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IFAI/IECA partnership a big success in Portland
The Roseville, Minn.-based Industrial Fabrics Association International hosted its Geosynthetics 2015 conference, co-located with the International Erosion Control Association’s Environmental Connection conference, February 15–18, 2015, in Portland, Ore.
In a Feb. 24 press release, IFAI described the biennial Geosynthetics conference and exhibition as “exploring advances and innovations shaping civil, geotechnical, and geo-environmental communities.”
The combined IFAI/IECA conferences totaled more than 2,700 attendees and more than 240 exhibitors at the Portland Convention Center, shattering previous conference records, according to the release.
The Geosynthetics 2015 conference was complete with a host of educational components including six full-day short courses that offered participants professional development hours. Also included in the conference were plenary and technical sessions and lively panel discussions covering everything from the 2014 Oso, Wash. landslide and reconstruction to environmental applications, soil reinforcement, and leak detection issues. Noted geosynthetics professionals Scott Burns, Shaun Stauffer, Boyd Ramsey, and Stan Boyle conducted the plenary sessions.
The IFAI press release noted that the Geosynthetics 2015 conference also featured the launch of the Introduction Series. Designed for new users, this free series of short, targeted presentations taught participants the basics of what geosynthetics are and how they fit into various projects.
“This was the best Geo show I have attended in more than 10 years,” said Andrew Aho, V.P. of Operations at IFAI. “Walking around the show floor, I would say this was the busiest on record. And participants continued engaging with each other long after the floor closed. Geotechnical Frontiers 2017 should be an amazing show.”
Geotechnical Frontiers 2017 will take place March 12–15, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. and will be co-organized with ASCE’s Geo-Institute GeoCongress. The 2017 event will be the third edition of this co-organized conference, combining the Geosynthetics and GeoCongress conferences (GeoFrontiers 2005 in Austin, Texas, and GeoFrontiers 2011 in Dallas).
For information or questions about Geotechnical Frontiers 2017, contact Barbara Connett.
Geosynthetics 2015 in Portland was organized by the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) and the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA), was supported by the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS), and conducted under the auspices of the International Geosynthetics Society (IGS).
Source: IFAI