DFI ACTIVITIES DFI-SMIG-GI-ISSMGE International Conference in Mexico The 4 International Symposium on Deep Foundations was held on November 15-16, 2017, at the College of Civil Engineers of Mexico in Mexico City. The conference was organized by Technical Committee TC-214 of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) through the Mexican Society of Geotechnical Engineers (SMIG), and with th • Gabriel Auvinet Guichard, SMIG – Evolution of 60 Years of Soil Mechanics (Evolución de la mecánica de suelos en 60 años) • Guillermo Springall Caram, Geotec – Reflections of the Last 60 Years (Reflexión de los últimos 60 años) Norma Patricia López Acosta, SMIG, served again as the proceedings editor, and Mary Ellen Bruce Large, P.E., D.GE, director of technical activities for DFI, assisted with the coordination of the technical program. The conference also presented the newly published book, Ingenieria de Cimentaciones Profundas (Engineering of Deep Foundations) edited by Walter Paniagua Zavala, and co- authored by Walter Paniagua, Elvira León, Norma Patricia López Acosta, Enrique Ibarra, among others. Approximately 300 attendees joined the conference including geotechnical engineers, contractors, designers, suppliers, equipment and drilling machinery/ construction developers, researchers, academics, and graduate and undergraduate students. The exhibition hall included about 30 booths displaying products and services from construction companies, construction and laboratory equipment and tools, geotechnical design software and others. The conference organizing committee included Walter Paniagua and Héctor Valverde Reyes, on behalf of SMIG, and Theresa Engler and Mary Ellen Large Bruce, on behalf of DFI. Proceedings are available by emailing Walter Paniagua and Carlos Roberto Torres (conference chair and SMIG president) open the conference the collaboration of Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) and Geo-Institute of ASCE (GI). Presentations were delivered in Spanish and English, and simultaneous translation was provided for the attendees. Walter Paniagua Zavala, president of Pilotec and president of TC-214, opened the conference with an overview of local geotechnical challenges and the evolution of highlighted the 60 anniversary of SMIG, and celebrated its evolution and history through two special keynote lectures: deep foundations in Mexico City. The event th Standing (left to right): Jorge Ramirez, Walter Paniagua, Enrique Ibarra, Juan Jacobo Schmitter, Manuel Mendoza. Seated (left to right): Elvira Leon, Patricia Lopez DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2018 • 21 [email protected] and at www.smig.org.mx.
