Technical Committees

Back to homepage

Technical Committee Slide

TECHNICAL COMMITTEES

Select any of the Committees below to view the committee description, current activities and leadership.
TC – Barrier Systems
TC – Hydraulics
TC – Soil Reinforcement
TC – Stabilization

HISTORY OF THE IGS TECHNICAL COMMITTEES

In 2010, the IGS Council, under the supervision of former IGS Council member Neil Dixon, compiled a guidance document for the establishment of and rules for operating the IGS Technical Committees. Subsequently, proposals were received to form the first three IGS TCs: Soil Reinforcement, Barrier Systems, and Filtration (now part of TC-Hydraulics). These new TCs were approved during the IGS Council Meeting held in Guarujá, Brazil in May 2010.

Participation in the TCs was opened to the IGS membership at large.* As members joined, the committees began work on documenting standards around the world and organizing technical content, such as grouped papers in special sessions or workshops at conferences.

A fourth Technical Committee, TC-Hydraulics, was formed in 2015.

On 8th October 2017 during IGS Council Meeting in Marrakesh new Technical Committee – TC Stabilization was created. This is the 5th Technical Committee of the IGS. Stabilization (or stiffening) involves the use of geosynthetics to develop tensile forces intended to control the deformations within a soil-geosynthetic composite in structures such as roadways. ISO TC221 has identified “stabilization” as an additional geosynthetic function. Others have contended that the actual geosynthetic function is “stiffening,” reserving the term stabilization for applications involving the improvement of the base or subgrade components of roadways. Independent of whether the term stabilization should be used as a function or as an application, it is clear that the term “stabilization” now represents a significant sub-discipline within the broader geosynthetics discipline, with its own theoretical developments, relevant properties, and research.

In 2018, the original TC-Filtration group was combined with TC-Hydraulics to capitalize on crossover research and market development interests. 

These four committees–Barrier Systems, Soil Reinforcement, Hydraulics, and Stabilization–have established a strong template for participation and influence within the IGS and in the larger geotechnical engineering community. More committees are expected to be formed.

As of the 11th International Conference on Geosynthetics (September 2018, Korea), Dr. Russell Jones, Immediate Past President of the IGS, has taken on the leadership role for coordinating technical committee activities. We thank IGS Past President Jorge Zornberg for his extraordinary guidance during his time coordinating the TCs.

*TCs were subsequently opened up to non IGS members to encourage greater involvement from others in disciplines that overlap with the geosynthetics field.

FORMING A TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

Expressions of interest to join a Technical Committee or proposals for the establishment of new TCs are welcomed from IGS members. Questions and inquiries should be sent to Russell Jones, Chairman of Technical Committee Coordination.

Russell Jones
TEL: +441159371101
rjones@golder.com
Skype ID: drvjones

 

Refer to the IGS Operating Units graphic to learn how the IGS Technical Committees fit within the context of the society as a whole. The image also shows the Chairs for each of the current IGS Committees, Task Forces, and Technical Committees.

View IGS Operating Units