DFI Represented at Panamerican Conference in Mexico DFI participated as a cooperating organization for the XVI Panamerican Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering “XXI Century: Lessons Learned and Future Challenges,” in Cancún, Mexico in November. The conference was promoted by the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), Mexican Society of Geotechnical Engineers (SMIG), DFI and ASCE’s GeoInstitute. Walter Paniagua of Pilotec in Mexico City served as chair of this landmark event, directing an effective organizing and technical leader team including Juan Paulin Aguirre of Soletanche-Bachy, secretary; Juan de Dios Alemán Velásquez, treasurer; Alexandra Ossa López, chair of the SMIG to present a two-day conference on geotechnical and foundation engineering in Mexico City. The PanAm2019 event coincided with the 2019 SMIG-DFI Con- ference, and so this year DFI collaborated on the broader ISSMGE event organized in Mexico. The PanAm conference is organized every four years to foster colla- boration of geotechnical and foundation engineers and contractors from North, Central and South America. The four-day conference opened with Walter Paniagua, Pilotec, conference chair nine concurrent short courses. ISM-DFI- ADSC collaborated to present a course on micropile design and construction led by John Wolosick, P.E., D.GE, Keller, and Jesús Gómez, Ph.D., P.E., GEI Consultants, which was attended by over 25 participants. Mary Ellen Bruce Large, DFI director of Industry-Academia collaboration panelists technical committee; Norma Patricia López Acosta, chair of the editorial committee; and a band of dedicated committee members. Over 600 members of the international geotechnical engineering community attended the conference, which included short courses, technical presentations, panel discussions and named lectures, presented in English and Spanish with simultaneous translation. The proceedings can be found at www.issmge.org. A video of the conference highlights can be viewed at https://youtu.be/_e6IfhII7FQ. The conference showcased the festive culture of Mexico with Mariachi bands playing traditional classical music and the beautiful Cancún setting. DFI’s involvement in PanAm2019 rein- forces our ongoing commitment to support SMIG. Since 2013, DFI has partnered with DFI WiDF and Women in Engineering Panelists DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2020 • 31 technical activities, served with Paniagua and Jarbas Milititsky, Milititsky Consultants, Brazil, as chairs of the technical track on Foundations and Retaining Structures. The track attracted over 80 abstracts and paper submissions and included four sessions with technical presentations and keynote lectures. Professor Anne Lemnitzer, Ph.D., P.E., University of California, Irvine, opened the foundation sessions on a high note with her keynote lecture on DFI-funded research: “Laterally Loaded Pile Behavior at Soil-
