Update provided by Paul Burton – TC220 Secretary
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.
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)
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.
Over the past year, the Executive committee developed their thinking towards holding the first full committee meeting in February 2021. The following actions were developed and agreed:-
- Closer connection to TC206 – Interactive Geotechnical Design
- Creation of an International Working Group to develop a consistent data format protocol for instrumentation. (Led by Paul Burton)
- Creation of an International Working Group to explore the higher educational needs of our future profession with a view to guiding and influencing the courses provided by learning institutes. (Led by Paolo Mazzanti)
- Discussion around EOI process for ISFMG/TC220 – symposia 2026
- Seeking feedback form the committee on their future involvement and interests for future TC220 consideration. (Led by Peter Lamb)
