2 5245864Fax: (+66) 2 5162126E-mail: [email protected]: www.sce.ait.ac.th/ge-

seagsresident: Prof. Kwet Yew YongSecretary General: Prof. Dennes

T. Bergado

SPAINSOCIEDAD ESPAÑOLA DE

MECANICA DE LAS ROCASC/o Laboratorio de Geotecnia

del CedexAlfonso XII, 3E-28014 – Madrid, SPAINTel.: (+34) 91 3357300Fax: (+34) 91 3357322E-mail: [email protected]: Dr José M. Sanz

SarachoSecretary: Dr Claudio Olalla

SWEDENSveBeFo SWEDISH ROCKENGINEERING RESEARCHAttn: Mrs Eva FriedmanMejerivägen 4P O Box 47047S 100 74 Stockholm, SWEDENTel.: (+46) 8 692 2280Fax: (+46) 8 651 1364E-mail: [email protected],

[email protected]: www.svebefo.seResearch Director: Dr Tomas

FranzénSecretary: Mrs Eva Friedman

SWITZERLANDSWISS SOCIETY FOR SOIL& ROCK MECHANICSInstitut für Grundbau und

BodenmechanikETH-Hönggerberg8093 ZürichSWITZERLANDTel.: (+41) 1 6332532, (+41) 1

3412356Fax: (+41) 1 633 10 62E-mail: [email protected]: Dr Sara Montani

StoffelSecretary: Dr Markus Caprez

TURKEYTÜRK ULUSAL KAYAMEKANIGI DERNEGIMaden Mühendisligi BölümüHacettepe ÜniversitesiBeytepe06532 AnkaraTURKEYTel.: (+90) 312 3973810Fax: (+90) 312 3973811E-mail: [email protected]: Prof. H. Aydin BilginSecretary General: Mr. Hasan

Sisman

UNITED KINGDOMBRITISH GEOTECHNICALASSOCIATIONInstitution of Civil Engineers1 Great George StreetLondon SW1P3AAUNITED KINGDOMTel.: (+44) 207 665 22 33Fax: (+44) 207 799 1325E-mail: [email protected]:

www.britishgeotech.org.ukhttp://www.britishgeotech.org.uk

/Chairman: Mr Tony BracegirdleAdministrator: Mr. Gavin

Bowyer

UNITED STATESAMERICAN ROCKMECHANICS ASSOCIA-TION (ARMA)600 Woodland TerraceAlexandria, VA 22302 USATel.: (+1) 703 683 1808Fax: (+1) 703 683 1815E.mail: [email protected]

Website: www.armarocks.orgPresident: Dr François HeuzéExecutive Director: Mr Peter

Smeallie

VENEZUELASOCIEDAD VENEZOLANADE GEOTECNIAColegio de Ingenieros de

Venezuela, Piso 3Avenida Principal Parque Los

CaobosApartado 4074Caracas 1010VENEZUELATel.: (+58) 212 571 3824Fax: (+58) 212 571 3824E-mail: [email protected] site: www.svdg.org.vePresident: Mrs Isaura Romero

RequenaSecretary: Mr Igor Pankovs K.

VIETNAMVIETNAMESE NATIONALSOCIETY FOR ROCKMECHANICSAttn: Prof. Marshall Silver74 Bui Thi Xuan StreetHai Ba Trung DistrictHanoi, VIETNAMTel.: (+84) 4 943 5170Fax: (+84) 4 943 5171E-mail: [email protected]: Mr Nguyen Duc PhanSecretary-General: Dr Nghiem

Huu HanhHonorary Secretary: Prof.

Marshall L. Silver

ZAMBIAZAMBIA ROCK MECHAN-ICS SOCIETY (ZARMS)PO Box 90840Luanshya, ZAMBIATel.: (+260) 2 512122Fax: (+260) 2 512122E.mail:

[email protected]: Dr W.D. ClaeysSecretary/Treasurer: Dr C.

Mikandawire

30

2005 March 09-11, Perth WA AUSTRALIA - 6th InternationalSymposium on Rockburst and Seismicity in Mines (RaSiM6), orga-nized by The Australian Centre for Geomechanics (ACG), in conjunction with theUGOPS9 Conference (March 07-09). Mrs Josephine Ruddle, Australian Centre forGeomechanics, 7 Cooper Street, P.O. Box 3296 - Broadway, Nedlands, WA 6009,AUSTRALIA. Tel: 61/8/93801864 or 93803300, Fax: 93801130, E-mail:[email protected]. Mrs Christine Neskudla, Centre Administrator, AustralianCentre for Geomechanics, P.O. Box 3296 - Broadway, Nedlands, WA 6009, AUS-TRALIA. Tel: 61/8/64883300, Fax: 64881130, E-mail: [email protected],Website: www.acg.uwa.edu.au or www.acg.uwa.edu.au/pdf_files/RaSiM6.pdf.

2005 April 25-29, Nice FRANCE - XXXth General Assembly ofthe European Geosciences Union (EGU). EGU Office, Max-Planck-Str.13, D-37191 Katlenburg-Lindau, GERMANY. Tel.: 49/5556/1440, Fax: 4709; E-mail:[email protected], Website: www.copernicus.org/EGU/EGU.html.

2005 May 07-12, Istambul TURKEY - World Tunnel Congress'2005 and 31st ITA General Assembly, sponsored by the ITA. Mrs EsinBoge, Yollar Turk Milli Komitesi, Karayollari Genel Mudurlugu, F-Blok, Kat 1, TR-06100 Yucetepe (Ankara), TURKEY. Tel.: 90/312/4187905, Fax: 4258210, E-mail:[email protected] or [email protected].

2005 May 18-20, Brno CZECH REPUBLIC - EUROCK 2005, the2005 ISRM-Sponsored International Symposium, organized by theISRM NG CZECH REPUBLIC. Dr Pavel Konecn˘, Inst. of Geonics AS CR,Studentská 1768, CZ-70800 Ostrava-Poruba, CZECH R. Tel.: (+420) 69 6979111; Fax(+420) 69 6919452; E-mail: [email protected]; Website:http://www.ugn.cas.cz/data/eurock05/conference.htm.

2005 May 23-25, Lyons FRANCE - International Symposium onGeology and Linear Infrastructures (Geoline 2005), organized by theComité Français de Géologie de l'Ingénieur et de l'Environnement (CFGI) (the IAEGNG FRANCE), and the BRGM, and sponsored by the IAEG. Mr Patrick Ledru,BRGM, Direction de la Recherche, Av. Claude Guillemin, B.P. 6000, F-45060 OrléansCedex 2, FRANCE. E-mail: [email protected]. Mrs Coralie Hossenlopp, TransitCommunications, 18, Place Tolozan, F-69001 Lyon, FRANCE. E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.geoline2005.brgm.fr.

2005 May 25-27, N CYPRUS - International Conference onProblematic Soils (GEOPROB 2005), organized by the Dept of CivilEngineering, of the Eastern Mediterranean Univ., in co-operation with the TurkishNational Committee of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, under the aus-pices of the ISSMGE. Dr Huriye Bilsel, Conference Chair, Civil Engineering Dept,Eastern Mediterranean Univ, N CYPRUS. Tel.: 90/392/6301268 or 6301320, Fax:6302869; E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.geoprob2005.org orwww.geoprob2005.emu.edu.tr.

2005 May 31-June 02, Vancouver CANADA – InternationalConference on Landslide Risk Management (ICLRM), organized bythe Joint International Technival Committee on Landslides (JTC-1), in collaborationwith the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS). Scott Tomlinson, President. Website:http://www.cgs.ca/2005ICLRM.

2005 June 09-12, Izmir TURKEY - 19th International MiningCongress and Fair of Turkey (IMCET 2005), organized by the Chamberof Mining Engineers of Turkey. Dr Ahmet Hamdi Deliormanli, Dokuz Eylul Univ,Mining Engineering Dept, TR-35100 Bornova-Izmir, TURKEY. Tel.: 90/232/3883139Ext. 134, Fax: 3738289; E-mail: [email protected] or imcet2005@org,Web: www.imcet.org.

2005 June 12-17, Reno NV USA - June Committee Week of theAmerican Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM),Section D18 - Soil and Rock. Dr Jack Touseull, Rock Mechanics SubcommitteeD18.12, Chairperson, USA. E-mail: [email protected]. D18 Office Manager, MrRobert J. Morgan, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, W. Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, USA.Tel.: 1/610/8329732; E-mail: [email protected].

2005 June 13-17, Madrid SPAIN - 67th Annual InternationalConference & Exhibition of the European Association ofGeoscientists & Engineers (EAGE). E-mail: [email protected], Website:www.eage.nl/conferences/index2.phtml?confid=17.

2005 June 19-24, Turin ITALY - The 11th International Conferenceof the International Association of Computer Methods andAdvances in Geomechanics (IACMAG 2005), organized by thePolitecnico de Torino - Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering andAGI - the Italian Geotechnical Society (the ISRM NG Italy). Secretariat: Via Gozzano14, I-10073 Ciriè, Torino ITALY, Tel.: +39 011 9211467, Fax: +39 011 9224992; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.iacmag2005.it.

2005 June 27-29, Seattle WA USA - Rapid Excavation andTunneling Conference (RETC) 2005, organized by The Society for Mining,Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc. (SME), in conjunction with the American Society ofCivil Engineers (ASCE). An exhibition will be held. RETC, c/o Meeting Dept, SME,Attn: Mrs Tara Davis, 8307 Shaffer Parkway, P.O. Box 277002, Littleton, CO 80127-

7002, USA. Tel.: 1/303/9739550, Fax: 9793461, E-mail: [email protected], Website:www.retc.org or www.smenet.org.

2005 July 06-08, Brisbane Que. AUSTRALIA - 8th InternationalMine Ventilation Congress, sponsored by The Australasian Inst. of Mining andMetallurgy. Mrs Alison McKenzie, Senior Conference & Events Coordinator, TheAustralasian Inst. of Mining and Metallurgy, P.O. Box 660, Carlton South, Vic. 3053,AUSTRALIA. Tel.: 61/3/96623166, Fax: 96623662, E-mail:[email protected], Website: www.ausimm.com.

2005 September 07-11, Saragossa SPAIN - InternationalConference on Geomorphology, the 6th Quadrennial Conference ofthe International Association of Geomorphologists. OrganizingSecretariat, Geomorfologia, Fac. de Ciencias, Univ. de Zaragoza, C/ Pedro Cerbuna 12,E-50009 Zaragoza, SPAIN. Fax: 34/976/761106, E-mail: [email protected],Website: wzar.unizar.es/actos/SEG/.

2005 September 12-16, Osaka JAPAN - XVIth ISSMGEInternational Conference on Soil Mechanics and GeotechnicalEngineering (ICSMGE). Prof. Masashi Kamon, The Japanese GeotechnicalSociety, Sugayama Building, 4F, Kanda Awaji-Cho 2-23, Chiyoda-Ku, J-101-0063Tokyo, JAPAN. Tel.: 81/3/32517661, Fax: 32516688, E-mail:[email protected] or [email protected]. Website: www.icsmge2005.org.

2005 September 13-15, Osaka JAPAN - International YoungGeotechnical Engineer's Conference, organized by The JapaneseGeotechnical Society (the ISSMGE MS JAPAN), and sponsored by the ISSMGE, inconjunction with the 16 ICSMGE (September 12-16). Prof. Masashi Kamon, TheJapanese Geotechnical Society, Sugayama Building, 4F, Kanda Awaji-Cho 2-23,Chiyoda-Ku, J-101-0063 Tokyo, JAPAN. Tel: 81/3/32517661, Fax: 32516688, E-mail:[email protected] or [email protected], Website: www.icsmge2005.org.

2005 September 14-16, Brighton UK - 3rd EFEE WorldConference on Explosives andBlasting, organized by the EuropeanFederation of Explosive Engineers. Tel.: 44/1509/631530; E-mail:[email protected]. Website: www.efee-web.org.

2005 September 14-16, Hagerbach SWITZERLAND - IUT 2005,an exhibition and seminars held in an underground environment, with capability oflive equipment demonstrations. Deltacom, Gesellschaft für Projektmanagement mbH,Stormarnstr. 47, D-22844 Norderstedt, GERMANY. Tel.: 49/40/3572320, Fax:35723290, E-mail: [email protected]. Website: www.iut.ch.

2005 September 19-21, Perth AUSTRALIA - IS- FOG 2005International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics,organized by COFS - Center for Offshore Foundation Systems, in association withTC1 of the ISSMGE. Fax: 61 8 9380 1044, E-mail: [email protected];Website: www.cofs.uwa.edu.au.

2005 September 28-30, Kathmandu NEPAL - 5th Asian regional confer-ence on Engineering Geology for major infrastructure development and natural haz-ards mitigation. The President, Nepal Geological Society, P.O. Box 231, Kathmandu,NEPAL. E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected].

2005 October 10-12, Chambéry FRANCE - Tunnelling for aSustainable Europe, organized by the French Tunnelling Association (AFTES)(the ITA NG FRANCE), the AETOS (the ITA NG SPAIN), the GTS (the ITA NGSWITZERLAND) and the SIG (the ITA NG ITALY). AFTES, c/o SNCFInfrastructure, 17, Rue d'Amsterdam, F-75008 Paris, FRANCE. Tel.: 33/1/153429469,Fax: 153420820, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.aftes.asso.fr.

2005 October 13-14, Salzburg AUSTRIA - LIVth GeomechanicsColloquy, organized by the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Geomechanik (ÖGG)(the ISRM NG AUSTRIA). Österreichische Gesellschaft für Geomechanik,Bayerhamerstr. 14, A-5020 Salzburg, AUSTRIA. Tel.: 43/662/875519, Fax: 886748, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.oegg.at.

2005 November 06-11, Houston TX USA - Annual Meeting andInternational Exposition of The Society of Exploration Geophysists. Mr Steve Emery,8801 S. Yale, Tulsa, OK 74137, USA. Tel.: 1/918/4975539, E-mail: [email protected]: www.meeting.seg.org.

2006 April 22-27, Seoul KOREA R - World Tunnel Congress'2006, organized by the Korean Tunnelling Association, and sponsored by the ITA.Congress Secretariat - ITA 2006, 5F Marine Center New Building, #51 Sogong-Dong,Jung-Gu, ROK-100-770 Seoul, KOREA R. Tel: 82/2/7265554, Fax: 7782514, E-mail:[email protected]. Korean Tunnelling Association, 44-3 Bangi-Dong, HyundaiTopics #1014, Soongpa-Gu, ROK-138-050 Seoul, KOREA R. Tel: 82/2/22033442,Fax: 22033553, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.ita2006.com or www.tun-nel.or.kr.

2006 June 26-30, Cardiff UK - 5th International Conference onEnvironmental Geotechnique (5th ICEG), sponsored by the ISSMGE. E-mail: [email protected], Website: http://www.grc.cf.ac.uk/5iceg/

31

2006 August 04-06, Hong Kong CHINA - International Conferenceon Physical Modelling in Geotechnics, Ms Shirley Tse, GeotechnicalCentrifuge Facility, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear WaterBay, Kowloon, Hong Kong CHINA. Tel: +852-2358 0216; fax: +852-2243 0040; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.icpmg2006.ust.hk.

2006 August 27-31, Curitiba (Paraná) BRAZIL - IIIrd Portuguese-Brazilian Congress on Geotechnique, and XIIIth BrazilianCongress on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, orga-nized by the Associação Brasileira de Mecânica de Solos (ABMS) (the ISRM NGBRAZIL), and the Sociedade Portuguesa de Geotecnia (SPG) (the ISRM NG PORTU-GAL). Prof. Alessander Kormann, Curitiba, Paraná, BRAZIL. Fax: 55/41/3613436, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.abms.com.br.

2006 September 14-17, Nottingham United KINGDOM - 10thInternational Congress of the International Association ofEngineering Geology and the Environment. Engineering geology fortomorrow's cities. E-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.iaeg2006.com.

2006 September 18-22, Yokohama JAPAN - 8th InternationalConference on Geosynthetics. Website: www.8icg-yokohama.org.

2006 November 08-10, Singapore SINGAPORE – 4th ARMS(Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium), an ISRM-Sponsored RegionalSymposium, organised by the ISRM NG Singapore, the Tunnelling and UndergroundConstruction Society (Singapore) and the Protective Technology Research Centre ofthe Nanyang Technological University. Theme: Rock Mechanics in UndergroundConstruction. ARMS-4 Organising Committee, c/o Underground Technology and RockEngineering Program, Protective Technology Research Centre of the NanyangTechnological University,Block N1, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Tel.: (+65)

6790 5268; Fax: (+65) 6792 1650, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected],[email protected]; Website: www.ntu.edu.sg/home/

2007 July, Lisbon PORTUGAL - ISRM 11th InternationalCongress on Rock Mechanics, organized by the Portuguese GeotechnicalSociety (SPG), (the ISRM NG PORTUGAL). Sociedade Portuguesa de Geotecnia,LNEC, Av. do Brasil, 101, 1700-066 Lisboa, PORTUGAL; Tel.: (+351)218443321;Fax: ((+351)218443021; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.isrm2007.org.

CLASHESConference organisers! A clash of dates can hurt your meeting. Please, carefullycheck the pre-booked dates in the ISRM NEWS JOURNAL or in this Events Calendarand notify the ISRM NEWS JOURNAL Editor or the ISRM Secretariat, as soon asyou know your conference dates, theme, and venue.

ISRM SPONSORSHIPConference organisers! Apply early to the ISRM Secretariat for ISRM sponsorship,to help publicise your meeting. Regional, and International symposia, and the 4-yearlyISRM Congress, impose different requirements for ISRM recognition. Details aregiven in ISRM By-Laws 4 and 5, reprinted in the annual ISRM Directory and avail-able in this Home Page

Web Links of Interest for ISRM MembersIAEG – International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment

http://www-cgi.ensmp.fr/iaeg

ICOLD – International Commission on Large Damshttp://www.icold-cigb.org

IGS – International Geosynthetics Societyhttp://www.geosyntheticssociety.org

ISSMGE – International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineeringhttp://www.issmge.org

ITA – International Tunnelling Associationhttp://www.ita-aites.org

IUGS – International Union of Geological Scienceshttp://www.iugs.org

SPE – Society of Petroleum Engineershttp://www.spe.org

32

The Chinese papers can befound in the complemen-tary SINOROCK SpecialIssue of the ChineseJournal of Rock Mechanicsand Engineering, (23-10,May 2004).

We were especiallypleased to have a distin-guished group ofIntroductory and KeynoteLecturers: Nick Barton,Guangjing Cao, CharlesFairhurst, Lanru Jing, ChackFan Lee, Nielen van derMerwe (President of theISRM), Qihu Qian, WulfSchubert and Sijing Wang.

There was also a successful Accompanying Person’sProgramme which included a boat trip on the Yangtze River, a visit to an ethnic Chinese village, a Chinese cooking demon-stration and a talk on Chinese culture. The accompanying per-sons also enjoyed the two technical tours.

The two technical tours were spectacular: one was an all-day tour to the Shuibuya Hydroelectric Project (construction of a 233 m high concrete faced earth fill dam); and the other was a part-day tour of the Three Gorges Dam Project itself.These two hydroelectric projects represent respectively the highest dam and the greatest power output in the world.

The authors would like to acknowledge here the invaluableassistance for the SINOROCK Symposium provided by the various sponsors and financial supporters. Also, many mem-bers of the Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics at Wuhanhelped with the preparations, registration and audio-visualaspects of SINOROCK and we are especially grateful to themfor the smooth running of the symposium. Indeed, their expert

support, together with the staff andfacilities at the Three Gorges Pro-ject Hotel, ensured the success ofthe symposium.

The SINOROCK symposium was a great success and we hope that it has indeed contributed togreater integration of the three components of rock characterization,rock mechanics modelling and engineering design methods. The sympo-sium certainly enabled greater interaction between Western and Easternresearchers, engineers and approaches to the subjects. We also hope thatthis SINOROCK2004 initiative will be the first in a long line of successfulSINOROCK symposia.

SINOROCK, continued from page 17

Xiurun Ge: A highlight of the SINOROCK Symposium was the LawnBanquet. Some of the registrants who can be spotted in the photographabove are Charles Fairhurst, Betsy and Bezalel Haimson, Fu Bingjun,Mrs and Professor Chung-In Lee, Nielen van der Merwe, Professor andMrs Qihu Qian, Nick Barton and Yuzo Ohnishi.

The Shuibuya Hydroelectric Project

Village wedding party seen onAccompanying Persons’ program

Sinorock Symposium Logo

ISRM Sponsored Meetings2004 November 30-December 02, Kyoto JAPAN – 3rdARMS (Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium) 2004, the2004 ISRM-Sponsored International Symposium, organized by the JapaneseCommittee for Rock Mechanics (the ISRM NG JAPAN). Theme: Contributionof Rock Mechanics to the New Century. 3rd ARMS 2004, c/o Prof. Kenji Aoki,Secretary General, Dept. of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyoto University,Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501, JAPAN. Tel.: (+81) 75 7534770; Fax: (+81) 757534771; E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] (for technical papers); Website:http://www.geoenv.kumst.kyoto-u.ac.jp/arms2004.

2005 January 25-28, Moscow RUSSIA – Rock Mechanicsfor Underground Environment. An ISRM-Sponsored RegionalSymposium, organised by the ISRM NG RUSSIA. Prof. Sergey A. Yufin,Center of Underground and Special Engineering, Moscow State University ofCivil Engineering, Yaroslavskoye Shosse 26, 129337 Moscow, RUSSIA. Tel.:7/095/9180543(also fax); E-mail: [email protected]; Website:http://www.acuus-isrm05.ru.

2005 May 18-20, Brno CZECH REPUBLIC – EUROCK2005, the 2005 ISRM-Sponsored International Symposium, organized by theISRM NG CZECH REPUBLIC. Dr Pavel Konecn, Inst. of Geonics AS CR,Studentská 1768, CZ-70800 Ostrava-Poruba, CZECH R. Tel.: (+420) 696979111; Fax (+420) 69 6919452; E-mail: [email protected]; Website:http://www.ugn.cas.cz/data/eurock05/conference.htm.

2006 November 08-10, Singapore SINGAPORE –4th ARMS (Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium), an ISRM-Sponsored Regional Symposium, organised by the ISRM NGSingapore, the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Society (Singapore)and the Protective Technology Research Centre of the Nanyang TechnologicalUniversity. Theme: Rock Mechanics in Underground Construction. ARMS-4Organising Committee, c/o Underground Technology and Rock EngineeringProgram, Protective Technology Research Centre of the NanyangTechnological University,Block N1, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Tel.:(+65) 6790 5268; Fax: (+65) 6792 1650, E-mail: [email protected],[email protected], [email protected]; Website:www.ntu.edu.sg/home/cjzhao/arms.

2007 July, Lisbon PORTUGAL – ISRM 11th InternationalCongress on Rock Mechanics, organized by the PortugueseGeotechnical Society (SPG), (the ISRM NG PORTUGAL). SociedadePortuguesa de Geotecnia, LNEC, Av. do Brasil, 101, 1700-066 Lisboa, POR-TUGAL; Tel.: (+351) 218443321; Fax:: (+351) 218443021; E-mail:[email protected]; Website: http://www.isrm2007.org.

Other Events2004 November 04-05, Perth WA AUSTRALIA - Open Pit SlopeStability and Modelling, a seminar, organized by the Australian Centre forGeomechanics (ACG). Mrs Josephine Ruddle, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, 7Cooper Street, P.O. Box 3296 - Broadway, Nedlands, WA 6009, AUSTRALIA. Tel.:61/8/93801864 or 93803300, Fax: 93801130, E-mail: [email protected], Website:www.acg.uwa.edu.au.

2004 November 10-11, Clausthal GERMANY - Climatization andErgonomy in Underground Cavities, a specialty seminar, organized by theInst. for Mining, of the Technical Univ. Clausthal. Dipl.-Ing. R. Spier, Inst. fürBergbau, Erzstr. 20, D-38768 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, GERMANY. Tel.: 49/5323/722319,E-mail: [email protected].

2004 November 12, Freiberg GERMANY - Honorary ColloquyProf. F. Heinrich - 33rd Geomechanics Colloquy, organized by the Inst.for Geotechnique, of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, and the Inst. for Rock MechanicsLtd, of Leipzig GERMANY. TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Inst. für Geotechnik, Dipl.-Ing. A. Hausdorf, Gustav-Zeuner-Str. 1, D-09596 Freiberg, GERMANY. Tel.:49/3731/392787, Fax: 393638; E-mail: [email protected].

2004 November 15-17, Hamburg GERMANY - International No-Dig 2004. CCH Organisation, P.O. Box 302480, D-20308 Hamburg, GERMANY.Tel.: 49/4035/692238, Fax: 692343, E-mail: [email protected]. Website:www.nodig2004.de.

2004 November 16-17, Washington DC USA - InternationalSymposium on Tunnel Safety & Security (TSS). NI2 Center forInfrastructure for Expertise, 100 Arboretum Drive, Suite 306, Porstmouth, NH 03801,USA. Tel.: 1/603/7663390, Fax: 7663399, E-mail: [email protected].

2004 November 22-24, São Paulo SP BRAZIL - Vth Seminar onSpecial Foundation Engineering, and Geotechnique (SEFE). AcquaConsultoria, Av. Brig. Luiz Antônio, 317, cj 53, BR-01317-901 São Paulo, SP,BRAZIL. E-mail: [email protected]: www.abef.org.br orwww.abms.org.br.

2004 November 23-26, Bangkok THAILAND - 15th SE AsianGeotechnical Conference (15th SEAGC), organized by the SE AsianGeotechnical Society (SEAGS) (the ISRM MNG SE ASIA), and the Engineering Inst.of Thailand (EIT). Theme: Development in Geotechnical Engineering for Practice. DrWanchai Teparaksa, Secretary, 15th SEAGC, Dept of Civil Engineering,Chulalongkorn Univ., P.O. Box 2045, Chulalongkorn Post Office, T-10332 Bangkok,THAILAND. Tel.: 66/2/6523007(also fax); E-mail: [email protected]. Website:www.eng.chula.ac.th/seagc15.

2004 November 30-December 02, Kyoto JAPAN – 3rd ARMS(Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium) 2004, the 2004 ISRM-Sponsored International Symposium, organized by the Japanese Committeefor Rock Mechanics (the ISRM NG JAPAN). Theme: Contribution of Rock Mechanicsto the New Century. 3rd ARMS 2004, c/o Prof. Kenji Aoki, Secretary General, Dept.of Earth Resources Engineering, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8501, JAPAN.Tel.: (+81) 75 7534770; Fax: (+81) 75 7534771; E-mail:[email protected] [email protected](for technical papers); Website: http://www.geoenv.kumst.kyoto-u.ac.jp/arms2004.

2004 December 14-17, New Delhi INDIA - Tunnelling Asia '2004,an international conference and exhibition, organized by the IndianCommittee on Large Dams (INCOLD) (the ICOLD NC INDIA), and the CentralBoard of Irrigation and Power (CBIP), and sponsored by The Committee of theInternational Society for Rock Mechanics (India) (the ISRM NG INDIA), and the ITANG INDIA. Mr G.N. Mathur, Secretary, Central Board of Irrigation and Power,Malcha Marg, Chanakyapuri, IND-110021 New Delhi, INDIA. Tel.: 91/11/26115984or 26116567, Fax: 26116347, E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected], Website:www.cbip.org.

2005 January 09-13, Washington DC USA - GeotechnicalInstrumentation in Extreme Environments: New Developments andCase Histories, a session at the 84th Annual Meeting of the TransportationResearch Board, organized by the AFS20 Committee on Soil and RockInstrumentation, of the AFS00 Section on Soil Mechanics. Website: www.trb.org.

2005 January 25-28, Moscow RUSSIA – Rock Mechanics forUnderground Environment. An ISRM Sponsored Regional Symposium, organ-ised by the ISRM NG RUSSIA, in conjunction with the 10th Associated ResearchCenters for the Urban Underground Space (ACUUS) conference, on “UndergroundSpace: Economy and Environment”. Prof. Sergey A. Yufin, Center of Undergroundand Special Engineering, Moscow State University of Civil Engineering,Yaroslavskoye Shosse 26, 129337 Moscow, RUSSIA. Tel.: 7/095/9180543(also fax); E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.acuus-isrm05.ru.

2005 February 06-09, Orlando FL USA - 31st Annual Conferenceon Explosives and Blasting Technique, organized by the InternationalSociety of Explosives Engineers. Mrs Lynn Mangol, ISEE Conference Manager,International Society of Explosives Engineers, 30325 Bainbridge Rd, Cleveland, OH44139-2295, USA. Tel.: 1/440/3494400, Fax: 3493788, E-mail: [email protected],Website: www.isee.org/conference/confmtg.htm.

2005 February 10-11, Houston TX USA - International Conferenceon Seismic Geomorphology, sponsored by the Geological Society of London,and the SEPM. Mrs Jessica Canfor, Geological Society of London, Burlington House,Piccadilly, London W1J 0BG, UK. Tel.: 44/20/74349944, Fax: 74940579, E-mail: [email protected], Website: www.geolsoc.org.uk/seismicgeomorphology.

2005 February 28-March 02, Salt Lake City UT USA - AnnualMeeting of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration. Anexhibition will be held. SME, 8307 Shaffer Parkway, P.O. Box 625002, Littleton, CO80162-5002, USA. Tel.: 1/303/9739550 or 9793461(fax); E-mail:[email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].

2005 March 07-09, Perth WA AUSTRALIA - 9th UndergroundOperators Conference (UGOPS9), organized by The Australian Inst. ofMining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), in conjunction with the RaSiM6 Symposium(March 09-11). Mrs Miriam Way, AusIMM, AUSTRALIA. E-mail:[email protected] or [email protected].

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