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APPENDIX 11

REPORT OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT FOR NORTH AMERICA, 1973-1977

Introduction

This report covers the most important events in Geotechnical Engineering over the period Oct. 1973-Feb 1977, as reported by the national committees of Canada, Mexico and the USA, affiliated to the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering.

It also presents a summary of information regarding 1) the State of development of Geotechnical Engineering in Central America and the Caribbean, 2) the V Pan American Conference held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in November 1975, and 3) other activities in the Region.

Activities of National Societies

Canada. The Canadian Section of the ISSMFE is a joint endeavour of the Geotechnical Society and the Associate Committee on Geotechnical Research. The Canadian Geotechnical Society, officially founded in 1972, has 740 members and comprises eleven local sections. In 1974 the Engineering Geological Division was established and has been recognized as the Canadian National Group of the International Association of Engineering Geology.

A Geotechnical conference is held annually, the last two being the 28th at Montreal (October 1975) and the 29th at Vancouver (October 1976); attendance at each was about 300 members.

The Society issues a newsletter five times a year with information about its own activi-ties as well as those of the ISSMFE.

The Canadian Geotechnical Journal is published by the National Research Council every three months and is now in its fourteenth year.

The Society has undertaken the publication and periodic revision of the Canadian Manuał on Foundation Engineering, which is an advisory document for the National Building Codę of Canada.

The Associate Committee has subcommittees in the fields of Soil Mechanics, Muskeg, Perma-frost, Snów and Ice Engineering, and Urban Engineering Terrain Problems, which organize seminars, symposia and lectures. The Permafrost Subcommittee is preparing a manuał on the subject and an Organizing Committee has been nominated to make arrangements for the III International Conference on Permafrost, Canada, 1978.

Mex i co.    The Mexican Society for Soil

Mechanics (SMMS), founded in 1957, has a total of 411 members. In 1973 a group of engineers interested in problems of Rock Mechanics established a society (SMRM) independent of the SMMS; the membership of the SMRM is about 130.

The SMMS organizes a National Meeting every two years; the VII was held in Guadalajara (Nov.l974) and the VIII in Guanajuato (Nov.

1976). Since 1971 the Society founded the Nabór Carrillo Lecture in memory of one of its most outstanding members, distinguished professor of Soil Mechanics.

The First Lecture (Nov.l972, Mexico City) was delivered by Prof. Arthur Casagrande, the Second (Nov 1974, Guadalajara) was presented by Prof. Ralph B. Peck, and Prof. Arpad Kezdi gave the Third Lecture in Guanajuato (Nov.

1976). Furthermore, in collaboration with other institutions and with Mexican universi-ties, the Society has promoted short courses and lectures, having organized recently four symposia on smali reservoirs, foundations in mined areas, instrumentation and deep foundations built in-situ. The SMMS publishes the proceedings of National Meetings (two volumes), the Nabór Carrillo lectures (bilingual version), as well as papers and discussions contributed to symposia. Every two months a bulletin or newsletter is distributed among its members.

United States. The National Committee for ISSMFE is represented by the Geotechnical Engineering division of the American Society of Civil Engineers, formerly the Soil Mechanics and Foundations Division. Accord-ing to the ISSMFE list of members for 1972, membership totalled 734; this has sińce increased to 1300.

The Geotechnical Engineering Division encompasses 13 technical committees covering such diverse fields as soil properties and soil dynamics, deep and shallow foundations, Computer applications, embankment-dams and slopes, engineering geology, rock mechanics, earth retaining structures, grouting, environmental concerns in geotechnical engineering, placement and improvement of soils, reliability and probabilistic concepts in geotechnical engineering designs.

Enrollment in this Division totals 15204 members. Through a number of national meetings and conventions held annually in different parts of the USA and abroad, the Geotechnical Engineering Division constitutes the most active group devoted to the advance-ment of soil mechanics and foundation engineering in North America.

Technical papers and related discussions are published monthly in the Journal, which has already issued 103 volumes. Descriptions of important earth works and foundations, as well as brief notes on practical applications of soil mechanics are published in Civil Engineering, the ASCE magazine. Furthermore, specialists are kept well informed through the ASCE News. At about yearly intervals and upon the recommendation of the Executive Committee of the Division, a distinguished engineer is invited to deliver the Terzaghi Lecture at an appropriate meeting of the ASCE; so far twelve Lectures have been given and

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