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In Hollywood, Calif., a walkway of stars honors those who have achieved greatness in the areas of music, sports, film and television. And just a few blocks away, Geo-Congress 2023 remembered its stars with a similar geotechnical walk of fame on the second floor of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Those in attendance were reminded of many great civil, mechanical, environmental and geotechnical engineers, geoscientists, educators and authors including Arthur Casagrande, Laurits Bjerrum, Robert Koerner, T. William Lambe, G.G. Meyerhof, Lymon Reese, H. Bolton Seed, Alec Skempton, Karl Terzaghi and Robert V. Whitman.
This was just one of the many new looks that attendees and exhibitors noticed at this year’s annual meeting of the Geo-Institute which also delivered on the show’s theme: Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions from the Ground Up. Other fun touches included special Warhol-designed signs in the lobby, impersonators and breakdancers at the opening reception, the Clippers/Bulls basketball game, and mini golf in the exhibit hall. Brad Keelor, managing director for Geo-Institute and Growth Initiatives said Geo-Congress has grown over the past several years in terms of attendance, exhibitors, and the size of the conference overall.
The conference began with short courses followed by plenary sessions and a keynote address by Laurie Leshin, director of the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab. Tuesday morning kicked off with a CEO panel discussion of planned infrastructure improvements in California. Other panel discussions and special sessions were offered throughout the conference including a Geo-PIT series, technical sessions and poster sessions. Wednesday’s keynote was presented by Lindsey Angell, P.E., assistant vice president at WSP. Award recipients were Ning Lu, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Colorado School—2023 Karl Terzaghi Award; Bryant A. Robbins, P.E., M.ASCE—2023 Arthur Casagrande Professional Development Award; Imad L. Al-Qadi, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE – 2023 Carl L. Monismith Lecture on Pavement Engineering Award; Matthew Meyer, P.E., D.GE, M.ASCE – 2023 Martin S. Kapp Foundation Engineering Award; Jerry A. DiMaggio, P.E., D.GE, M.ASCE—2023 Wallace Hayward Baker Award; and Allen Cadden, PE., D.GE, F. ASCE—2023 Harry Schnabel Jr. Award. The 2022 Norman Medal was presented to Farshid Vahedifard, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE; Firas Jasim; Fred Tracy; Masood Abdollah, S.M.ASCE; Aneseh Alborzi; and Amir AghaKouchak, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE. The 2022 Thomas A. Middlebrooks Award was presented to Anne Lemnitzer, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE; Samuel Yniesta, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE; Riccardo Cappa, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE; and Scott Brandenberg, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE.
Geo-Congress 2024 is set for February 25-28, 2024 in Vancouver, Canada. See you there!