World's geotechnicians hand in hand in Seoul

This week, the world's geotechnical experts are gathered in Seoul, Korea. NGI is an active contributor to the 19th ICSMGE "International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering".

"This is a unique chance to meet our Korean and international partners, and to be updated on the latest development in Asia and the rest of the world," says Lars Andresen, NGI's Managing Director.

The International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, ISSMGE, stages the conference every four years. NGI participates in several of ISSMGE's Technical Committees. On Wednesday 20th September, NGI holds a workshop in Offshore Geotechnics on the theme "Foundation Design of Offshore Wind Structures".

On Wednesday 20th September, NGI's Farrokh Nadim holds "The Suzanne Lacasse Honours Lecture" on Reliability-Based Approach for Robust Geotechnical Design. NGI gives several presentations and exhibits at booth no. 47.

Farrokh Nadim and Magnus Rømoen at NGI stand no. 47.

Major league of universities and Contractors

Close to 2,000 geotechnicians from 80 countries participate at the conference. The next ICSMGE will be in Sydney, Australia, in 2021.

At ISSMGE's Council Meeting in Seoul, Prof. Charles Ng from Hong Kong was elected ISSMGE president for 2017-2021. Representing Norway was Magnus Rømoen, chairman of the Norwegian Geotechnical Society.

Korea and Norway share geotechnical challenges linked to offshore wind energy, geohazards, and tunnels and bridges. NGI has signed research agreements with leading Korean institutions and a public university. The Korean partners are KICT - Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology; KISTEC - Korea Infrastructure Safety and Technology Corporation; and KAIST - the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

On a project basis, NGI has provided consultancy and expertise to some of Korea's large contractors over the years, such as Daelim Industrial, Hyundai Group and GS Group.

"These and other corporations offer interesting and challenging opportunities for us, both in terms of consultancy and research assignments", says Lars Andresen, NGI's Managing Director.