History

In 1977 an International Symposium on Field Measurements in Rock Mechanics was organised by Professor Kalman Kovari and held in Zurich, Switzerland. A second symposium, also organised by Professor Kovari was held in Zurich in 1983 and it was renamed to Field Measurements in Geomechanics to encompass the wider field, thus becoming the 1st International Symposium on Field Measurements in Geomechanics. Thereafter symposia have been held as follows:

  • 2nd  1987: Kobe, Japan (Shun Sakurai)

  • 3rd  1991: Oslo, Norway (Elmo DiBiagio)

  • 4th  1995: Bergamo, Italy (Giorgio Pezzetti)

  • 5th  1999: Singapore (Colin F. Leung)

  • 6th  2003: Oslo, Norway (Elmo DiBiagio)

  • 7th  2007: Boston, USA (Allen Marr)

  • 8th  2011: Berlin, Germany (Jörg Gattermann)

  • 9th  2015: Sydney, Australia (Phil Dight)

During the Sydney Symposium it was decided to move the cycle to be out of time with the European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, which had frequently caused a clash, so the 10th International Symposium on Field Measurements in Geomechanics was held in 2018 and was organised by Professor Pedricto Rocha Filho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The 11th International Symposium on Field Measurements in Geomechanics will be held between 4th and 8th September 2022 in London. Further information on past and future Symposia can be found here.

In 2019 the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering established a new Technical Committee on Field Monitoring in Geomechanics and future International Symposia will be organised by the TC. The current officers of the Technical Committee are:

  • Chair - Dr Andrew Ridley (UK)

  • Vice Chair - Giorgio Pezzetti (Italy)

  • Secretary - Paul Burton (New Zealand)

The full list of members can be found here. Anyone wishing to join TC220 should contact their local ISSMGE Member Society.

Aside from organising the International Symposia every four years the Technical Committee will also:

  • encourage the preparation of keynote lectures, state-of-the-art lectures including on new technologies, general reports for conferences organised by the International Society, regional conferences and conferences organized by Member Societies.

  • promote the inclusion of structural and geotechnical monitoring in universities and at conferences and meetings of other international bodies, thereby encouraging a common culture of learning through field monitoring.

  • assist with the technical programs of international and regional conferences organized by the ISSMGE.

  • provide fora for all of those involved in the use of field instrumentation, such as manufacturers, installers, design consultants and owner/operators, to improve collective knowledge, support decision making and foster a common culture.